Collective housing instead of matched pairs
Swedish ageing policy has long favoured independent flats and municipal home help, so no national body pairs an older homeowner with a student. Where generations do mix, it tends to happen in a shared building run by a public landlord rather than inside a private house.
Inside the SällBo building
Helsingborgshem, the city’s housing company, converted the former Fredriksdalshemmet care home into 51 flats. Residents moved in at the end of 2019: 31 units for people aged 70 or older and 20 for younger tenants, ten of them set aside for newly arrived young people.
The social contract
Tenants choose a standard lease or a social contract committing them to at least two hours of socialising each week and a monthly house meeting. When COVID-19 arrived the requirement was paused, yet younger residents kept shopping for older neighbours and meeting outdoors.
Rents and shared rooms
Every floor has a communal kitchen, and the building adds a sewing room, games room and yoga studio. Vogue Scandinavia reported in January 2023 that monthly rents ranged from SEK 4,620 to 5,850, including cleaning of the shared spaces.
Who gets a flat in a project like this?
A Nacka council report explains that SällBo bypasses the usual points-based queue. Applicants contact the landlord directly, must meet requirements on language, references and ability to pay, and are then interviewed. No needs-assessed care decision is required to move in.
Two age bands, one front door
The 70-plus group consists of independent retirees; the Max 25 group covers adults aged 18 to 25, both Swedish-born and those who arrived as unaccompanied minors. According to Socialpolitik, young residents signed two-year contracts while older residents held permanent ones.
Evidence from the evaluations
Helsingborgshem’s own survey found 82 percent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied. Malmö University followed the project for three years and credited an innovative culture, transparent communication, a skilled manager and flexible leadership with keeping it alive through two crises.
A Lund University team studying the pandemic period found that about 25 residents kept socialising at a distance, mostly outdoors, and that residents did not report feeling isolated. The researchers described SällBo as unusual not only in Sweden but in Europe.
Did other municipalities copy it?
Not yet in any verified case. In March 2019, Green Party councillors in Vellinge tabled a motion asking the council to study the concept. In Nacka, a 2023 citizen proposal was rejected by the elderly care committee, which judged existing services sufficient.
Renting a room to a younger person
Outside SällBo, an older owner who wants company simply lets a room, and the occupant becomes an inneboende, or lodger. Subletting an entire rented flat is different: that is andrahand, and it needs the landlord’s consent or permission from the rent tribunal.
- Check how you hold the home: freehold, tenant-owned bostadsrätt or rental lease.
- For a bostadsrätt or lease, ask the association or landlord about their rules.
- Write a contract covering rent, furniture, shared rooms and notice.
- Agree any help with chores separately from the rent.
- Keep records of payments received during the year.
- Use Skatteverket’s calculation service to work out any surplus.
- Report the surplus in box 7.3 of the income tax return.
A tenant who rents their flat may usually take in a lodger without the landlord’s consent, provided this causes the landlord no inconvenience. Owners of a bostadsrätt should still read their association’s statutes, because some boards ask to be informed about anyone moving in.
How rental income is taxed
Skatteverket allows a standard deduction of SEK 40,000 per property, regardless of the number of owners, plus 20 percent of rental income. Any surplus is taxed at 30 percent, and deductions can never exceed the income received during the year.
| Situation | Occupant status | Watch out for | Tax for the host |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room in an owner’s home | Inneboende | Written contract advisable | SEK 40,000 + 20 % deduction |
| Room in a rented flat | Inneboende | Must not inconvenience the landlord | Same rules |
| Whole rented flat sublet | Andrahand | Landlord consent needed | Same rules |
| Flat at SällBo | Direct tenant | Interview-based selection | Not applicable |
For a pensioner hosting a student at SEK 3,000 a month, annual rent of SEK 36,000 stays well below the SEK 40,000 standard deduction plus 20 percent, so no surplus appears. Keeping the receipts still makes any later question from Skatteverket simple to answer.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a public agency to find a student lodger: none does.
- Tying rent reductions to fixed care hours, which can look like undeclared work.
- Subletting a whole rental flat without written approval.
- Forgetting that co-owners split the SEK 40,000 deduction between them.
- Skipping the annual declaration because the rent felt symbolic.
Other options for students
Young people mainly rely on student housing foundations and municipal housing queues, which are long in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Non-needs-tested senior housing such as seniorbostäder and trygghetsbostäder is reserved for older tenants and does not include younger residents.
Can international students live at SällBo?
The younger group targets 18 to 25 year olds, including young people with Swedish residence permits, but language and reference criteria apply. Because SällBo began as a time-limited trial, contact Helsingborgshem directly about vacancies and the project’s current status.
How secure is a lodger’s tenancy?
Someone renting a room inside the host’s own home enjoys weaker protection than an ordinary tenant. Notice periods depend on the contract and the tenancy chapter of the Land Code, so a quick check with a tenants’ association before signing is sensible.
Is a symbolic rent taxable?
Usually not. As long as annual rent stays below SEK 40,000 plus 20 percent of the rent itself, no taxable surplus arises. A student paying a modest monthly sum will rarely trigger tax, although running the official calculator removes any doubt.
Is there public funding for generational sharing?
No national grant targets intergenerational sharing specifically. SällBo came from a municipal landlord’s own initiative, so residents who want something similar locally can submit a citizen proposal to their council, as happened in Nacka, even though that particular request failed.
Useful organisations and resources
- Malmö University – SällBo research — University research team that followed SällBo for three years and is developing tools for other landlords and councils.
- Socialpolitik – SällBo feature — Swedish social policy magazine explaining SällBo’s shared spaces, resident selection and research findings.
- Vogue Scandinavia – life at SällBo — 2023 feature with resident interviews and the rent range charged for flats in the Helsingborg building.
Official and legal references
- Skatteverket – owning and renting out property — Swedish Tax Agency guidance on the SEK 40,000 deduction, the extra 20 percent and the 30 percent tax on surplus.
- Nacka municipality – SällBo citizen proposal (2023) — Council report describing SällBo’s allocation rules and Sweden’s non-needs-tested senior housing categories.
- Vellinge municipality – SällBo motion (2019) — Council motion asking for a study of the SällBo concept to address a shortage of small flats.