Easements (servitut)
An easement is a right for the owner of one property (the dominant) to use another property (the servient) in a certain way – for example to drive across it, keep a jetty or take water. It must serve an appropriate land use and be of lasting importance to the dominant property (Land Code, chapter 14, section 1).
A contractual easement is granted in writing by the servient owner and must name both properties and the purpose (section 5). It must be used without burdening the servient property more than necessary (section 6).
Easements can also be created by Lantmäteriet in a cadastral procedure under the Real Property Formation Act (chapter 1, section 1). Power, telecom, water and sewer lines often have a utility easement under the Utility Easements Act.
Rights of use (nyttjanderätt)
A right of use is the right to use a property – a lease, a tenancy, a site leasehold and other grants. Chapter 7 of the Land Code holds the common rules when the right is granted by agreement (section 1); the specific ones are in chapters 8–15.
From the law
«Servitut upplåtes skriftligen av den tjänande fastighetens ägare. I upplåtelsehandlingen skall anges den härskande och den tjänande fastigheten samt ändamålet med upplåtelsen.»
What a buyer should check
The agent must check which mortgages, easements and other rights burden the property and list them in the property description (Estate Agents Act, chapter 3, sections 13 and 14). Read them – and ask the seller about agreements that are not registered.
Laws change. Always check the version in force and consult a lawyer about your own case. The Swedish text of the law is the authoritative one.
Sources
The Land Code (Jordabalken) (1970:994) 7 kap. 1 §, 14 kap. 1, 5 och 6 §§; The Real Property Formation Act (1970:988) 1 kap. 1 §; The Utility Easements Act (1973:1144). Read 21 Oct 2026. The Swedish text of the law is the authoritative one; the quotations are in Swedish.