Site leasehold (tomträtt)

What tomträtt is

A tomträtt is a right to use a property for an indefinite time, for a given purpose and against an annual ground rent in money (Land Code, chapter 13, section 1). It may be granted in land owned by the state, a municipality or otherwise in public ownership (section 2), and the agreement must be in writing and say expressly that it is a tomträtt (section 3).

The holder may sell, pledge and let the leasehold, and the agreement may not restrict this (section 6). A buyer applies for registration as for lagfart, and the stamp duty is calculated on what is paid compared with the assessed building value (Stamp Duty Act, section 12).

The ground rent and its review

The ground rent is fixed for periods of ten years unless a longer period was agreed (section 10). Before a new period the landowner may ask for a review; if the parties disagree, the court sets the rent from the value of the land (section 11). A review can therefore raise the cost sharply after many years at the same rent.

Check when the next period begins and what the current rent is – it is in the leasehold agreement and should be in the sale documents.

From the law

«Nyttjanderätt till fastighet under obestämd tid kan för visst ändamål mot årlig avgäld i pengar upplåtas som tomträtt enligt detta kapitel.»

Termination and buying out

The landowner can terminate a tomträtt only at the end of certain periods – unless agreed otherwise the first after sixty years and then every forty years – and only if the land is needed for a different kind of building (section 14).

Many municipalities, among them the City of Stockholm, offer holders to buy the land. The municipality sets the terms and price.