The Tenants' Association is pursuing a case to lower rents for its members, which it considers unreasonably high, concerning eight apartments in Täby, Vallentuna, and Rågsved. The dispute mainly concerns rents in newly produced apartments in these areas, where the base rent for a three-room apartment can amount to over 19,000 SEK per month, with a specific three-room apartment of about 69 square meters costing approximately 19,000 SEK per month according to the Tenants' Association. The association has demanded significant reductions, including a 50 percent rent reduction, and has expanded its demands to more apartments, having demanded a halving of the rent in eight of Titania's apartments a month ago and expanding the demand to nine more apartments this week. A one-room apartment of 27 square meters in Täby costs around 11,000 SEK.
Titania has not negotiated rents with the Tenants' Association, but instead reached agreements with another actor, arguing that the rents have already been negotiated through an agreement with the Association for Sweden's Tenants (FSH), a newer organization formed by, among others, Corporate Housing Companies and Colive. According to Titania's CEO Einar Janson, the dispute is fundamentally not about rents, but about who has the right to negotiate them. FSH's connections to Titania have been questioned, as the company pays the tenants' membership fees in the association. Titania's CEO Einar Janson rejects the criticism from the Tenants' Association, believing the company acted correctly and that the rents are reasonable.
I actually think they say they are fighting against Titania's excessive rents. But why aren't they fighting to lower their own rents, which are just as high in Nacka or Årstaberg, if it was really the rents that were the problem?
If the property owner Titania does not lower the rents, the issue will be decided by the Rent Tribunal. The Tenants' Association questions the validity of Titania's procedure and may want to test it in court later.