Housing allowance in Sweden
What is housing allowance?
Housing allowance (bostadsbidrag) and housing supplement (bostadstillägg) is financial support you may receive to help you pay your monthly rent or monthly fee for your housing.
You may receive housing allowance even if you own your house, your apartment, or if you live in a sublet.
Who is entitled to housing allowance in Sweden?
Not everyone is entitled to housing allowance. Different life situations entitle you to apply for housing allowance. Choose the life situation below that applies to you, to see if you may be entitled to housing allowance.
Housing allowance for families with children (bostadsbidrag till barnfamiljer) is support for families with children who need help to pay the rent or monthly fee for their housing.
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) is responsible for this benefit.
Housing allowance for young people (bostadsbidrag till unga) is support for young people aged under 29 who need help to pay the rent or monthly fee for their housing.
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) is responsible for this benefit.
Housing supplement for people receiving sickness compensation or activity compensation (bostadstillägg till personer med sjukersättning eller aktivitetsersättning) is money you can receive in addition to your activity compensation or sickness compensation if you have housing costs. You can only receive housing supplement if you live in Sweden.
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) is responsible for this benefit.
You can apply for housing supplement for the elderly (bostadstillägg) from the year of your 66th birthday if you are drawing full retirement pension. You can apply regardless of how you live, and even if you own your home. You can apply for housing benefit even if you have assets. Your housing costs, your income, your assets and your family situation determine how much you can receive as housing supplement.
Many people enter a new life situation later in life, so it can be worth investigating whether you are entitled to housing allowance. It may be applicable to apply for housing allowance if you have moved from your partner or if you have become a widow/widower, if your income is lower, for example if your occupational pension stops, or if you have moved and your housing costs have increased.
When you apply for housing allowance for the elderly, the Swedish Pensions Agency (Pensionsmyndigheten) also examines whether you are entitled to a personal supplement (äldreförsörjningsstöd.) The personal supplement is a supplement for your upkeep if you have low income as a pensioner.
The Swedish Pensions Agency is responsible for this benefit.
What are the conditions for housing allowance and housing supplement in Sweden?
You must live in Sweden and be registered at an address in Sweden to receive housing allowance or housing supplement. The regulations about how much you can receive vary between the different benefits. The amount depends on, for example, your income, how many children live at home, your housing costs, and the size of your housing.
Housing allowance in Sweden
Housing allowance is a tax-free grant from the state. It is a grant you may receive to help with the rent or housing fee. Housing allowance must not cover the full amount, but serves as a supplement to your monthly rent or housing fee.
How much housing allowance can I receive?
The amount you can receive depends on, for example, your income and expenses, and your life situation.
Contact Försäkringskassan or the Swedish Pensions Agency (Pensionsmyndigheten) for information on how much you are entitled to receive.
How do I apply for housing allowance or housing supplement in Sweden?
You can apply to Försäkringskassan for housing allowance (bostadsbidrag). If you receive sickness compensation or activity compensation, you apply to Försäkringskassan for housing supplement (bostadstillägg).
If you are over 66 and drawing full pension, you can apply for housing supplement from the Swedish Pensions Agency.
How do I apply for housing allowance if I live in Sweden but work in another country?
You are normally covered by social insurance in the country in which you work, but housing allowance and housing supplement are residence-based benefits. If you live in Sweden and work in another Nordic country, you may be entitled to the part of the housing allowance that comprises financial support for housing costs in Sweden.
Housing allowance and housing supplement are needs based, and your income from abroad affects how much housing allowance or housing supplement you can receive in Sweden. It is Försäkringskassan and the Swedish Pensions Agency that process applications for housing allowance and housing supllement, so contact these agencies when you want to apply from Sweden.
You must notify Försäkringskassan or the Swedish Pensions Agency if you move to or start working in another country while receiving housing allowance or housing supplement from Sweden..
Who should I contact if I have questions?
Call the Försäkringskassan Customer Centre at +46 (0)771-524 524, or look on the Försäkringskassan website if you have questions about housing allowance for families with children, if you are young, or if you have questions about housing supplement for people receiving sickness compensation or activity compensation.
Contact the Swedish Pensions Agency if you have questions about housing supplement for the elderly.
More information
More information is available from Försäkringskassan and the Swedish Pensions Agency.
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.
