When there are issues with the rental agreement: document, secure the contract, learn the warning signs, and do not enter alone

You are here: At home → When it creaks

Tenancy disputes are won and lost on paper. The landlord's disturbance log, the neighbor's written complaint, and the manager's “conversation note” are what are read in the rent tribunal. Your version only exists if you wrote it down. This guide is the starting point for At home: it gives you the method and then points to the right guide for the paper you have received.

First: who is really your landlord?

Signals indicating that a case is opened

• “We have received complaints” without a date, without who, without what. This is often the first entry in a disturbance log that later becomes a rectification request.
• The property manager wants to “check the apartment” without stating why. Inspection can be requested by the landlord (Chapter 12, Section 26), but an inspection following a complaint is often evidence gathering for neglect.
• Questions about who lives in the apartment, who collects the mail, who is on the electricity contract. This is a subletting investigation.
• A rent invoice that suddenly is missing or changed, or a reminder for an amount you have already paid. Rent arrears are the most common grounds for forfeiture – be meticulous with receipts.
• Offer to “exchange the apartment” or “resolve it with a relocation grant”. The landlord has already assessed that a termination is uncertain and wants you to voluntarily give up your tenancy rights.
• Letter from the social welfare board about the landlord notifying them. This is a legal requirement in cases of disturbance and conduct (Section 25 a) – and it means the landlord is preparing for forfeiture.

Write it down the same day

Subject: Summary of conversation on [date], apartment [number]

Hello [name],

Thank you for the conversation on [date] at [time]. To avoid misunderstandings, I am summarizing how I perceived it:

1. You stated that ... [quote or close rendition – what complaints, what dates]
2. I responded that ...
3. I was asked to ... / was informed that ...

I request that any complaints, warnings, and other comments about my residence be provided in writing, with dates of the events referred to, so that I can address them.

If anything in the summary is incorrect, please respond in writing by [date].

Kind regards,
[Name], [address, apartment number]

Do not enter alone

Meetings with the manager about “complaints” are rarely informational meetings. They are opportunities to get you to admit, promise, or sign something. Bring someone: a neighbor, a friend, a representative from the Tenants’ Association if you are a member. There is no legal right to a support person in a conversation with a private landlord, but there is also no right for the landlord to refuse – and a landlord who refuses a witness must explain why. Note the refusal in the record. If you cannot bring someone: request an agenda in advance, say you want everything in writing, and conclude with “I will get back to you after I have read the document.”

If the landlord comes to the door unannounced, you do not need to open for a conversation. Access for necessary supervision or urgent work can be required by the landlord (Section 26), but a conversation about complaints is not access. “Send it in writing” is a complete response.

The papers you secure and the papers you request

Also request from the landlord: the reasons for a termination (the landlord should state the reason in a written termination of residence, Section 8, second paragraph), which dates and events a complaint refers to, and a copy of the notification to the social welfare board if one has been sent. A landlord who cannot specify what you have done has a problem with the board.

What you do not sign at the door

• “Confirmation” of disturbances – a document where you admit to events you know nothing about. Write “acknowledged” if anything, never “approved.” Read correction notice.
• Voluntary termination or “relocation agreement”. A residential tenant can always terminate with three months' notice (Section 5) – but if you do it at the landlord's request, you give up a security of tenure that the landlord would otherwise have to win in the board. Read security of tenure.
• Waiver of security of tenure after the fact. Such an agreement is valid without the Rent Tribunal's approval if it is made after the tenancy has commenced (Section 45 a) – it is therefore truly binding if you sign it.
• Acknowledgment of rent debt for an amount you have not verified against your receipts.
• Switch to “short-term contract”, sublease agreement, or lodger agreement with the landlord as an intermediary. It is often a way to remove the security of tenure.

The wording that works: “I want to read this at my leisure and consult. I will get back to you by [day].” No legal rental action requires your signature on the spot.

The three clocks

Three deadlines determine most rental disputes. Which one applies depends on the document you received.

Which guide next?

• You want to know what the contract actually requires and provides → tenancy: what you get and what you must do.
• You have received a paper about a complaint or a rectification request → warning and rectification request.
• Termination is on the table → termination: the basics.
• The landlord has taken it to the Rent Tribunal, or you want to understand the process → contest the termination.
• The Enforcement Authority has contacted you → eviction and the Enforcement Authority.
• The question is who lives in the apartment → subletting and lodgers.
• The landlord does not want to extend a fixed-term agreement → security of tenure.
• The rent is increasing → rent increase and utility value.
• Dampness, cold, pests → deficiency in the apartment.
• You live in a cooperative apartment → when it creaks in the cooperative apartment.

If the social welfare committee contacts you after the landlord's notification, it is not automatically a report of concern regarding children, but the same committee can open more cases. See home visit and report of concern.

Sources

• Land Code Chapter 12 – especially Sections 2, 4–5, 8, 20, 25 a, 26, 42–45 a, 49–50
• Private Rental Act (2026:772) – applies to agreements from July 1, 2026
• Act on Payment Orders and Assistance (1990:746)
• Rent Tribunal
• Tenants’ Association: support and advice

The guide is general information about applicable rules, not advice for your case. If you rent from a private individual who owns the residence, from July 1, 2026, the private rental law will apply instead of Chapter 12 of the Land Code in several respects. Legal status checked on September 25, 2026.

For those reading under stress

The guide is intended as support when you already have a lot on your mind. You don't need to read everything at once: start with the section that matches where you are today and return when the next step becomes relevant.

Cases with authorities rarely improve if you handle everything alone. Ask for help from a support person, lawyer, or relative if you can – especially before decisions with long-term effects.

Common mistakes that make the case more difficult

• Relying only on verbal promises without a brief written confirmation or follow-up email.
• Waiting to request documents until the conflict is already locked – then it becomes harder to show what was said.
• Writing so long and emotionally that the authority stops responding to the substantive issue.
• Missing deadlines for reconsideration or appeal because the decision was not read verbatim.

Mini-checklist before you leave the guide

1. Do I have the date, diary/case number, and name of the person handling it (if you know)?
2. Do I know what the next step is: respond, request, remind, appeal, or report?
3. Have I saved emails and attachments in a place where I can find them in a week?