Lindahl is one of the leading legal advisors on the Nordic real estate market. Our experts offer a full legal service to operators in the real estate industry and can assist with everything from the most complex transactions to regular advice on day-to-day operations.
Lindahl has solid experience in real estate law and regularly assists Swedish and international companies, including private and public property companies, property developers, funds, municipalities and regions in domestic and cross-border matters concerning real estate.
Our real estate team often collaborates with our other specialist teams such as capital markets, banking and finance, tax, environmental law and construction law.
“High competence from juniors to seniors. Full service firm. Availability 24/7.”
How we help your company
Lindahl’s lawyers support companies throughout the process towards completion of successful real estate transactions. Our services include real property formation, real estate packaging, real estate regulation and real estate transactions, as well as matters concerning land and land law.
We routinely work on large, complex real estate transactions and provide day-to-day advice on real estate law.
We understand that legal expertise is just one of the factors in a successful transaction and we aim, through our solid expertise, experience and constant commitment, to provide clear and straightforward advice of the highest quality in order to establish the best possible basis for a successful transaction.
This is real estate law
The field of real estate law involves all legal matters relating to real property formation, real estate packaging, real estate regulation and real estate transactions concerning property owners, property purchasers, landlords and tenants. The Swedish commercial real estate market has grown stronger in recent years, which has made it attractive to both Swedish and international investors. This has led to a greater need for new construction and planning, which imposes greater demands on management of real estate law issues.
Real estate is a valuable asset and many real estate law matters concern property rights, protection of tenure, usufructs and lease of a property. It is also about land law and land issues relating to exploitation, splitting and partition.
Disputes may arise during real property formation, real estate packaging and real estate regulation since in many cases these are real estate transactions involving large amounts. Lindahl’s lawyers can therefore assist with important expertise on real estate law and support in all legal matters in this field.
Frequently asked questions
How do we structure our building project so that we can keep the choice between leasing the properties as rental properties or tenant-owner properties open for as long as possible?
There are several ways of achieving this. The appropriate structure depends, among other things, on what stage of the process the project is at, what the timetable is and whether the project includes parking/garage space, premises or social care, etc. An overview of any real property formation measures and whether these can be implemented in a manner that is advantageous in terms of real estate and tax is crucial. It is also necessary to clarify what the financing structure will be, since that affects the structure for implementation to be applied.
What is indirect protection of tenure?
A tenant of premises normally has indirect protection of tenure if the tenancy ceases after having lasted for more than nine consecutive months. That means that in some cases the landlord is required to compensate the tenant for any financial loss incurred as a result of the fact that the tenancy has ceased.
What are the rules regarding establishment of rents for premises?
Free establishment of rents applies to premises. If, on the other hand, the lease is terminated by the landlord in order to change the terms, the requested terms must be reasonable and that also includes the requested rent.
What right does the Swedish Transport Administration have to requisition our property for temporary use pursuant to a railway/road plan? What right to compensation do we have for the encroachment on the land?
The Swedish Transport Administration (Sw. Trafikverket) has far-reaching rights to requisition land pursuant to a railway or road plan. What the Swedish Transport Administration has the right to do, for work within the area of the temporary right of use, must be set out in the railway plan and the area must be marked on the map for the plan. The Swedish Transport Administration is required to pay compensation for the encroachment that the use entails. That compensation is not assessed within the framework for adoption of the railway plan. Instead, it is dealt with by agreement between the Swedish Transport Administration and the property owner or by means of examination in a court.
A real estate company wishes to purchase a property for residential purposes. According to the seller, industrial activity has been carried out on the property, but decontamination has been carried out and the land is ready for development. What risk does the property owner run of being ordered by the supervisory authority to carry out further decontamination? Can this risk be eliminated by means of provisions in the real estate transfer agreement?
A property owner may be liable for investigation and possible decontamination if the property owner was aware of or should have been aware of this prior to the purchase. The property owner’s liability applies if the operator who caused the pollution cannot be held liable. In the case of a property transfer, there is full contractual freedom as to who – the purchaser or the seller – is liable for investigation and decontamination of pollutants. However, the agreement between the parties is not binding on the environmental authorities, which means that a property owner can be held liable if no claim can be filed against the operator that caused the pollution.
A real estate development company plans to acquire an area of land along with another company. An area of land is intended to be divided into several separate properties and developed with housing to be leased as tenant-owner accommodation. Is there anything that should be specifically considered in a project of that kind?
This project involves several legal matters that need to be considered carefully. One important aspect to study is a suitable structure for the project. Several questions need to be considered when deciding on a suitable structure for the project. These include collaboration between the parties in a joint venture, real property formation measures and legal issues regarding tax, planning and construction and contracts. Legal conditions and options for action should be studied at an early stage of the process in order to establish a basis for cost-effective implementation of the project.
