Required Disclosures for Commercial Leases in Sweden

Unlike residential properties, Sweden does not enforce extensive, hyper-specific environmental or hazard disclosure addendums (like those found in North America) for corporate, Business-to-Business (B2B) commercial leases. In commercial leasing, the burden largely rests on both parties to negotiate standards, outline risks, and establish duties through shared contractual clauses.

However, a few state-mandated disclosures and industry-standard documentation requirements are entirely non-negotiable.

1. Energy Performance Certificate (Energideklaration)

This is an unavoidable legal requirement regardless of the property type: the building's owner is obligated to ensure an Energy Performance Certificate is generated. When spaces or premises are transferred to a new corporate tenant, the property owner is legally required by the Municipal Building Committee to present the results of these investigations, usually during a property viewing or at the latest as an integrated appendix to the leasing process. Punitive administrative fees are levied by the committee if this certificate is not registered with the National Board of Housing (Boverket).

2. VAT Status and Voluntary Tax Liability

As a fundamental rule in Sweden, leasing real estate is entirely excluded from the right to charge or deduct Value Added Tax (VAT / Moms). Commercial renting is, by default, VAT-exempt. However, over nine out of ten modern commercial landlords activate a government option called "Voluntary Tax Liability for the Leasing of Business Premises" (Frivillig Skattskyldighet). Landlords choose this primarily to gain the right to deduct the massive amounts of VAT they pay when purchasing repairs, services, and materials related to developing those commercial spaces.

A crucial pillar of the commercial lease is that the contract must clearly disclose and stipulate:

• That the tenant conducts VAT-liable business operations that legally permit the landlord’s voluntary registration. If this isn't the case, an incredibly costly un-taxed rent scenario occurs, leaving the landlord with millions in residual tax bills from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). Disclosing and guaranteeing the exact nature of the company’s operations forms the foundation of the lease.

3. Total Specification of the Premises (Boundary Lists / Gränsdragningslistor)

Commercial operations (such as shopping centers or custom-built retail spaces) are characterized by a heavily established industry-standard disclosure document known as the Boundary List (Gränsdragningslista). All signing parties transparently delineate all information regarding which building systems logically belong to "F" (Fastighetsägaren - The Landlord) or "H" (Hyresgästen - The Tenant). The list is required to account for extremely detailed knowledge, assigning responsibility for everything from sprinkler systems hidden in the ceiling down to glass-break alarms installed on display cases.

4. OVK (Obligatory Ventilation Control)

This is an ongoing safety obligation borne by the property owner in commercial buildings. Certified inspection bodies review the ventilation systematically depending on various operational parameters (ranging from rarely for department stores to strictly every three years for specialized clinics or preschools). The protocols must be publicly displayed in the premises. Landlords must disclose to new contractors if their build-out work will interfere with the dating of the last disclosure to the authorities.

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