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Indirect protection of tenancy
• Unlike in the case of residential leases, where the tenant has
a direct protection of tenancy, the tenant in a commercial
lease has an indirect protection. The indirect protection of
tenancy entails a right to compensation for the loss incurred
by the tenant if the lease is not extended with a rent (and
other terms) that correspond with market rent (and terms).
It should be noted that the right to compensation applies
even at the end of the term of the lease if the lease is
terminated by the landlord. There are exceptions to the right
to compensation, e.g. if the tenant has breached the terms
of the lease (under certain circumstances), if the property
in question is to be demolished or rebuilt and the landlord
appoints replacement premises reasonably acceptable
for the tenant. There is also an exception which requires a
more sophisticated analysis of the interest of the landlords
to terminate the lease against the interest of the tenant to
continue the lease.
• The Swedish Lease Act provides for a special rent tribunal
that can resolve certain disputes in relation to a commercial
lease, and in a dispute regarding what the market rent is in
connection with a termination for change of rent, the rent
tribunal may also state what its opinion on market rent is.
Such a statement is almost always followed, or, alternatively,
the basis for a dispute on compensation for the tenant for a
failure to extend the lease by the landlord.
TAX
Direct acquisition of a property
• An acquisition of a property gives rise to stamp duty (Sw.
stämpelskatt). The stamp duty for registration of title for a
real property is 4.25 per cent when the property is acquired
by a legal entity. Otherwise, the stamp duty is 1.5 per cent.
• It may be noted that if there has been an intra-group transfer
of a property prior to a share deal, the stamp duty may have
been postponed. In such case, the share transfer triggers
payment of that postponed stamp duty (based on the
purchase price for that transfer and not the market value
established in the share deal).
New mortgage
• When a new mortgage deed is taken out, there is a stamp
duty of 2 per cent of its face value. It may be noted that the
mortgage deed may be reused for example when the property
is refinanced.
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Investors Guide to Europe 2015