Bistånd till andrahandshyror - ett främjande av den svarta hyresmarknaden?

Sammanfattning: In Sweden, individuals who cannot support themselves can apply for financial aid from their municipality. The ultimate responsibility to ensure social rights lie upon the municipalities according to the law. The social services decide on financial support in individual cases and through the aid, one shall be assured of a reasonable living standard. One ́s right to financial support is not uncondi- tional. Primarily, each person themselves are responsible for their own liveli- hood. Financial support can be obtained inter alia for reasonable housing costs. If the social service finds an applicant ́s housing costs reasonable, financial support will be given towards the rental charge. However, some municipalities are denying financial support for rental costs for people living in unauthorized sublet apartments. The law states that subletting a rented apartment without the property owner ́s consent is prohibited. In 2019, unauthorized subletting along with charging an exorbitant rent was criminalized in order to address the ex- panding exploitation of the housing market. For the same reason, some munic- ipalities refuse to provide financial support regarding rental costs for unauthor- ized sublets. This thesis addresses the question of whether such a decision is aligned with the legal obligations which controls and determines the duties of municipalities and social services. Whether or not financial support can be re- fused based on an unauthorized sublet contract is not regulated. However, there are several legislations and standards that municipalities and social ser- vices must abide by in regard to financial support. The author concludes that the decision in question lacks sufficient legal support and violates significant provisions. According to the principle of legality, all measures taken by a mu- nicipality must be supported by the legal system. Neither should municipalities be concerned with official duties such as police matters. Furthermore, the prin- ciple of proportionality requires that the measure, to refuse financial support to unauthorized sublets, must not exceed what is necessary to achieve the pur- pose, to access the criminality. In extension, individuals are at risk of ending up homeless or below the limit of reasonable living standards. The rental housing market is only available to financially secure individuals who can obtain a first- hand rental contract. Sublet apartments are in many cases the only housing option accessible for someone in need of financial support. The author acknowledges the problem with tax money potentially being used to finance illegal activities. However, a municipality does not have the right to establish its own rules in order to fill in the gaps within the legal system, since that particular task belongs to the legislator and the court of law.