Title, leases, and stamp duty: the Sweden property due diligence checklist for 2026

Sweden CRE deals are structured differently from most European markets: the majority of Swedish commercial real estate transactions are done as company acquisitions (share deals) rather than asset deals, specifically to avoid the 4.25% stamp duty (stämpelskatt) that applies to direct property transfers. If you're buying Swedish CRE and haven't been told about this structure, ask.

Swedish property title is managed by Lantmäteriet (the Swedish Land Survey). All property transfers, mortgages, and easements are registered at Lantmäteriet. The fastighetsregister (property register) is the authoritative source.

Sweden has no notary requirement for property transfers. Property transactions are handled by registered real estate agents (fastighetsmäklare) and lawyers; the deed (köpebrev) can be signed without a notary.

Environmental contamination is a significant due diligence risk in Sweden. The Naturvårdsverket (Swedish EPA) maintains the EBH database (risk sites); Länsstyrelsen (county administrations) hold detailed records.

Load all Lantmäteriet extracts, planning documents, and lease files into an Ellty data room before diligence starts. Each advisor gets a scoped, tracked link from day one.

Where Swedish deals actually go wrong

Not every check carries the same weight. The table below sorts risks by deal impact - dealbreakers first, then what moves the price, then basic hygiene - so your Swedish jurist and technical advisor know what to clear first.

Sweden CRE checklist

The table ranked risks by severity. This is the full list to work through, grouped by area.

Title and fastighetsregister

• Pull the fastighetsutdrag (property register extract) from Lantmäteriet on day one
• Confirm the registered lagfart (title ownership) matches the seller in all sale and SPA documents
• Check for inteckningar (registered mortgages and charges) against the property at Lantmäteriet
• Confirm all servitut (easements) and ledningsrätter (utility rights) registered on the property
• For share deals: pull the full shareholding structure and confirm all SPV historical tax filings are clean
• Check for any pending fastighetsbildning (land consolidation) proceedings that could affect the parcel boundaries

Share deal vs asset deal structure

• Confirm the deal structure before any price is agreed: share deal in the property-owning company or direct asset transfer
• Direct asset deals trigger 4.25% stämpelskatt (stamp duty) for legal entities; most Swedish CRE trades as share deals
• For share deals: engage a Swedish tax advisor to quantify all latent tax liabilities in the holding company
• Check the holding company's full tax history: CIT, VAT (moms), deferred tax on any unrealized property gains
• Review the basis for the company's property valuation; Swedish tax deductions on properties mean historical cost may be far below market value
• Run full SPA representations and warranties on the property-owning company's financial position

Environmental - EBH contamination register

• Search the EBH database (Efterbehandling - the Naturvårdsverket contamination risk register) for the property
• Contact the Länsstyrelsen (county administrative board) for their detailed records on the site
• Commission a Phase I ESA per Swedish environmental standards for any site with industrial or commercial heritage
• For Gothenburg (Hisingen, harbor areas), Malmö (Western Harbor industrial zone), and Sundsvall: order Phase II immediately
• Budget Phase II investigation (SEK 100,000-400,000) if Phase I identifies contamination indicators
• In Sweden, the liability for contamination remediation follows the polluter; confirm the historical user chain

Detailed plan - detaljplan

• Pull the detaljplan from the kommunens planarkiv (municipal plan archive) for the property
• Confirm the användning (permitted use) in the detaljplan: commercial (handel), industrial (industri), or mixed
• Check for pending planändringar (plan amendments) or new detaljplan proposals from the municipality
• Confirm the bygglov (building permit) for all current uses is current and on file with the municipality
• For development sites: confirm the planbesked (planning precondition decision) and any exploateringsavtal (development agreements)

Leases and tenancies

• Collect all hyresavtal (lease agreements) and confirm they comply with JB Chapter 12 (Jordabalkens hyresregler)
• Swedish commercial tenants have an indirect right of possession (indirekt besittningsskydd); landlords must follow strict procedures to terminate
• Confirm notice periods and renewal terms in each lease; failure to follow JB procedures can result in tenant compensation claims
• Cross-reference the hyresavisering (rent invoicing) against 12 months of actual payments
• Confirm moms (VAT) opt-in status for each commercial lease; VAT opt-in on commercial leases allows recovery of input VAT

Issue NDA-tracked links in Ellty when sharing lease files with multiple advisors. Each party gets a watermarked, scoped link; you see who opened what file and when.

Tomträtt - ground leasehold

• Confirm whether the land is held as tomträtt (municipal ground leasehold) or äganderätt (freehold) in the Lantmäteriet register
• Pull the tomträttsavtal (ground lease agreement) and confirm the avgäld (ground rent) and revision schedule
• Avgäld revision in Stockholm typically occurs every 10-20 years; a revision can significantly increase annual land costs
• Contact the relevant municipality (kommun) for the expected revision date and an indicative new avgäld
• Confirm any municipal approval required for transfer of the tomträtt

Energy declaration - energideklaration

• Confirm the energideklaration is registered with Boverket and is current (valid for 10 years from issue)
• Check the energy class (A to G) in the register; Swedish commercial buildings increasingly require A or B class for institutional buyer standards
• Commission an energy audit if the energideklaration shows class D or below; model renovation costs before bidding
• For office assets: confirm compliance with Swedish Miljöbyggnad or BREEAM standards if institutional investor reporting requires it

Stamp duty and VAT structure

• Confirm the deal structure and stämpelskatt implications with a Swedish tax advisor before LOI
• For direct asset deals: 4.25% stämpelskatt applies on the property value at transfer plus a Lantmäteriet fee
• For share deals: no stämpelskatt, but buyer assumes all historical tax and legal liabilities in the company
• Confirm moms (Swedish VAT) opt-in status on the property; if opted in, input VAT on costs is recoverable
• For properties with partial moms opt-in: check the fastighet's historical opt-in elections and any outstanding jämkningsskyldighet (adjustment obligations) on input VAT

Insurance and valuation

• Pull current insurance policies and 3-year loss run from the seller
• For northern Sweden (Norrland): confirm permafrost risk and ground settlement coverage
• Check flood risk via MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) national flood risk maps
• Order a valuation from a certified Swedish fastighetsvärderare or RICS member for lender requirements

Seller KYC and AML

• Pull a Bolagsverket extract (registreringsbevis) confirming the selling entity is in good standing
• Check the verkliga huvudmän register (Swedish UBO register) for all beneficial owners
• Swedish AML law (2017:630) requires real estate agents and lawyers to perform KYC and verify UBOs before any property transaction
• Run a sanctions and PEP check against the seller and all identified beneficial owners

How due diligence in Sweden works

Step 1 - Fastighetsregister and deal structure

Pull the Lantmäteriet fastighetsutdrag and confirm the deal structure simultaneously on day one. For most Swedish commercial transactions, the deal structure (share vs. asset) is the most consequential decision and it affects the due diligence scope entirely.

For share deals: engage a Swedish tax advisor immediately. The latent tax liability in the holding company (deferred tax on unrealized property gains, historical VAT positions) is the most material risk in the transaction and requires a full tax review of the company.

Step 2 - Environmental and EBH search

Run the EBH database search and contact Länsstyrelsen at the same time as the title search. Sweden's industrial heritage in Gothenburg, Malmö, Norrköping, and the Mälardalen region has produced significant contamination in many commercial zones.

Compare Norway's diligence framework if you hold Nordic portfolios. Both countries use contamination registers managed at the county level, and both require Phase I ESA as a standard pre-transaction step for any former industrial site.

Step 3 - Leases and VAT opt-in

Confirm the moms (VAT) opt-in status for each commercial lease in the first week. Swedish commercial landlords can opt into VAT on rental income, which allows recovery of input VAT on all building costs. Loss of opt-in - for example, when a non-VAT-registered tenant takes a vacancy - triggers input VAT repayment (jämkningsskyldighet).

The JB Chapter 12 tenant protection rules require strict notice procedures. Confirm the form and timing of all notice letters in each lease. Errors in notice procedure give Swedish commercial tenants grounds to claim compensation.

Step 4 - Tomträtt and avgäld

For any Stockholm or Gothenburg property on municipal land: check the Lantmäteriet entry for tomträtt. Municipal tomträtt avgäld revisions occur on 10-20 year cycles and can materially increase the effective land cost.

Load all tomträttsavtal, avgäld history, and municipality correspondence into Ellty. Tax advisors and legal counsel get tracked, scoped access. You see who reviewed each document before the SPA signature.

Step 5 - Köpebrev and Lantmäteriet registration

Swedish property transactions close with a köpebrev (purchase deed) signed by buyer and seller; no notary is required. For direct asset deals: the köpebrev is filed with Lantmäteriet for lagfart (title registration).

Lantmäteriet registration of lagfart typically takes 3-6 weeks. Stämpelskatt is payable on filing. For share deals: no Lantmäteriet filing is needed for the property itself, only the company share transfer.

What makes Sweden different

The share deal structure is the default in Swedish CRE, not the exception. Most institutional Swedish commercial transactions are structured as a sale of shares in the property-owning company to avoid 4.25% stämpelskatt. The trade-off is that the buyer inherits all historical liabilities in the company. Tax due diligence on the holding company is a mandatory component of every Swedish share deal.

VAT opt-in on commercial leases is pervasive in Sweden. For a property with VAT-opted leases, any vacancy taken by a non-VAT tenant triggers a jämkningsskyldighet (input VAT recapture) on the property-owning company. This risk needs to be quantified in the share deal financial model.

Tomträtt avgäld revisions in Stockholm hit buyers the same way erfpacht revisions do in Amsterdam: the revision is on a long cycle (10-20 years), the new amount is calculated from current land values, and the jump can be dramatic. Get the revision date and a municipality estimate before bidding on any Stockholm property with tomträtt.

Environmental contamination is taken seriously in Sweden and the regulatory process through Länsstyrelsen is methodical. For EBH-listed sites, a formal risk assessment and remediation plan is required before the site can be redeveloped; this adds significant time and cost to any brownfield acquisition.

Timeline and cost in Sweden

Weeks 1-2 cover kickoff: Lantmäteriet fastighetsutdrag, deal structure analysis (share vs. asset), EBH database and Länsstyrelsen search, detaljplan confirmation, moms opt-in review, and tomträtt avgäld check. Budget SEK 50,000-150,000 for this phase.

Load all files into Ellty before advisors arrive. Scoped, tracked links for each party remove at least one week of document request emails from a standard Swedish CRE diligence process.

Weeks 2-4 cover deep review: Phase I ESA delivery, energideklaration review, lease and JB compliance check, company tax history for share deals, avgäld revision date and estimate, and operating cost audit. Cost runs SEK 80,000-250,000 depending on complexity.

For share deals: full company tax due diligence adds SEK 50,000-150,000 in tax advisory costs and typically takes 2-3 weeks for a single-asset SPV with standard structure.

Weeks 4-6 handle resolution: Phase II if triggered, köpebrev drafting, Lantmäteriet filing for asset deals, and SPA signing for share deals. Lantmäteriet lagfart registration completes within 3-6 weeks of filing for direct asset transfers.

Sweden total acquisition cost: 4.25% stämpelskatt (direct asset deals only; avoided in share deals) + Lantmäteriet fee + legal fees SEK 150,000-500,000. Share deals eliminate stämpelskatt but add significant tax due diligence cost. For large Swedish commercial transactions, share deals almost always win the cost comparison.