Form a community association

• It is easy to get a loan from the bank because banks get a very good security for loans to a community association.
• The association has a preferential right to claim amounts that have been taxed (fees to the association) on owners of co-owner property.
• With good legal certainty, the co-owners can jointly decide on operating and maintenance costs.

A community association is a prerequisite for efficient and legally secure management of joint facilities that for example, roads, water and sewage systems, green areas and playgrounds, garages and parking lots, energy facilities, boat docks and bathing areas, stairwells and lifts.

A community association is a democratic organization with approved statutes where every co-owner has the right to influence . The activity governed by the law (1973: 1150) on the management of communities (new window) . Decisions made apply even if not everyone agrees. The decisions can be appealed to the Land and Environment Court.

Anyone who owns a property that has a share in the community or community facility is a member of the community association. The property owner is automatically a member of the community association that manages the community. Which properties have a share in a community is stated in the Property Register.

You can call Lantmäteriet 's customer center, 0771-63 63 63, and ask if your property has a share in any community facility or community.

The National Land Survey is the meeting leader for forming a community association. This means that the surveying authority investigates who should be part of the community association and convenes a meeting. At the meeting of the surveying authority minutes and the members elect the board and adopt bylaws. After the meeting, the surveying authority applies for registration of the association in the community association register .

A community association can not be formed at a meeting that the co-owners hold on their own unless it is about a transition from certain older forms of administration.

The National Land Survey is in some cases obliged to form a community association even without an application from a partner, which then takes place in connection with the creation of the administrative object.

If an application to appoint another as chair of a meeting for the formation of a community association is received, the surveying authority shall examine whether the person can be considered suitable. If the person is deemed suitable, notification must be sent to the co-owners. The Surveying and Mapping Authority must then investigate who is to take part in the community association in order to be able to inform those concerned. The co-owners then have some time to comment on whether it is appropriate to appoint the person. Thereafter, the surveying authority makes a decision to appoint the person. The decision is notified and it is possible to appeal the decision within three weeks from the day the appellant received the decision. If no one appeals, the decision becomes final and the appointed person can then start the task of investigating co-owners and convening a meeting. The time for processing is Lantmäteriet paid for.

Registration of the community association must be done by the community association register which is managed by Lantmäteriet . The application fee for registration must be paid in advance.

Payment by the appointed chair of the meeting is made by agreement between the applicant and the appointed and thus does not take place through Lantmäteriet . 

If the meeting for the formation of a community association takes place in Lantmäteriet 's premises, it means a lower cost for the assignment. Lantmäteriet charges for travel to the place where the meeting is to be held. (Can in itself mean cost for the co-owners to go to Lantmäteriet so think about what you think is best).

About Lantmäteriet has a reasonably large room available so the meeting can be held there at no extra cost. If, on the other hand, there is no such thing and the rental of premises must take place, then Lantmäteriet must pay for the rental cost. Maybe you have proposals for premises where it is appropriate to hold the meeting?

Meetings that are then to be held regularly by the community association can be freely decided by the association. It is possible to call to the place that suits and it does not need to be stated in the statutes but only in the notice of the meeting.

There are so-called standard statutes to start from.

1. the association's company name,
2. community managed by the association and the foundations for the administration,
3. the place where the board shall have its seat,
4. how the board shall be composed and how it shall be appointed and the basis for its quorum,
5. how the board's administration shall be audited,
6. the association's accounting period,
7. the grounds for such fund allocation as referred to in section 19, second paragraph,
8. how often the annual general meeting shall be held and
9. the manner in which notice of the general meeting shall be given and other announcements brought to the members' notice also as the time before the meeting when the notice of the action is to be taken at the latest.

There are good explanations in the comments to the standard statutes. There you can get help with how to fill in the form:

Normal statutes for community associations (docx in Swedish, new window) Word document for printing (without supporting texts): Normal statutes for community associations (docx in Sweish, new window)

Normal statutes for community associations, in Swedish (pdf, new window)

However, the comment and the statutes do not give a complete picture of how the association's work should be conducted. Lantmäteriet can answer general questions about the content of the standard statutes but not questions about how these should be applied in individual cases.

To keep labor costs down, there are some things you can prepare for:

• If it is a large association that is to be formed, it may be a good idea to appoint a working group to have a dialogue with The Swedish Surveying and Mapping Authority.
• You can make proposals on who should be on the board.
• You can go through the normal statutes to see if you can already state in connection with the application how you wish that the statutes should look like.
• You can produce contact information and preferably email addresses that can be used to use as a communication channel.
• When it is time for notices with service to be sent out so can you help to remind them to send in or notify the surveying authority that they have been notified. This is so that the service will be successful and we can know that everyone has been summoned to the meeting in the right order so that we do not have to send out new summonses.

Whoever is:

• Adult
• Does not have a trustee in accordance with Chapter 11, Section 7 of the Parental Code
• Declares himself willing to undertake the assignment

You do not have to be a member of the association to be elected an official.

The person who is to be elected to the board must be able to present a certificate of trustee freedom. It is available via the respective municipality's website under the heading Supervisor. It costs nothing.

The chief guardian is listed in a register of guardians and they can also produce a certificate that you do not have a trustee.

If someone specifically asks for it or if someone has not submitted a custodial certificate within a certain time from the meeting, Lantmäteriet will pay for the work of obtaining the custodial certificate required.

The cost consists of three parts:

• a cost per hour for the time we spend helping you form the community association, SEK 1,000 per hour.
• 4,600 kronor to register the association in the Community Association Register.
• any costs for premises and the time the trip takes.

You do not pay VAT.

When the assignment is complete and the association is formed, Lantmäteriet sends the bill directly to the association.

Should the applicant on the other hand, withdraw the application and it is the applicant who must bear the costs that have arisen so far.

Read more about law on community management (new window) and what it says about the payment obligation for the applicant and the association.

• If you are dissatisfied with the actual formation of the association, you should bring an action against the other shareholders in a dispute, see law on community management (opens in new window) 15 §. This is done directly to the Land and Environment Court.
• If you are dissatisfied with the work of the board, you must bring an action against the other shareholders in a civil case, see section 15 of the Act on the Management of Communities. This is done to the Land and Environment Court directly.
• If you are dissatisfied with the decision to appoint a special chair of the meeting, it must be appealed to the Administrative Court within 3 weeks from the day you received the decision. The appeal is submitted to the Administrative Court but sent to Lantmäteriet for review if the appeal was made in due time.
• If you are dissatisfied with the cost of formation, you must bring an action against Lantmäteriet in a civil case through a summary process with the Enforcement Officer or directly to a general court in civil cases.

For the purposes of the Act (1973: 1150) on the management of the community, community shall be considered

• community according to the Real Estate Development Act (1970: 988), also called common land, ie land that belongs to several properties jointly
• other land that jointly belongs to the owners of the listed properties in a parish. This means such land which is managed by mantal municipality but not formally incorporated into the community
• easement or other special right belonging to several properties jointly. The law applies to common rights and easements regardless of whether they have been added according to the property formation legislation or through civil law agreements
• community according to the Civil Engineering Act (1973: 1149), is also called community facility A community facility refers to a facility that is common to several properties and that fulfills purposes of permanent importance to them. Examples of community facilities include a parking facility, connecting link, courtyard space and playground; water supply or sewerage system, pipeline, heating system and laundry: facilities for leisure purposes such as jetty, marina and outdoor swimming pool; central antenna, garbage room, fence, electric engine heater, etc.
• community according to the law (1998: 812) with special provisions on water activities.

Since 1 July 2020, social security numbers must be stated for board members and deputies. The system detects whether a person has a protected identity or not.