Setting up home in Sweden – electricity, broadband, a phone number, insurance and recycling
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
You have the keys, a mattress on the floor and no idea who supplies the power. This part walks you through the contracts and habits of a Swedish home – from choosing an electricity deal by postcode to the deposit on your drink cans – so nothing arrives later as a surprise bill.
Once you have somewhere to live (part 5 of this series covers the hunt), a quieter list begins: electricity, internet, a phone number, insurance and the bins in the basement. None of it is difficult, but each item has a Swedish twist. Here is what to sort out in your first weeks, and why.
Electricity: start with your price area
Sweden is divided into four elområden (electricity price areas), from SE1 in the north to SE4 in the south, according to Energimarknadsinspektionen (the energy markets regulator). The division dates from 2011. Prices can differ between the areas because the transmission grid cannot always carry as much power as is demanded; when such a bottleneck appears, the price rises in the area where demand exceeds supply. Where your electricity company has its office does not matter. Your address does.
| Price area | Named after | Position |
|---|---|---|
| SE1 | Luleå | Northernmost |
| SE2 | Sundsvall | Second from the north |
| SE3 | Stockholm | Second from the south |
| SE4 | Malmö | Southernmost |
Source: Energimarknadsinspektionen, read 22 September 2026.
To compare elavtal (electricity contracts), use Elpriskollen, the comparison service run by Energimarknadsinspektionen. It describes itself as Sweden's only independent comparison site for electricity contracts and says it earns nothing from your choice. You enter the postcode of the address where you want the contract, and it shows offers for the right price area.
The map may change. In May 2026 the government widened an assignment to Svenska kraftnät (the national grid authority) to analyse the price-area division again, with a report due by 29 January 2027. Nothing has changed yet.
Broadband and a Swedish phone number
Broadband is where it pays to ask before you shop. Ask your landlord or housing association whether a connection is already included in the rent or the monthly fee, which network runs in the building, and how residents order a service. The answers tell you whether you need a contract at all.
Prepaid cards are no longer anonymous
While you wait for a personnummer (personal identity number, see part 3), a kontantkort (prepaid SIM card) is the natural stopgap for a phone or mobile broadband. It may not work the way it does in your home country. Under a law based on government bill 2021/22:183, every prepaid card for mobile phone or mobile broadband must be registered with the subscriber's name, address and an identification number, according to Post- och telestyrelsen, PTS (the telecoms regulator). The purpose, PTS says, is to prevent and fight crime.
| What PTS says | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| All prepaid cards for mobile or mobile broadband must be registered | You cannot buy and use a Swedish prepaid card anonymously |
| Registration covers name, address and an identification number | A personnummer, a samordningsnummer (coordination number) or another identification number |
| The card cannot be used until it is registered and activated | Sort out registration before you need the number |
| A card may not be passed on unless it is first re-registered | Do not simply take over a friend's or a previous tenant's card |
| Operators must keep subscriber data confidential | Exception: when a crime is suspected, law enforcement can request data such as name, address and number |
Source: Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS), read 22 September 2026.
In practice: ask the seller or operator how registration works and which identification they accept before you pay, especially if you do not yet have a Swedish number of any kind.
Home insurance: assume you need your own
Everyone who lives in Sweden needs a hemförsäkring (home insurance), whether they rent, own an apartment or live in a house, according to Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå (the consumers' insurance advice bureau). It is more than cover for your belongings. The bureau points out that home insurance also gives you travel cover, legal expenses cover, liability cover and assault cover.
| Your housing | What Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå says |
|---|---|
| Rental apartment on a first-hand contract (förstahandskontrakt) | Always have your own home insurance, whether you live alone or with family |
| Owned apartment (bostadsrätt) | Add a bostadsrättstillägg (supplement for owned apartments) for complete cover |
| Sublet (andrahand) or lodger (inneboende) | Get your own policy – you are normally not covered by your landlord's insurance, since you do not share a household |
| House (villa) | Home insurance is needed here too |
Source: Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå, read 22 September 2026.
The sublet row matters most in your first year: if you rent a room or a sublet, your landlord's insurance does not protect your belongings or cover your liability. Part 5 explains the new private letting law in force from 1 July 2026.
The TV fee you pay through your tax
There is no separate TV licence bill to wait for. Since 1 January 2019, the public service-avgift (public service fee) has replaced the old radio and TV fee paid to Radiotjänst, and Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) collects it through your tax. You will not receive a payment slip.
| Public service fee, income year 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maximum per person and year | 1,184 kronor |
| Taxable earned income below 118,428 kronor a year | 1 per cent of that income instead |
| How you pay | Automatically through your tax – no payment slips |
Source: Skatteverket, read 22 September 2026.
The fee is charged per person. If you arrive late in the year and your taxable earned income stays below 118,428 kronor, you pay 1 per cent of it instead of the maximum.
Recycling and the deposit on bottles and cans
Before you fill your first bag, ask your landlord or housing association where the waste room is and how it is sorted – bins and labels differ from building to building. Drink containers run on a separate system: cans and PET bottles in the deposit scheme carry pant (a deposit), which you get back when you return them.
| Container | Deposit (pant) |
|---|---|
| Cans | 2 kronor |
| Small PET bottles | 2 kronor |
| Large PET bottles | 3 kronor |
Source: Pantamera/Returpack, read 22 September 2026.
The amounts are set by the board of Returpack, not by the state. A bottle or can still gives a deposit for two years after the product has stopped being sold, as long as its barcode (EAN code) is still registered as active. Since 2023, all saft (squash) and juice products are included; before that, joining the system was voluntary for them.
Systembolaget: 20, and bring physical ID
You become an adult at 18 in Sweden, and from then on you may buy alcohol in a restaurant. At Systembolaget, the alcohol retailer, the limit is 20. Staff will not sell to anyone under 20, to anyone who is drunk or under the influence, or when they suspect langning (buying on behalf of someone who may not buy).
You must show ID when you collect a prepaid order in a shop and when you receive a home delivery. In autumn 2026 Systembolaget does not accept digital ID cards, because it is harder to tell whether they are genuine. Buying for a business that will serve the alcohol on – a restaurant, a festival, a company event – requires a serveringstillstånd (licence to serve alcohol) issued by the municipality.
| Date | Systembolaget shops |
|---|---|
| Saturday 31 October 2026 (All Saints' Day) | Closed |
| Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 December | Open until at least 19:00 |
| 24, 25 and 26 December | Closed |
| 29 and 30 December | Open until at least 19:00 |
| Thursday 31 December (New Year's Eve) | Open until 15:00 |
| Friday 1 January (New Year's Day) | Closed |
Source: Systembolaget, read 22 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find your price area and compare electricity contracts on Elpriskollen by postcode | Before you move in |
| 2 | Ask the landlord or housing association about broadband and the waste room | At key handover |
| 3 | Buy and register a prepaid card – bring your ID | First week |
| 4 | Take out your own home insurance, with the bostadsrätt supplement if you own | Before moving day |
| 5 | Save cans and PET bottles for the 2–3 kronor deposit | Every week |
| 6 | Consumer questions or a dispute: Hallå konsument, Konsumentverket's advice line, 0771-525 525 | When something goes wrong |
Source: Energimarknadsinspektionen, PTS, Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå, Skatteverket, Pantamera/Returpack and Konsumentverket, read 22 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 22 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Skatteverket – Public service-avgift · skatteverket.se
- Energimarknadsinspektionen (Ei) – Elområden · ei.se
- Elpriskollen.se (Energimarknadsinspektionen) · elpriskollen.se
- Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS) – Kontantkort · pts.se
- Konsumenternas Försäkringsbyrå – Hemförsäkringar · konsumenternas.se
- Pantamera / Returpack · pantamera.nu
- Systembolaget – Kundservice · systembolaget.se
- Systembolaget – Kundservice · systembolaget.se
- Systembolaget – Kundservice · systembolaget.se
- Systembolaget – Öppettider under storhelger · systembolaget.se
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.