It was last year that a woman got stuck in the elevator in her apartment building in Stockholm. A few months later, a juicy invoice landed in the mailbox.
– I have never seen a tenant have to pay 80,000 after getting stuck in an elevator, says Jens Wahlströmlawyer at the Tenants’ Association in Region Stockholm, to the newspaper Home & Rent.
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“Screaming and calling for help”
The woman – whom we can call Sonja, was not the only one stuck. A heavily pregnant woman and a small boy were also in the elevator.
– I got scared and don’t remember everything that happened, says Sonja in an interview with Hem & Hyra
She also says that when no one came to help, the worry started to degenerate.
– Some screamed and called for help, she says.
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Forced to fine 80,000 kroner
When help did not come, Sonja called the emergency phone, and after an hour they were helped out by a man. Just a few months later, Sonja got a shock when Ikano Bostad sent her an invoice for SEK 79,162 “for damage to the elevator and elevator car on December 18, 2023”.
– When I called the company and told them that I hadn’t destroyed anything, they just said “who else would it have been?”, Sonja tells Hem & Hyra.
Jens Wahlström, who will be Sonja’s representative, has asked her to dispute the claim.
– The only thing Sonja can do is continue to dispute the demands against her. If Ikano Bostad finally chooses to take this to court, they need to be able to explain why she has to pay and also prove that she destroyed the lift. Then it is not enough to just state things, says Wahlström.
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Landlord’s response
In an email to Hem & Hyra, the company’s communications manager writes Charlotte Kjellberg that they consider that the tenant was responsible for the damage, and should therefore contact their home insurance company. Jens Wahlström believes that this is very remarkable, as there is nothing to prove that Sonja should have been the cause of the injuries.
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