The government’s proposal will provoke reactions. It makes it easier to evict families with children and it is a sensitive issue in Swedish politics.
According to the bailiff, 304 families with children were evicted last year because the family could not afford the rent. Current Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD) is one of those who pushed the issue of a zero vision against evicting families with children, but now his party seems to have made a complete U-turn.
But is the proposal as harsh as it sounds?
From the government’s side one emphasizes that this is about increasing security in vulnerable areas so that people who commit crimes in the immediate area can be evicted in the same way as those who disturb the neighbors in other ways can be evicted today.
The tenant is responsible for residents and others who live in the tenancy, and the tenant’s responsibility currently applies to everyone who lives there. Today, however, it is not permitted to evict tenants who commit crimes, unless the tenant or other residents of the apartment specifically use it for criminal activities.
The previous government appointed an investigation this summer with the aim of making it possible to evict tenants who commit crimes in the local area. That responsibility would also apply to residents but not the tenants’ children. This is what the government and the Sweden Democrats now want to change so that tenants can be evicted even if it is their children who commit crimes. If the children have younger siblings, the consequence will inevitably be that more families with children will be able to be evicted.
The government writes in the directives that the proposal must be proportionate. It should not apply to all crimes and examples given are people who carry weapons or sell drugs.
And which party has pushed this proposal the hardest?
One might think that it is an example of the government giving in to Sweden Democratic demands, but that is not true. Originally a Liberal proposal from 2021, part of the party’s long-term crackdown on deprived areas. The moderates caught on and have pushed the issue ahead of the election.
And apparently they have now also brought the Christian Democrats with them, despite the social minister’s previous demand for a zero vision.