This year, 34-year-old Sarah Olsson’s rent for the second apartment in Ånge was increased by 5.3 percent, to SEK 5,590. That is an increase of just under SEK 300 a month. For the mother of four, who already had a tough financial situation before, it makes a big difference, which Hem og Hyra was the first to tell.
– It doesn’t sound like much, but you can feel it, she tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Now Sarah Olsson, who has four children between the ages of two and ten, is forced to cut back on things like ice cream, Saturday sweets and leisure activities for the children. After expenses for rent, food, electricity, and loans, there is not much left. She was previously a student, and has just started a job as a nurse.
– It feels like in the mother’s heart, that you want to treat them to those things, but you can’t afford it.
“They will be very sad”
Sarah says she has explained the situation to her children and talks about the reactions.
– They get really sad, you’ve heard that: “We don’t get anything”, it feels a lot, it does.
Summer is approaching in Ånge and some holiday plans must now also be put on hold.
– We had planned to go down to Kolmården this summer, but it won’t happen, because we can’t afford it. It was also something we could do before, but it’s tough now.
Instead, Sarah says that she will come up with free activities in Ånge and around with the children.
“It’s just to accept”
Communication with the landlord Ånge property and industrial joint stock company, Åfa, has been scarce. Notes were put in the mailbox and posted on the gates about this year’s rent increase. Sarah believes that even if she had initiated dialogue, it would not have led to any reduction.
– I feel that I can’t do much, I just have to accept.
However, she does not think that she will be forced to move out at the moment. The children, who live with her ex-husband, spend a lot of time at Sarah’s house, and then the space is needed.
– I will probably be able to stay here. I feel that there is probably no point in moving if I am going to be able to take care of the children as well. In that case, it will be down to one, and I don’t have room for children there.