The Swedish Enforcement Authority warns that more than one family with children was evicted per day in the first half of 2024. This represents an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year and the development is described as “deeply worrying”.
188 families with children were evicted in the first six months of the year – out of a total of 1579 evictions carried out. This is a significant increase from 167 families with children evicted in the same period in 2023, when a total of 342 children lost their homes.
– It is deeply worrying that the number of children affected by evictions remains at such a high level. Every child affected by an eviction is in a very vulnerable situation, regardless of whether they live full-time or part-time with the parent being evicted”, said Davor Vuleta, private finance spokesperson at the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden), in a press release.
It is noteworthy that evictions decreased until 2007 – before they started to increase again. Since 2018, there has been an increase of almost 40% in Sweden – which is partly explained by the fact that many people are in a tougher financial situation than before.
– Financial pressures on households remain high. We know that most people prioritize paying their rent, but continued high costs mean that more people are at risk of falling behind on their payments, says Vuleta.
– It is important that families with children who are being evicted get the help they need, says Davor Vuleta. When children are involved, social services are always engaged, he continues.
Abuse and mental illness
Since 2022, the Swedish Enforcement Authority has had a government assignment to “strengthen local collaboration on prevention” – in other words, landlords and social services must work together to try to enable tenants to stay in their homes.
– If the landlord contacts the tenant at the first rent default and tries to find a solution together, the risk of it going as far as eviction is much lower. For example, you can agree on an installment plan, or offer budget counseling. There may also be mental illness or some form of substance abuse involved, in which case social services must step in with various support measures, says Kim Jonsson, project manager at the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
– We want to encourage landlords and social services that have not yet started local collaboration to take the step. It is no more difficult than booking an initial meeting and discussing what the collaboration should look like, she continues.
