The members’ overnight accommodation
Members of the Riksdag who have further than 50 kilometres from their place of work to the Riksdag are entitled to overnight accommodation. Here the rules and procedures that apply to members’ overnight accommodation are described.
For members to be entitled to overnight accommodation, their place of work must be further than 50 kilometres from the Riksdag. This means that the member must be registered as resident more than 50 kilometres from the Riksdag and the address at which they are registered as resident must be a home that is equipped for permanent use for the member and any family members.
If the Riksdag Administration does not have enough overnight accommodation for all of the members who are entitled to overnight accommodation, or if there are special grounds relating to the member’s personal circumstances, members are instead entitled to compensation for costs for overnight accommodation that they have arranged themselves.
A member may choose to do without overnight accommodation and instead receive compensation for a hotel room in Stockholm on a few occasions. A precondition for this is that it does not involve added costs for the Riksdag Administration compared to what it would cost to provide overnight accommodation from the Riksdag for the member.
The Riksdag Administration’s overnight accommodation
The Riksdag Administration has a number of overnight flats. The flats have basic furnishings and cooking facilities.
The members stay free of charge in accommodation owned or rented by the Riksdag Administration. The Riksdag Administration distributes the overnight accommodation to the party groups in the Riksdag, based on the number of members in each party that are entitled to overnight accommodation. The party groups then distribute the accommodation among their members.
Members are to apply to the Riksdag Administration for overnight accommodation ahead of each Riksdag session, and in their applications they must confirm that they meet the criteria for receiving overnight accommodation.
Family members who stay overnight
Members of the Riksdag can let close family members stay overnight in the overnight accommodation. Members must pay a charge for each such overnight stay. Children under the age of 18 may stay overnight free of charge. In connection with the opening of the Riksdag session and other official events, close family members can stay overnight free of charge.
Close family members includes the member’s spouse, cohabiting partner, live-apart partner and children. However, it does not include parents, other relatives or friends of the member.
Close family members are not permitted to stay overnight on their own for more than one or two nights. Others besides close family members, such as relatives and friends, are only permitted to stay overnight on short visits. These visitors may not stay overnight in the overnight accommodation on their own.
Private overnight accommodation
Private overnight accommodation can include accommodation that the member owns or rents or sublet property. The overnight accommodation must be situated no more than 50 kilometres from the Riksdag.
A member can only receive compensation for private overnight accommodation if the Riksdag Administration is unable to provide overnight accommodation from its own supply or if there are special grounds for allowing this. Special grounds may include illness, disability, family circumstances or similar conditions involving special housing requirements.
Special rules apply to members who already received ongoing monthly compensation for private accommodation on 1 July 2022 when the new rules came into force. These members will continue to receive compensation for their private accommodation, provided that they meet the requirements for the right to overnight accommodation, that is, that their place of work is more than 50 kilometres from the Riksdag.
The current ceiling for compensation is SEK 9,000 per month. If the members share their overnight accommodation with someone else, they are reimbursed for their part of the accommodation costs. If electricity is not included in the rent, members also receive SEK 300 per month in compensation for electricity costs.
Members who own the flat themselves receive compensation for the monthly charge to the tenant-owner association, but not for any mortgage or interest costs.
Members wishing to receive compensation for private overnight accommodation must apply for this ahead of each Riksdag session and submit proof of their costs. If a member changes accommodation or some other change occurs that affects the compensation, the member is to submit a new application.
Applicable rules
The rules that apply to leave, attendance and absence are set out in the following laws and regulations (in Swedish):