Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure SE-2022-12/2346 – measures in Sweden
Country | Sweden , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 15 March 2022 |
Context | War in Ukraine |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Measures to prevent social hardship
– Keeping or obtaining a safe home |
Author | Anna-Karin Gustafsson (Oxford Research) and Eurofound |
Measure added | 19 May 2022 (updated 20 June 2022) |
Sweden is welcoming refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine in accordance with the EU Directive on Temporary Protection 2001/55/EC. In order to provide housing rapidly to those seeking temporary protection in Sweden, the government has decided to grant municipalities exceptions to the requirements in the Planning and Building Act 2010/900 (plan- och bygglagen). Similar exceptions have preciously been made for persons seeking asylum, but not for temporary protection.
Due to the amendment, the government can decide on exemptions from, for example, the requirement for a building permit in order to arrange temporary accommodation for those who are now seeking protection in Sweden under the EU Directive on Temporary Protection 2001/55/EC.
The government has also decided on two regulations that abolish the requirement for building permits and created exemptions from certain other rules in the planning and building regulations when a municipality is to arrange arrival accommodation for refugees, or when state authorities such as the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) are to establish accommodation facilities.
It will be possible to apply the exemptions retroactively to initiatives starting before the exemption measure was entered into force, but 15 March the earliest. The retroactivity means that the municipalities and state authorities concerned can in disregard the obstacle that the current provisions in the Planning and Building Act may pose, even before the exemptions have formally entered into force.
Not available at this stage.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Does not apply to workers |
Sector specific set of companies
|
Migrants or refugees
|
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Local / regional government |
No special funding required
|
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Consulted | Consulted |
Form | Direct consultation outside a formal body | Direct consultation outside a formal body |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
Relevant trade unions and employers organisations were consulted by the government and have left a statement regarding the amendment.
Both the employers organisation the Swedish Construction Federation (Byggföretagen) and the trade union Architects Sweden (Sveriges Arkitekter) saw the measure as necessary and welcomed it, but wanted to underline the need of the exemptions to be of temporary nature.
This case is sector-specific
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
F - Construction | F41 Construction of buildings |
This case is not occupation-specific.
Citation
Eurofound (2022), Exemptions in building regulations to facilitate temporary housing for refugees, measure SE-2022-12/2346 (measures in Sweden), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/SE-2022-12_2346.html
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30 January 2023
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