How long do you have to wait in line for a rental apartment in your country?

[Lochton]

If you are bumped up is that's why the line for anyone else can last year's?

The wait time can be shortened on many factors, but people search for specific homes. There is a shorter wait on 2 bedroom apartments, while longer on 3 and 4 which is why families get bumped up the list on 3 and 4 bedroom apartments, 5 and 6 are short wait too but too expensive to live in for the average city family. Then it is down to location. If you wish to live in a big city, then you need to wait longer for you can't just build new homes there, if you wish to live in the outskirts, shorter wait and so on.

Denmark's homeless population is VERY small compared to our population, and a grain of sand compared to the US.

In 2019, there were 5.8 million people living in Denmark, out of that number, only 6.431 were homeless for various reasons. These numbers consist of people who have chosen to not be part of the main whole or chosen to be 'free'. You can't solve problems that do not wish to be solved though. And if these wish to be part of the society, they can go to the local office of where they are currently and request help to be housed and request benefits. They hardly take spots from the queue from others when there is thousands of housing queue listings.

Why not build additional housing for everyone?

This statement sounds really uncomfortable. Building new is not always the answer. Especially not when you are in a small country. As well, you have to remember, queues are made for people waiting for homes to be constructed too, or waiting to have money for it, or waiting for the place to be renovated.

[Jastall]

I've never heard of such wait. Here in Canada most renting is done privately, and when I got my last apartment it was literally a matter of days; I visited it on a Thurdsay, sent all the relevant info the following day and was signing my bail next Tuesday. I know there are some city-owned apartment but, to put it bluntly, most of them aren't the best you could find. I don't know what system is in place for these.

Of course, the cost of rent is another matter. If you try to rent in Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver you won't necessarily have to wait long, but you will have to cough out the big bucks, and gentrification of districts pushing rent up is a real problem in all these cities.

[Katchii]

I've never even heard of this. Where I live, you go looking, see if one has a vacancy now or anytime soon, if there's on available you could move in right away. Otherwise you just have to wait until there's a vacancy available which could be a few weeks or possibly months, but there's no "line" there's just a wait if there's no currently available units.

[Milchshake]

Not that bad. I got approved by the Presidio really fast.


But then I failed all of the roommate interviews. Because I was talking shit about hipsters and beer snobs.

[Doctor Amadeus]

It was the 6th word of the OP for starters..

The Thread question is "How-long-do-you-have-to-wait-in-line-for-a-rental-apartment-in-your-country"

[Wilian]

rabblerabblerabble murica rabblerabblerabble fuckyeah rabblerabblerabblerabble bootstraps rabblerabblerabblerabble

I am glad you clearly understand the words you lay out so publicly.

[Muzjhath]

That's fascinating. Why is the wait so long? And this is in Sweden - is this situation typical for the larger cities in the whole country? Do more people buy than rent? And where are the people going who move out to open up a space for incoming renters?

So, in the specific case of Stockholm the lines are long for several reasons.
The biggest one is that lots of people keep places that they don't live in after moving to a better place, or away. Either they rent it out second hand or it sits empty with them visiting "enough" to not break contract of non-use. (Renting second hand in this way is illegal but people do it as most get away with it). They sit on them because one day they "might want to move back" or "the kids might one day need it". There is a large amount of technically empty rental apartments in stockholm that should go to new renters.

So, I believe that people who live in appartments it's more common to rent than to own, even if I believe ownership has been going up the last twenty years. Single houses are far more common to own than to rent.

As for how it works.
There is a que, or in the case of Stockholm several.
You sign up that you want a place. You put in some parameters. Size wishes, people, age. Then you wait.
Everytime an apartment is empty you can put a request in. The number you are in the que (this is gross simplification, but look at it as "time here") is your number. If someone has a higher number, they are before you. Person with highest number has first pick. I believe they can refuse and they'll get a slight subtraction on their number for next time as it shows they aren't desperate. But if the number 1 person doesn't take it it goes to number 2, repeat until someone takes it. If you are number 4000 in the que it'll take a lot of refusals to trickle down.
This is the basics.
People who move out.
Either move to a better rented place, because they signed right back up to the que as they got the place, which everyone in Stockholm does for that one day they might need it, or they move to someplace they bought. The idea is that people move to a small place, then when they become a family they move to a bigger place the smaller getting back to the market, then that permutates more as time goes on.
But everyone stays in the que because that one amazing place might show up. And lots of people just sit on decent appartments because they might need them again.

The second thing is how it works everywhere. But Stockholm has compounted issues. One, it isn't one municipality, it is several (imagine New York and it's boroughs, or London and the same). The partitions of "Stockholm" propper and what are technically subburbs can be very indistinct. So people can be in multiple ques that seem the same.
But the answer to the "where do people move out to" is generally "other rented, but better, apartments".

[Bluespiderman57]

Here in my city in Sweden you have to wait 6~ years just for the pleasure to live in the worst areas. 10-12 for the better ones. I managed to get an apartment through trading with another, but in the queue system where I've been standing for 7 years I'm in the kind of okay but still not-areas.

In Stockholm it's worse. Then it's like 10 years for the worst and 20-25 for the central parts.

Even in smaller cities I hear the waiting time is growing, to like 5 years for central parts.

So parents put their kids in queue the moment they turn 18, and until they get their own apartment it's second hand renting through others, which they are only allowed to rent for a year before it's time for the next second hand apartment, or if they have rich parents the parents buy them one.

That is really crazy. As has been said a couple times before, in the US it doesn't take long at all. Hell, the first apartment I moved into during university was a super cheap, 2 bedroom, rent controlled place and was only a 2 minute drive from campus. One would think that rent controlled apartment would be a bit harder to get, but nope. Moved in within a week, no problem. Was a fairly nice place too.

[Forogil]

I think he's talking about social and government owned housing or something?

I checked: all rental apartments in Sweden are rent controlled (not only social and government owned housing) with low prices; so instead of paying higher rent people have to stand in queue (or find another solution). https://www.mortgagebrokers.ie/housi...europe-sweden/ https://theeconomicstandard.com/rent...erywhere-else/ or from the other side https://www.sverigesallmannytta.se/i...ing-in-sweden/

[Deathknightish]

Sounds thus like there are plenty of available apartments, just that the extra administrative work and bureaucracy causes people having to wait forever, because government as usual is slow as fuck and incompetentefficient. Meanwhile small home-owners and beginning landlords are robbed from potential income(?), making it yet another market where the big companies and corporations receive an edge on small or beginning entrepreneurs.

They don't build enough, that's the main problem.

We also don't have small home-owners and landlords, as it's not like in other countries where one person owns one apartment in one building who someone else owns and rents it out. Here, one renting company owns a whole building and rents out every apartment.

[Sunseeker]

Wait times for "public housing", that is, apartments and homes owned by the HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) can be pretty long, depending on your area, the USA is a big place, so wait times vary and people with higher need (disabled, elderly, with children, etc...) can jump ahead in line. Otherwise there's always privately-owned rentals available, though they're often expensive for low quality.

[cubby]

So, in the specific case of Stockholm the lines are long for several reasons.
The biggest one is that lots of people keep places that they don't live in after moving to a better place, or away. Either they rent it out second hand or it sits empty with them visiting "enough" to not break contract of non-use. (Renting second hand in this way is illegal but people do it as most get away with it). They sit on them because one day they "might want to move back" or "the kids might one day need it". There is a large amount of technically empty rental apartments in stockholm that should go to new renters.

So, I believe that people who live in appartments it's more common to rent than to own, even if I believe ownership has been going up the last twenty years. Single houses are far more common to own than to rent.

As for how it works.
There is a que, or in the case of Stockholm several.
You sign up that you want a place. You put in some parameters. Size wishes, people, age. Then you wait.
Everytime an apartment is empty you can put a request in. The number you are in the que (this is gross simplification, but look at it as "time here") is your number. If someone has a higher number, they are before you. Person with highest number has first pick. I believe they can refuse and they'll get a slight subtraction on their number for next time as it shows they aren't desperate. But if the number 1 person doesn't take it it goes to number 2, repeat until someone takes it. If you are number 4000 in the que it'll take a lot of refusals to trickle down.
This is the basics.
People who move out.
Either move to a better rented place, because they signed right back up to the que as they got the place, which everyone in Stockholm does for that one day they might need it, or they move to someplace they bought. The idea is that people move to a small place, then when they become a family they move to a bigger place the smaller getting back to the market, then that permutates more as time goes on.
But everyone stays in the que because that one amazing place might show up. And lots of people just sit on decent appartments because they might need them again.

The second thing is how it works everywhere. But Stockholm has compounted issues. One, it isn't one municipality, it is several (imagine New York and it's boroughs, or London and the same). The partitions of "Stockholm" propper and what are technically subburbs can be very indistinct. So people can be in multiple ques that seem the same.
But the answer to the "where do people move out to" is generally "other rented, but better, apartments".

Thanks for that explanation - sounds like a complicated but workable system. And if I understand correctly, would probably work pretty well except for those people who move out and keep their old apartments "just in case".

What is the home buying market like there? If you're in a rental but looking to buy, I understand a person might have to come up with quite a large down payment.

(also - sounds like you also understand at least how the States' work - just open apartments you can get pretty much any time - not too many, not too few - mostly; I can elaborate if you want though)

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Wait times for "public housing", that is, apartments and homes owned by the HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) can be pretty long, depending on your area, the USA is a big place, so wait times vary and people with higher need (disabled, elderly, with children, etc...) can jump ahead in line. Otherwise there's always privately-owned rentals available, though they're often expensive for low quality.

Damn - great point. I hate to say it but I forgot about those. Section-8 as well. Long line and waiting list - but the rents are substantially lower (in most cases).

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We also don't have small home-owners and landlords, as it's not like in other countries where one person owns one apartment in one building who someone else owns and rents it out. Here, one renting company owns a whole building and rents out every apartment.

Are you saying that's never the case - single apartment owners renting out only their apartment in a bigger building? We have large corporations that own dozens of buildings and rent them all out. But of course, we have the opposite, large apartment buildings where each apartment is owned by an individual, and they either live there or rent it out (we usually call them Condos).

[Deathknightish]

Are you saying that's never the case - single apartment owners renting out only their apartment in a bigger building? We have large corporations that own dozens of buildings and rent them all out. But of course, we have the opposite, large apartment buildings where each apartment is owned by an individual, and they either live there or rent it out (we usually call them Condos).

There are people who rent out their bought apartment (again, you don't really own your apartment here, just the right to it), but they need the building association's permission, and they can only do it for a limited time. When it comes to rental apartments, you are alowed to rent out your apartment second hand for one year, but it only gets accepted by the rental company for a few reasons, such as studying in another city, trying out living together with your partner or going to another country for a year. When that year is out, you must make a decision to either move back to your apartment, or give it up.

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You acknowledge that is an issue, yeah?

When a part of a market as product or service provider is non-accessible for small or beginning entrepreneurs / common people.

Not really, because the issue is that there aren't enough buildings being built, not too few people renting. There are thousands of different companies, both private and municipal, waiting to get their hands on new apartments.

[Muzjhath]

Thanks for that explanation - sounds like a complicated but workable system. And if I understand correctly, would probably work pretty well except for those people who move out and keep their old apartments "just in case".

What is the home buying market like there? If you're in a rental but looking to buy, I understand a person might have to come up with quite a large down payment.

(also - sounds like you also understand at least how the States' work - just open apartments you can get pretty much any time - not too many, not too few - mostly; I can elaborate if you want though)

Are you saying that's never the case - single apartment owners renting out only their apartment in a bigger building? We have large corporations that own dozens of buildings and rent them all out. But of course, we have the opposite, large apartment buildings where each apartment is owned by an individual, and they either live there or rent it out (we usually call them Condos).

So, the system has some good things, some bad things. Right now there probably isn't enough lowest end places being built because lack of Incentive for everyone involved. But at least in Stockholm the issue I pointed out is probably the biggest reason it's so gummed up.

For buying, it's like most of the west right now. Expensive. If you've got the money it's cheaper to live in an owned place than renting, but you need the upfront cost. You then have a monthly fee to the building association that you're a part owner off, you don't own the rights to the apartment. You own a part of the association that owns the building(s). That happen to correspond to your unit. The system isn't unique to Sweden, and there might be exceptions but it is the most common way here for flats.
The monthly fee covers building maintenance, water and heating (not electicity), generally cable tv and internet, and most utilities aside from that specific one I mentioned. Also grounds keeping if there are any connected.
Buying a place ranges from cheap to fucking expensive. I got my place really cheap, but it is small and in the outskirts of a town that's fourty minutes away from Malmö.
But housing loans are cheap, even if they demand as you said, a significant downpayment, which generally is 15% of total cost. There's also some other kerfuffery that I won't take up here. If you've got the money for the deposit, got a bank behind you for a loan (generally interest is less than 3% unless you're royally screwed, but payment of the loan itself has other terms that aren't included in the interest). You can probably get a place to live within a week if you're not picky.

As for renting out a single appartment it happens. As stated. But it's generally short term, and only ever reffered to as "andrahandsuthyrning" (second-hand leasing). And isn't 100% free to do as you wish depending on how and when etc. Same as people who own a house at times let out a spare room after kids move out.

Sounds thus like there are plenty of available apartments, just that the extra administrative work and bureaucracy causes people having to wait forever, because government as usual is slow as fuck and incompetentefficient. Meanwhile small home-owners and beginning landlords are robbed from potential income(?), making it yet another market where the big companies and corporations receive an edge on small or beginning entrepreneurs.

See my post about how the que work, and why it's slow. It isn't because government is inefficient (a lot of the owners are private entities). It's because a lot of people, especially in cities, cheat the system for their own gain because they are in privileged situations where they can afford it.

Not really, because the issue is that there aren't enough buildings being built, not too few people renting. There are thousands of different companies, both private and municipal, waiting to get their hands on new apartments.

This is only a half truth. The far bigger issue is, as I mentioned above, people who cheat the system. Practically all the data shows that there would be enough to keep up with what's currently being built, if people didn't sit on empty appartments.

[Unholyground]

It would be nice if people were allowed to live off the land and opt out of taxes and services if they could afford the renewable setup, apartments are the worst invention ever.

[Deathknightish]

It would be nice if people were allowed to live off the land and opt out of taxes and services if they could afford the renewable setup, apartments are the worst invention ever.

I like apartments for the convenience. If my fridge breks, I don't have to dish out any cash for it, but instead I just have to call my landlord's caretaker who replaces it for free.

[cuafpr]

Never had to wait...

can you get on the list get one, and rent it out yourself? like take bids and get someone in right then or is that illegal?

[Deathknightish]

Never had to wait...

can you get on the list get one, and rent it out yourself? like take bids and get someone in right then or is that illegal?

Doesn't work as your account's username is your personal identity number (kind of like social security number, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person...umber_(Sweden)). So when you accept an apartment, it's you who get it.

Well, maybe there IS a way to do it but either way, when you accept an apartment your points (you get 1 point per day) are reset back to 0.

[cuafpr]

Doesn't work as your account's username is your personal identity number (kind of like social security number, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person...umber_(Sweden)). So when you accept an apartment, it's you who get it.

Well, maybe there IS a way to do it but either way, when you accept an apartment your points (you get 1 point per day) are reset back to 0.

that's insane to me but if it works there awesome, and hope it's worth the wait!

[Shadowferal]

Damn - great point. I hate to say it but I forgot about those. Section-8 as well. Long line and waiting list - but the rents are substantially lower (in most cases).

Srction 8 isn't something most want or can have... Typically cheap and crappy and in equally crappy areas. A person has to qualify for such...to prove the person is that desperate.