Apartment renovation

It can be both pleasant—and sometimes necessary—to renovate or remodel your apartment: opening up a wall, or dividing a larger room to create a small workspace. Permission is required for alterations that involve changes to or work on existing drainage, water, heating, or gas pipes, as well as load-bearing walls and floor slabs/structures.

A small kitchen remodel may seem straightforward, but as soon as it involves work on, for example, electrical wiring, drainage, or water pipes, permission from the board is required.

Rules

 

• Remodeling that involves work on load-bearing structures, changes to existing drainage/heating/water/ventilation installations, demolition of walls, or any other material change to the apartment requires the board’s permission. See “Demolition of a wall, etc.” below.

• Minor renovations—such as painting, wallpapering, replacing flooring (not in wet rooms), or replacing kitchen fittings—do not require the board’s permission.

• The co-op owner is responsible for any costs and potential investments that the association may be obliged to undertake under laws and regulations, if they are directly related to the co-op owner’s remodeling work.

• All work must be carried out in a professional, workmanlike manner.

• For wet-room renovations, the waterproofing layer (moisture barrier) must be installed by a company certified under PER or the Swedish Ceramic Tile Council (Byggkeramikrådet). This is also an insurance requirement.

• Noise must be minimized and limited to as few occasions as possible, and may not occur before 08:00 or after 18:00 on weekdays, or before 10:00 or after 18:00 on weekends.

• Inform your neighbors in your stairwell and adjacent entrances that you plan to renovate and how long the work is expected to take. This increases understanding for the disturbances you cause.

• Building materials and waste may not be stored in the stairwell.

• Construction waste may not be disposed of in the household waste bins.

• The stairwell must be cleaned daily if it becomes dirty. Consider protecting the stairwell floor against unnecessary wear with protective cardboard or similar.

• Elevators must be protected from damage when transporting building waste. The door tracks must be kept protected to prevent elevator door malfunctions. Elevators may not be overloaded, as this can cause operational problems. If you need to transport building waste in the elevators, do not take too much at once. Malfunctions arising in connection with renovation will be remedied, but at the resident’s expense.

• Any water shut-off will be arranged by the board/property caretaker.

• Demolition of wet rooms, kitchens, walls, etc. is generally very dusty work. It is extremely important to cover extract-air ducts to avoid damaging the ventilation unit. A replacement unit costs several hundred thousand SEK. One tip is to rent an air purifier.

• If, during renovation, it is necessary to work on drainage and water-pipe connections to the apartment, the co-op owner is responsible for ensuring that the apartment’s fire compartmentation remains intact, or for restoring it if the fire boundary has been breached.

 

Demolition of a wall, etc.

 

It is not easy for either an individual co-op owner or the board to determine, for example, where load-bearing or non-load-bearing structures are located in an apartment. Therefore, if a resident wants to demolish or otherwise remodel a wall, the board requires the resident to hire a qualified structural/building engineer who issues a certificate confirming that the wall in question is not load-bearing. The cost of hiring the engineer is borne by the resident. Work on load-bearing structures requires not only the board’s permission but also a building permit (see further below).

Additional rules for remodeling work in apartments of the BRF Leoparden 5 (applies to)

• Work on existing drainage, water, or heating pipes

• Work on load-bearing walls and floor slabs/structures

• Electrical installations, alterations, and new installations

• Work on ventilation ducts

• Kitchen renovation

• Renovation of wet rooms (toilet, shower, bath)

 

Applying for permission

 

An application must be submitted to the board before work starts, for approval of the planned remodeling/renovation. Work on load-bearing structures requires, in addition to the board’s permission, a building permit. The application must describe what will be remodeled, the method, selected contractors, drawings, and any calculations. Under no circumstances may the work begin without the board’s written permission.

Application form for remodeling in BRF Leoparden 5 (Formulär för ansökan om ombyggnation i BRF Leoparden 5)

The completed form should be sent to styrelsen@leoparden5.se.

Special rules

 

Plumbing work must be carried out by an authorized company with all required certifications for the work. For wet-room renovations, the waterproofing layer (moisture barrier) must be installed by a company certified under PER or the Swedish Ceramic Tile Council (Byggkeramikrådet). This is also an insurance requirement. Electrical work must be carried out by an authorized company with all required certifications for the work. Construction work must be carried out by a qualified company with all necessary authorizations for the work. For work on load-bearing walls or floor slabs/structures, structural calculations must be prepared by a structural engineer.