Courtyard in a rental building: what you may do as a tenant

A courtyard is an open area enclosed by one or more buildings. If you live in a rental building with a courtyard, you are usually entitled to use it, because the right to use shared spaces such as playgrounds and lawns is included in the rent. But the courtyard is the landlord's land. You may use it, not decide over it: anything you want to put out or build there requires the landlord's permission.

What is a courtyard?

A courtyard is an area enclosed by buildings, sometimes with a glass roof. In Swedish cities, courtyards are especially common in so-called storgårdskvarter, perimeter blocks built as a closed block around a shared yard. These blocks began to be built in Sweden in the 1910s and 1920s. Before that, back yards were often filled with yard buildings, which made flats dark and left yards nobody could use. The idea of the large shared courtyard was brighter homes and more contact between neighbours.

For anyone looking for a home, this means many older rental buildings in city centres have a courtyard, often with bike racks, a bin room, a lawn and sometimes a playground.

Courtyard or private patio – the difference matters

The key distinction is between the shared courtyard and a private patio.

• Private patio that belongs to your flat and that you maintain yourself: here you can usually place things like a trampoline or a small pool, according to Hyresgästföreningen (the Swedish Union of Tenants). The landlord's house rules may still limit this.
• Shared courtyard: here you may not put out, for example, a trampoline, an inflatable pool or similar without the landlord's permission, even though the right to use the courtyard is part of the rent.

The reason landlords usually give is liability. The property owner is responsible for safety in the courtyard and does not want to risk being liable for damages if someone gets hurt.

May you barbecue in the courtyard?

No law prohibits barbecuing at a rental building, but the landlord can forbid it in the house rules. Always check what applies in your area first. Even where barbecuing is allowed, the smoke must not disturb neighbours, and during a fire ban it may be prohibited. Many landlords provide fixed barbecue spots in the courtyard, and that is where you should grill.

Trampoline, pool and playground

If you want a trampoline or pool in the shared courtyard, ask the landlord in advance. Hyresgästföreningen suggests explaining how it will be used, what safety equipment there is and that an adult will always supervise. An agreement with the landlord can set out who is responsible. The answer is still entirely up to the landlord.

If there is no playground, you cannot demand that the landlord builds one. The landlord has no such obligation. It usually goes better if several neighbours make the request together, or if a local tenants' association takes it up.

Growing vegetables in the courtyard

You can grow things in the courtyard even as a tenant, but the first step is to ask the landlord. Hyresgästföreningen advises getting permission first, then gathering interested neighbours and choosing a spot with plenty of sun, ideally at least six hours a day. Raised pallet collars and planter boxes are a common way to grow without digging up the yard.

Your obligations in the courtyard

The tenancy chapter of the Swedish Land Code (jordabalken) also applies when you use shared spaces. Under chapter 12, section 25, you must make sure that safety, health, order and good condition within the property are not neglected, and that neighbours are not exposed to disturbances they should not reasonably have to tolerate. The property includes the courtyard. Under section 25 b you are also responsible for the people you answer for, such as your household and guests.

In practice: keep the noise down in the evening, do not leave litter, put shared furniture back and follow the house rules for the courtyard. In case of repeated disturbances, the landlord must under section 25 a first ask you to make them stop.

How to get changes made

1. Read the landlord's house rules. They often cover barbecues, bikes, furniture and play.
2. Talk to your neighbours. A shared request carries more weight than a single one.
3. Contact the landlord in writing with a concrete proposal: what, where and who is responsible.
4. Get help from the local tenants' association if there is one. It can raise outdoor-space issues through tenant influence.

What to look for when house hunting

At a viewing, look at the courtyard too. Ask what applies to barbecuing, bike storage and growing, and whether the flat has its own patio. It tells you a lot about what living there is like on an ordinary summer evening.

More about your rights as a tenant is available from Hyresgästföreningen, and the legal text is in the Land Code at the Riksdag.