Sparande per kvadratmeter

Sparande per kvadratmeter (saving per square metre) shows how much of the year’s income the bostadsrattsforening, the BRF or housing co-operative that owns the building, puts aside for future maintenance, spread across each square metre of living space. The more the BRF saves, the better prepared it is when the roof, the pipes or the facade need work, without having to take on new loans or raise the monthly fee at short notice.

It is one of the mandatory key figures that must be reported per square metre, both in the BRF’s economic plan and in the management report (forvaltningsberattelse) of the annual report. So you will find it in black and white, side by side with the annual fee, the debt level and energy cost per square metre.

The number to look for

As an industry rule of thumb, a healthy yearly saving sits at around 200-300 kr per square metre, where above roughly 250 kr tends to be seen as strong and under roughly 130 kr as weak. This is an industry guideline and not an official threshold, so treat it as a reference point rather than a verdict. A BRF clearly below the range is not automatically in trouble, but it is worth understanding why.

What you should do

Check the saving against the BRF’s maintenance plan (underhallsplan). A low figure matters less if no major work is due in the next few years, and more if a stambyte (full replacement of the water and waste pipes) or a roof renewal is approaching without the money building up. Ask the broker or the board: does this year’s saving cover the maintenance the plan points to, or are fee increases or new loans on the way?