# HSB rental waiting times – how the queue and savings points work *Linnea Haglund* *12 november 2026* > How the queue to an HSB rental apartment works: waiting times, savings points and what you need to know to join the queue. # HSB rental waiting times – how the queue and savings points work Are you thinking about renting a home from HSB? Then waiting time is one of the first questions that comes up. HSB is Sweden's largest housing cooperative and manages rental apartments across the country. To get an HSB rental apartment, you usually need to join the queue, and the person with the most savings points often gets to choose first. In this article, we go through what waiting time for an HSB rental apartment looks like, how savings affect your place in the queue, and what you need to know before signing a tenancy agreement. ## What is an HSB rental apartment? HSB was founded in 1923 and is today Sweden's largest housing cooperative with about 674,000 members. HSB develops and manages housing for more than one million people, and the keywords for its operations are savings, construction, management and cooperative ownership. An HSB rental apartment is an apartment that you rent from one of HSB's regional associations. HSB applies the federation principle, meaning that each regional association is its own economic association with its own governance. Therefore, waiting times, supply and rules may vary depending on which part of the country you are looking for a home in. HSB also offers cooperative rental, a form where the tenant has a special agreement with the landlord. Chapter 12, Section 1 e of the Swedish Land Code contains rules for agreements covering at least three apartments let with cooperative rental. ## How the queue for an HSB rental apartment works When you want to rent a home from HSB, you usually start by registering in HSB's housing queue. You do this at hsb.se, where you can search for available rental apartments in the municipality or area you are interested in. HSB's savers have priority in the queue for the rental apartments owned by the regional HSB associations, and for the new homes that HSB builds. This means that if you are a saving member, you have an advantage over someone who does not save with HSB. Waiting time is not the same everywhere. In some municipalities, it can go quickly to get an apartment, while queues in larger cities can be significantly longer. Because HSB's regional associations manage their own rentals, there is no single national waiting time that applies to all HSB rental apartments. HSB has a service where you can see which rental apartments have been mediated during the past year, and how many savings points were needed at mediation. That way you can get an idea of how competition looks in your own municipality. ## Savings and savings points HSB Bospar is a savings scheme that you can start for yourself, your children or someone else you care about. The savings are managed in cooperation with Danske Bank, and deposit savings are covered by deposit insurance up to 1,150,000 kronor. A savings scheme gives you priority to HSB's homes across Sweden. You can, for example, use your priority for an HSB rental apartment first, while saving for a down payment on a newly built HSB condominium later. When a home is to be mediated, it is the saver with the most savings points who gets to choose first. 60 points correspond to a full year of savings. The longer you have been saving, and the more you have saved, the more points you have – and the better your chances of getting the home you want. ## How to apply for an HSB rental apartment It usually goes like this: 1. Become a member of HSB and start saving if you want to improve your position in the queue. 2. Search for available rental apartments at hsb.se in the municipality you are interested in. 3. Express interest in the homes you want. 4. The person with the most savings points among the interested parties is offered the home first. 5. If you receive an offer, you view the apartment together and decide whether to proceed. 6. Sign the tenancy agreement. According to Chapter 12, Section 2 of the Swedish Land Code, the tenancy agreement must be drawn up in writing if the landlord or the tenant requests it. ## Waiting times vary between regions It is difficult to state an exact waiting time for an HSB rental apartment because each regional HSB association has its own queue and its own supply. In a big city, the queue can be long and competition tough, while in smaller municipalities it can go faster. The best way to get an idea of waiting time where you want to live is to look at HSB's statistics on mediated rental apartments and required savings points per municipality. There you can see how many points have been required previously, which gives guidance on how long you may need to save to stand the competition. ## Your rights as a tenant Once you have received an HSB rental apartment and signed the contract, the rules of the Swedish Land Code on tenancy apply. This includes, among other things, that the tenancy agreement must be in writing if either party requests it, and that contract terms that conflict with the law are invalid against you as a tenant. If you have questions about your tenancy agreement, your rent or your rights, you can turn to the Swedish Union of Tenants, an independent organization that works for tenants' rights. ## Summary Getting an HSB rental apartment is first and foremost about joining the queue, becoming a saving member and collecting savings points. Waiting time varies depending on where in the country you are looking for a home, and there is no single national waiting time that applies to all HSB rental apartments. By starting to save early and keeping track of HSB's mediated homes and point requirements in your municipality, you increase your chances of getting exactly the apartment you want.