Why does the Global Property Guide emphasize the importance of landlord and tenant law?
nvesting in residential property in a foreign country can bring disaster, if you don’t consider the system of landlord and tenant law and practice. Consider the awe-inspiring Swedish example. Swedish landlords who, a generation ago, made the mistake of investing in buy-to-let properties face the following harrowing situation: • Rents are strictly controlled, set by law very far below reasonable returns-on-investment • No deposits are allowed • Tenants have a right to prolong their contract, essentially for ever. The rule is totally asymmetric; a tenant may at all times serve three months’ notice, even when the contract is fixed for a certain time, and terminate the agreement. • Tenants can transfer the property without asking the landlord, to their spouses, closely related persons, and live-in partners, same-sex or otherwise. • Tenants cannot sell the tenure or give it to someone else against the wishes of the landlord. But they can exchange the tenure for another dwelling – a tenancy,
