Avgift

Avgift means generally fee. In the context of real estate it refers usually to the monthly fee which has to be paid by the tenants of a radhus or bostadsrätt.

The fee has to be paid by the members of the cooperative.

Usage
The fee is used typically to pay for:
 * renovation of the house when necessary. Especially the complete renovation of the bathrooms (Stambyte) are typical big projects.
 * mowing the lawn.
 * cleaning of the staircases and other commonly used rooms like the tvättstuga.
 * repairs and replacements.
 * the debts which occur after bigger projects.

Amount
The amount may range from nothing to about 10.000 SEK per month. It is usually considerably less than the rent of a corresponding flat or house. However, since there is no free market for rental appartments, this is just a rule of thumb.

The debts of the cooperative are often defining for the amount which has to be paid. When a house is built and the cooperative is established, it does not have sufficient funds to buy the house. The same applies to big renovation projects. Therefore many cooperatives have to take a loan which then is paid off by the avgift.

Bra ekonomi (good financial situation) is therefore often an advertising argument for a condominium or a row house. Cooperatives in poor financial state are often forced to charge very high fees. This in turn lowers the value of the estate itself. Therefore there are often surprisingly inexpensive appartments or houses on the market which charge a high avgift.