Hidden charges and overriding interests

Most charges on real property are included in the Land Register in Sweden. There are, however, three important types of charges that are not included either because they are granted by law or by a written contract.

First, the right to public access is a right granted by law that gives private persons the right to cross private land. The main reason is that natural resources are not usually degraded by recreational activities and it is possible for recreational uses and other forms of land use, such as forestry or agriculture, to exist side by side in the same area.

The right to public access includes, among other things, the right to hiking, skiing, cycling, picking flowers and berries, and camping. But there are some limits. People who live close to natural areas have the right to enjoy their homes undisturbed and a person is not allowed to cross the grounds of a house, ‘grounds’ in this context means the area immediately around a dwelling house.

Cultivated grounds, such as gardens, plant nurseries, park plantations, forest plantation of tender tree plants, and growing crops, are also protected and a person is not allowed to cross them.

Second, the Sami people in Sweden have according to Reindeer Husbandry Act right to graze reindeer on most land in the north of Sweden.

Third, grants of lease or tenancy, though not beneficial ones, are valid against a new owner if the grant was made by written agreement and possession was taken prior to the transfer, usually such rights are not registered because it is seen unnecessary by the parties concerned.

If a property is encumbered by a right and the purchaser at the time of the purchase neither had nor ought to have had knowledge of the same, the buyer may make a deduction from the purchase price or, if the damage is of substantial importance, cancel the purchase. He is also entitled to compensation for damage. The parties may contract out this obligation, except when the buyer is a consumer.