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Författare Ämne:  Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building  (läst 3715 gånger)

Rosaa

  • Inlägg: 3
    • Övriga världen
Hej!

Please forgive me for posting this in English. We are a British-Dutch couple currently living in the UK, and we've been looking at Sweden (and everything that comes with it) as an option to buy land and start living off-grid.

Now, we would like to find out the best route to achieve this. I (Rosa) have researched our options when it comes to setting up our own ecological wooden tiny house or cabin - mostly in Swedish with some translation help - and it seems that we should probably look into building what would be classed as a fritidshus. How likely/common is it that you're allowed to build a fritidshus on a piece of land? (Outside of zoned areas.)

I read that a fritidshus doesn't need to follow Boverkets byggregler, but since we would live in it full-time (using it as our address), I believe BBR would apply just like with any normal house. I could be wrong though. Can anyone clarify this? :) And is it true that we would need to submit the building design to the local kommun?

Also, since Swedish building regulations are no less dense than the ones in the UK or Netherlands, what worries us is whether we could actually be off-grid (legally). I found out that there are sanitary codes and the like, and I'm not sure whether a composting toilet would be conform to the law. How much freedom does one get with greywater recycling, choosing water supply, etc.? Basically all that you think of when you think of living off-grid, in harmony with sustainability principles.

Our original plan was to build a tiny house on wheels, but could that legally be classed as a fritidshus? I have a feeling it might not meet the building requirements sufficiently.

We plan on staying in a tipi whilst building our house - I really hope we can get away with that.

Many thanks in advance!

Själv är bäste dräng

  • Inlägg: 14412
    • Östergötland
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #1 skrivet: 16 jan-17 kl 16:25 »
As you guess, IF you tell the authority that you are going to build the house in order to live in it permanently, you are obliged to follow the rules for ordinary houses. The best way is not to tell the hole story, just that you are planning to build a fritidshus. If you like the area, you just stay there permanent. You do not have to rebuild the house so it complies to the harder rules for permanent houses. But you have to upgrade your wastewater treatment so it is of permanent standard. And there are no rules that forbid you to build a better wastewater solution for your fritidshus than you need. Especially when you are planning for an alternative, little more environmental-friendly solution.

I´m not an expert on rules, but i guess it is easier to buy an already existing fritidshus with its registred piece of land. And since you are going to build your own house, you should look or a shithouse with a view...

kurt

  • Inlägg: 3488
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #2 skrivet: 16 jan-17 kl 16:44 »
The easiest solution, is to buy ha cottage without electricity, and renovate that, in the correct area that doesn't cost much more than the empty land. That doesn't require any permissions, otherwise it can be difficult to get planning permission for a simple house without electricity and sewage.

Alexn72

  • Moderator
  • Inlägg: 1466
    • Skåne
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #3 skrivet: 16 jan-17 kl 19:09 »
off grid electricly is no problem legally
About dirt water it is not the same all over sweden, check with the kommun that you are interested in living in

TW

  • Inlägg: 2684
    • Finland
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #4 skrivet: 16 jan-17 kl 21:31 »
You may or may not end up in trouble if building a fritidshus for permanent living. Legally you cannot do that yet some kommunes seem to accept it. I live on the wrong side of the border and do not know all legal intricacies in Sweden but I wouldn't gamble my money on such a plan though it often succeeds.

In lesser populated parts of Sweden you can buy a smallholding of land with a small farmhouse and cattle barn and threshing barn already built for less than the cost of buying the land and building a tiny fritidshus. Usually those regions coincide with poor soils but generations of farmers have made a living there before and now the fields are laying abandoned awaiting new ploghmen.
In an already existing house you will be pretty much free from regulations except those concerning fireplaces and chimneys.

Be aware that the locals in such areas will be suspicious at first of a family of foreigners moving in. They have seen quite a few newcomers fleeing from an urbanized  civilisation they couldn't put up with only to fail completely as soon as they stepped outside it. They have also seen a few hempsmokerhippies and bohemes coming and going.
Show them that you are decent people living a  respectable and orderly lifestyle in your own way on your own premises and after a while the ice will be broken and most likely the locals will be a very friendly and helpful bunch.
Bor redan på landet men drömmer om ett eget litet hus......
Timmerman och snickare och byggnadsingenjör och gör-det-självare. Gör väldigt mycket av litet men kan inte göra allt av ingenting.
Antifacist.

stephanw

  • Inlägg: 18
    • Västergötland
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #5 skrivet: 16 jan-17 kl 23:21 »
How likely/common is it that you're allowed to build a fritidshus on a piece of land? (Outside of zoned areas.)

You've gotten lots of good advice already, so I would simply add that not all municipalities are the same. We're on the west coast and have had no problems with our compost toilets for instance, but have been reliably informed that in a "kommun" further south they would be out of the question.

I think the advice to buy an existing place (even if it is a wreck) and renovate it (leave it looking nice and Swedish though!) is very sound. We totally gutted our barn and turned it into a house and no-one has said a thing. We kept the red and white panels and put in windows that were basically the same size so, from a distance, you can't really see that it's not a barn.

Before we bought our place we went and talked to all the neighbours first. This has turned out to be one of the smartest things we ever did since we have no problems at all from them, just the opposite.

Good luck and feel free to PM me for more detailed info if you want to know more. We lived in Scotland for many years so have a pretty good overview of the differences between the two systems...

Rosaa

  • Inlägg: 3
    • Övriga världen
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #6 skrivet: 19 jan-17 kl 09:47 »
Thanks everyone for the quick replies! It's really helpful to have everyone's perspective, not to mention interesting to read about others' experience.

Something we realised (also based on the forum replies) is that different locations go by different rules. The things that would be important to us are essentially all kommun-based, so it takes investigation on that level to really find out more.

Also, like people in the replies suggested, it would probably be of help if we include land with some type of house on it. So we will also include that in our search. That could potentially work out better on a lot of levels.

I wouldn't say we are hippies though (absolutely not on the hempsmoking level, even while I myself am Dutch! ;)), we are more like naturalists, but I definitely get what you mean by raising suspicion as foreigners, especially after seeing some of them fail and leave. It probably takes a bit of time for everything to 'normalise', but establishing positive neighbour relationships (and delving into the language) seems like the best way to start.

Early April this year we will go to Göteborg and then set out from there to see more central places, but mostly as a holiday.

Thanks again!
« Senast ändrad: 19 jan-17 kl 12:20 av Rosaa »

KungTulle

  • Inlägg: 1199
    • Skåne
    • Mörkmårdens Minigrisar
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #7 skrivet: 19 jan-17 kl 13:30 »
even while I myself am Dutch! ;)),

Actually people are getting more and more used to dutch people coming here to for exemple buy farms and settle.  Like 25 ago one almost never heard folks speaking dutch in the food shop for example.

And when dutch people started to be more common in our area we had many fun moments standing behind dutch people in the queue to the caschier, that was happily chatting away thinking noone understood what they were talking abut. ( Giggles).

They were totally unaware that behind them was my boyfriend that already have lived here for years... and being DUTCH.... ( mohahahaha).  I myself understand a lot of dutch also even though i speak it quite bad.
« Senast ändrad: 19 jan-17 kl 15:26 av KungTulle »
Mörkmårdens Minigrisar
http://minigrisar.n.nu/
Vi har nordsvenskar, myskankor, minigrisar, katter, sköldpaddor och akvariefiskar.

TW

  • Inlägg: 2684
    • Finland
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #8 skrivet: 19 jan-17 kl 15:54 »
In my village we already have a Dutchman who is married to a local girl.
A decent chap who quickly learned enough Swedish to make himself understood. So they say. I don't know him.

Starting from Dutch it shouldn't be difficult for you to learn to read Swedish. I have found that roughly every second or third word is decipherable when I encounter a text in Dutch.
English is considerably further away but also an Englishman has help from his own language when learning ours.
Bor redan på landet men drömmer om ett eget litet hus......
Timmerman och snickare och byggnadsingenjör och gör-det-självare. Gör väldigt mycket av litet men kan inte göra allt av ingenting.
Antifacist.

 

renee d

  • Inlägg: 408
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #9 skrivet: 19 jan-17 kl 16:58 »
As  an English woman I found that when learning Danish I found some Viking words and then now in Swedish, other Viking words.
Rosaa, if you come North when visiting Sweden, you are welcome to stay. There are Dutch people in our village. In fact, out of 190 inhabitants in the parish there are at least 19 nationalities :o
 

Rosaa

  • Inlägg: 3
    • Övriga världen
SV: Ignorant foreigner questions: land, off-grid and building
« Svar #10 skrivet: 22 jan-17 kl 20:14 »
Yes, the language relationship is very interesting! As a simple example, when I came across the word 'mäklare' I figured that it would probably mean 'broker', because I could refer to 'makelaar', the Dutch word for broker. It's very similar to Swedish. My significant other though would have no idea! So I can definitely see it being a bit easier for me than for him. I guess anyone speaking a Germanic language should always be a bit careful about what they say in another Germanic language speaking country.

renee d, that is very kind - thank you! Unfortunately we won't be in the North in April, but I think there will come a time someday. :)


 


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- Har dessa godingar i mitt fritidshus och har lagt band på själv att inte läsa de förens jag har läst ut en annan bok, mycket tråkigare bok, vilket gett mig en rejäl sporre att läsa ut den och börja med dessa tidningar! Har tjuvläst en och spoiler, den var jätteintressant!
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