Home equipment loan
If you have come to Sweden as a refugee, you may in certain cases be able to borrow money from CSN to buy furniture and equipment for your home. Here you will find information about how much you can borrow, the terms and conditions and how to apply for the loan. You will have to repay any money you borrow at a later date.
Information in English and other languages
We provide information about our various forms of grants and loans in different languages. Quite a lot of information has been translated into English. The most important information has been translated into other languages, such as Arabic, Spanish, etc.
How much you can borrow
How much you can borrow depends on the size of your family, what is already present in your home and how much money you already have. The table shows the maximum amounts you can borrow. You can always apply to borrow less than the maximum amounts.
| Number of people in the family | Unfurnished accommodation, SEK | Furnished accommodation or lodgings, SEK |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 000 | 5 000 |
| 2 (without children) | 15 000 | 5 000 |
| 2 (one person is a child) | 20 000 | 5 000 |
| 3 | 25 000 | 5 000 |
| 4 | 30 000 | 5 000 |
| 5 | 35 000 | 5 000 |
It costs SEK 300 to take out a loan. CSN deducts the fee directly from the loan. This is the arrangement fee.
Supplementary loans
You can apply to borrow more money, even if you have already received a home equipment loan. You can do this if you borrowed less than the maximum amount, or if your family grows. You can never borrow more than SEK 35 000 in total.
It costs SEK 100 to take out a supplementary loan. This fee is known as the arrangement fee.
Requirements for receiving a home equipment loan
In order to receive a home equipment loan, you must be covered by the municipal refugee resettlement scheme. You must also have been at least 18 years of age when you were first accepted into a municipality. An exception is made if you were an unaccompanied minor, in which case you must have been at least 17 years old. In order to apply for the loan, you must be at least 18 years of age.
If you are married to someone you are living with, or if you are cohabiting with someone, you must apply for the loan together. This applies if you are both entitled to receive home equipment loans. You also have to pay back the loan jointly, even if you separate from each other at a later date. This is known as you being jointly and severally liable for payment.
Apply no later than 2 years after arriving in the municipality
The loan is intended for those who have just arrived in Sweden. For this reason, you must apply for it no later than 2 years after first being accepted into a municipality. This also applies if you want to apply for supplementary loans in addition to the loans you already have.
Interest on the loan
CSN charges interest on any money you borrow. In 2019, the interest rate is 1.74 per cent. We start calculating the interest immediately when you first receive money. When the time comes to pay back the loan, you consequently need to pay both the money you have borrowed and the interest. The interest cannot be removed.
Apply for a home equipment loan
In order to apply, you first need to contact your case officer at the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) or the municipal refugee resettlement office. They will help you complete the form and notify you about the rules that apply to the loan.
The application process takes place as follows:
- Contact your case officer.
- Your case officer will help you to fill out the application. You will also be given more information about the rules that apply to the loan.
- The case officer will send your application to CSN.
- CSN will assess your application. If anything is unclear or missing, we will contact your case officer.
- The case officer will receive a decision from CSN. The letter containing the decision will also contain a debt instrument.
You must sign the debt instrument and return it to CSN. - CSN receives the debt instrument and will then pay out the money to you. You will receive the money at the earliest one week before moving into your home.
If you want to apply yourself, please contact CSN to obtain the form and the required information.
Register your bank account with Swedbank
Swedbank is responsible for paying out the money on CSN’s behalf. It is therefore good for you to register your bank account with Swedbank before you are due to receive the money. If you have not registered your account, you will receive a cash advice notice by post. The notice provides information about where you can redeem it to receive the money.
Repaying the home equipment loan
You start paying back the loan 2 years after first receiving the money. It takes between 1 and 7 years to repay the loan, depending on how much you borrowed. We will automatically send you paying-in slips when it is time to start making repayments.
We will send 3 paying-in slips at a time. Every time we send the paying-in slips, we will charge a notice fee of SEK 30. This amounts to a total of SEK 120 per year. If you fail to pay your invoices on time, you will also have to pay a reminder fee of SEK 60.
If you want to start making repayments earlier or to make overpayments on the loan
You can start making repayments before two years have passed, if you want. In this case, order the paying-in slips after logging into Mina sidor Hemutrustningslån (My Pages Home equipment loan) here at csn.se.
You can also choose to make overpayments on your loan. In this case, change the amount stated on the paying-in slip. If you want to repay the entire loan in a single payment, please contact us.
If you are having difficulty making repayments
If you are having difficulty making repayments on your loan, you can apply to pay less or to pay nothing at all for a calendar year. CSN will charge interest, even though you are not making payments on the loan. As a result, the debt will be growing when you are not paying.
If you fail to repay your loan
If you fail to make payments in accordance with your payment plan, the following occurs:
- We will send you a reminder. You will then have to pay the SEK 60 reminder fee.
- If you fail to pay despite receiving the reminder, we will send a new reminder the following month, stating that we can terminate the loan for immediate payment.
- If you fail to pay, we will terminate the loan for immediate payment. You will then receive a paying-in slip for the entire debt. Once the loan has been terminated, you will no longer be able to apply for deferred payment.
- If you fail to pay a loan that has been terminated, we may forward the claim to the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden).
Risk of record of non-payment
If your case is handed to the Enforcement Authority, you risk receiving a record of non-payment. Credit report companies issue records of non-payment after they have obtained data from the Enforcement Authority. UC and Kreditfakta are examples of credit report companies.
Films about home equipment loan
Appealing against a decision by CSN
If you believe that CSN has reached an incorrect decision, you can appeal against it. CSN must be in receipt of your appeal within three weeks from the date on which you were notified the decision.
Published: 2019-08-28
