Services of general interest – water, sewerage, waste management and chimney sweeping

Allmännyttiga tjänster – vatten, avlopp, avfall och sotning - Engelska

Municipalities must provide residents with what are known as services of general interest. Examples include access to water, drainage and waste management. If you have a problem or a question, contact your municipality.

Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.

Short information on public utilities

  • The municipality is responsible for the public water supply and sewerage services.

  • If you live outside the municipal service area, you are responsible for your own water and sewage.

  • The municipality is responsible for the collection and treatment of household waste.

  • The municipality decides how often chimney sweeping should be carried out and the cost of chimney sweeping.

Choose what you want to read more about

  • If your property is connected to the municipal water supply and sewerage system, the municipality is responsible for its quality and operation. If you are connected to the municipal system, you pay a fee to the municipality.

    Contact your municipality if you have any questions or problems relating to municipal water supply or sewerage.

    If you live outside the municipal service area, you are responsible for managing your own water supply and sewerage.

    It is important to know:

    • how the system is designed
    • whether it has a permit
    • how it should be maintained.

    Contact your municipality to find out which rules apply and which permits are required.

  • Municipalities are responsible for the collection and treatment of household waste.

    Not sure how to sort your waste or where to take it? Contact your municipality.

    You can also contact your municipality if you have any questions or problems related to waste management.

  • The municipality decides how often chimneys should be swept. They also decide on the price of the service. Contact your municipality to find out when chimney sweeping will take place or how much it costs.

    Although the municipality is responsible for chimney sweeping, the work is often carried out by a contracted company.

    Complaints about chimney-sweeping or charges

    As the municipality is responsible for chimney sweeping, it is regarded as an exercise of public authority. This means that the Consumer Services Act does not apply if there is a problem with the chimney sweeping service. If the chimney sweep causes damage to your home, for example to floors or walls, you can contact your municipality.

    Your municipality can also answer questions about charges and invoices.

    If you want to complain about the exercise of public authority you can turn to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsmannen, JO).

    Applying to carry out chimney sweeping yourself

    You can apply to carry out chimney sweeping yourself or hire someone to do it for you. The municipality must assess, in each individual case, whether the person intended to carry out the work is suitable for the task.

    You can usually find the application form for self-performed chimney sweeping from your municipality.

    If the municipality approves your application and you hire a company to carry out the chimney sweeping, the Consumer Services Act may apply. In such cases, you and the company can agree on a price that is not linked to the municipality's charges. If you have a complaint about the price or the quality of the work, you should contact the company you hired.

Proofread: 7 September 2026

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