Response to interpellation 2025/26:319 on over-indebtedness and evictions
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M argues that the government has taken measures against over-indebtedness through stricter rules for lending, interest and cost caps, as well as a ban on gambling being financed with credits 1. M emphasizes that the government has increased the housing allowance for families with children and that working families receive better economic conditions than under S's rule 2 3 4. M argues that they have strengthened the economy for families with children 4, stopped over-indebtedness by halving the Magdaräntan, introducing written requirements and requiring a bank license for lending 4, and cleaned up the area and reduced the possibilities for unsecured loans 4. S argues that evictions of families with children are increasing due to high living costs and that the government has failed to stop child poverty 5 6. S believes that debts in society are increasing and that the government has lost control over the economy 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! Ida Ekeroth Clausson has asked the Minister for Finance what the government is doing so that private individuals' debts at the Enforcement Authority do not increase further and if any other measures will be taken to reduce the number of evictions affecting children. The interpellation has been handed over to me.
Household debts have increased for a long time. Irresponsible lending can worsen an individual's economic situation. A contributing cause to problems with over-indebtedness among some Swedish households is that the market for consumer loans has grown at a rapid pace during recent years.
The Government has taken several measures to counter over-indebtedness and irresponsible lending to consumers. One example of this is the proposal in proposition 2024/25:138 Strengthened consumer protection on the credit market regarding significantly increased requirements for companies engaged in lending to consumers.
To strengthen consumer protection and counter over-indebtedness, the Act on Certain Activities with Consumer Credits has been repealed. It is now only Swedish and foreign credit institutions that are permitted to grant or mediate credits to consumers. This implies higher requirements for equity and organization for companies engaged in lending to consumers, as well as better conditions for the supervision of these companies. The increased requirements reduce the incentives for these companies to direct their activities toward borrowers with insufficient repayment capacity.
The government has also introduced stricter rules for both interest and cost caps as well as new possibilities to extend the maturity of credits. At the same time, the possibility to make deductions for interest expenses on unsecured loans has been removed. A ban on license holders and gambling operators allowing or contributing to gambling for money being financed with credits will be introduced. License holders and gambling operators shall also take appropriate measures to counteract gambling being financed with credits.
In addition, an investigation is underway to consider measures to reduce the problem of over-indebtedness. The purpose is primarily to reduce the number of so-called perpetual debtors, that is, persons who have been over-indebted for a longer period. That investigation is to be reported this summer.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer. I note, however, that he chose not to answer the question regarding evictions of children at all and that he also did not mention any measures that the government has taken to prevent evictions of families with children.
Since 2020, evictions have increased by almost 60 percent, and despite the zero vision introduced in 2008, 824 children were affected by evictions last year. It is society that has failed. When evictions of families with children increase to this extent, it is a clear sign that something is wrong.
The most common reason for an eviction is that the rent has not been paid. After several tough years with increased living costs and small economic margins, more households have found it harder to manage their fixed expenses. We know that most prioritize the rent until the very end when the economy is pressured, but despite that, it does not add up.
When unemployment rose, the government chose not to invest heavily in education, matching, or job creation, but instead invested in a new job tax credit to get more people into work. This was a measure that the Fiscal Policy Council had beforehand judged as ineffective against the rising unemployment. Now we know that they were right. The government also chose to borrow money for tax cuts for those with the highest incomes while the cost-of-living crisis hit families with children hard and forced a generation to grow up under more meager economic conditions than these people had needed to.
Society has a responsibility to ensure that children do not have to pay for the crisis. When more families with children turn to charities or say they cannot afford to put nutritious food on the table, the situation is serious. Children growing up in poverty risk having poorer opportunities to realize their rights and have good chances in life.
Madam Speaker! According to Article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative measures to give effect to the rights provided for in the Convention. In order to ensure, in accordance with Article 27, the child's right to a standard of living adequate for the development of the child, the State has a responsibility to assist parents, especially when it comes to housing. Children need stable housing to be given the opportunity for a secure upbringing. Therefore, it is extra serious that evictions of children have increased in Sweden.
I therefore ask: Does the Government consider that Sweden lives up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child when 824 children have been affected by evictions during the past year?
Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! There is nothing that upsets a social democrat more than letting people who work and toil keep a little more of their wages. It is also noticeable in Ida Ekeroth Clausson's posts. If you lower the tax for those people who set the alarm, get up, work hard, and then do the same thing the next day, the social democrats get very angry. According to the Socialdemokraterna, there is nothing worse one can do than to improve the economic conditions for people who go to work.
The government has done this. A nursing assistant with two children has today, thanks to the government's reforms, over 3,000 kronor more in their pocket than they had when the Social Democrats were in power. The Social Democrats are very angry about this. You cannot make it better for people who go to work. That is where the line is for the Social Democrats. So you simply must not do it. The fact remains, however. A healthcare assistant with two children has over 3,000 kronor more per month now than they had when Ida Ekeroth Clausson and her party comrades ruled the country.
Madam Speaker! The situation with children being evicted is, of course, very serious.
Let me, however, begin by saying that when it comes to those who plague their residential area by committing crimes or otherwise destroying the surrounding community, measures must be able to be taken.
But even I am questioning, I must say, and think that Ida Ekeroth Clausson must call her party comrades. What is happening in the Social Democrats' Stockholm, in the Social Democrats' Gothenburg, and in the Social Democrats' Malmö where a large part of the evictions occur? Has Ida Ekeroth Clausson called her party comrades and asked? In Stockholm, where many of the evictions occur, approximately half occur in the municipality's operations and in the municipal housing companies. Why do the Social Democrats like to do this so much? What are they doing at the local level to counteract it? There are so many tools to help and assist families in difficult situations.
Has Ida Ekeroth Clausson called and asked Social Democrats in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö why such a large proportion of Sweden's evictions of children occur precisely where the Social Democrats are in power? Can Ida Ekeroth Clausson in that case account for any of these conversations? What has she asked about, and how do they defend themselves?
Half of the evictions in Stockholm occur within the municipality's operations. Why do the Social Democrats do that, and what are they doing locally to prevent it? I believe many wonder about that.
The government is taking powerful measures. For example, for the first time since 1997, changes are being made to the housing allowance. From the turn of the year, those with one child will receive 800 kronor more and those with two children 1,000 kronor more. We see a long series of changes in this area that strengthen families with children.
Once again: Few things upset Social Democrats as much as when one improves the conditions for working families. We heard a fiery speech here against the fact that the government has lowered the tax. A nursing assistant with two children now, therefore, has 3,100 kronor more every month than she or he had when the Social Democrats were in power. That makes the Social Democrats angry, but I am convinced that it makes the single mother or father quite happy. I do not want to reverse this policy, because I think it is good that people who work and toil get to keep more of their salary.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Madam Speaker! The debts at the Enforcement Authority continue to increase, regardless of what the Minister says. The amount is now 16 billion higher than a year ago, which is an increase of 44 million kronor per day. Compared to five years ago, the total debt amount has increased by 76 percent. We see that the debts continue to increase even now that the economic situation has stabilized. This is partly due to the fact that many households are still struggling with their finances and that the debts have often been built up over a long period before they end up with the Enforcement Authority. Furthermore, many debts are driven in via debt collection companies, and interest and fees cause the debt amounts to continue to grow.
Madam Speaker! It is good that the government has moved forward with several proposals aimed at countering risky lending and over-indebtedness. It is not a day too soon. But in light of that and of the fact that the government itself says it safeguards consumer protection and consumer rights, it is both regrettable and contradictory that the SD government simultaneously holds back the introduction of a debt and credit register. Likewise, it is completely backward that the SD government has chosen to completely scrap the support for Sveriges Konsumenter, i.e., those in civil society who help and support consumers in the market.
Madam Speaker! Sweden has the highest child poverty in the Nordic countries, and the Red Cross has quadrupled its food distributions. The government has failed these families.
For us Social Democrats, it is a self-evident matter that children should not pay for the crisis. This ambition, unfortunately, does not seem to be shared by the government. Previously, the Social Democrats have presented several proposals to support ordinary families in Sweden. Among others, we wanted to increase the child allowance, which would have been noticeable in today's payment. We wanted to stop the deterioration of the high-cost protection, which makes medicines more expensive, and keep the housing supplement for families with children.
In order to get more people into work, the Social Democrats have presented proposals to stop the cuts at Arbetsförmedlingen. We have proposed a doubling of the number of places in labor market training, a temporary driving license lift for young unemployed people, and increased investments in infrastructure and housing construction.
The government has said no to all of this.
During economic crises, it is always those with the smallest margins who are hit hardest. The consequences are clearly felt for families with children, where inequality increases, and for those pensioners who are worst off, it has become even harder to manage the most basic everyday expenses.
Sweden is today the only Nordic country that has not increased the child allowance. The value of the child allowance is, due to the government's passivity, the lowest in 50 years. It is a policy that has bitter consequences.
Child poverty has increased to the highest level in the Nordic countries. It is a development that is unworthy of a welfare country like Sweden.
What does the government intend to do to reverse the development?
Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! Ida Ekeroth Clausson seems to be reading pre-written speeches out loud, and perhaps that is why I do not get answers to my questions. It can probably be perceived as a bit amusing when one listens to the debate.
Since the majority of the evictions that Ida Ekeroth Clausson speaks about occur in municipalities governed by the Social Democrats – Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg – I asked if Ida Ekeroth Clausson, instead of just debating here, has called her party comrades and asked what they are doing and why it is that way. It can be quite reasonable and simple to imagine that one does that and says: Hello, the Social Democrats in Stockholm! Hello, the Social Democrats in Gothenburg! Hello, the Social Democrats in Malmö!
It concerns Malmö in particular, where the Social Democrats pretend to call ordinary citizens who later turn out to be party members. In that case, they could receive an open conversation from another social democrat who asks: Why are you doing it in this way? What does it actually look like?
I have accounted for a long series of measures that we have taken, and I will return to more. We have increased the housing allowance for families with children by 800 SEK for families with one child and 1,000 SEK for families with two children. As I have accounted for, a single mother or father with two children thus has 3,100 SEK more to move with now than they had with the rules that Ida Ekeroth Clausson seems to advocate for instead and which applied in 2022. Significant improvements have therefore been made.
In times of disinformation and the spreading of rumors, I wonder why Ida Ekeroth Clausson completely disregards SCB's statistics in this area. According to Statistics Sweden, the proportion of economically vulnerable children has not increased; on the contrary, there has been a gradual decrease since 2019. Is SCB wrong about this?
This obviously does not mean that there are no families who are having an extremely tough time and children who are struggling in different ways and who need more help and better measures from society. But in what way is SCB wrong? That is a question that would need an answer.
Then there were a lot of claims about the debt statistics, Madam Speaker. I intend to read a little bit beforehand here. During 2025, the Enforcement Authority received just over 1,146,000 claims regarding, among other things, unpaid invoices, bills, and loan repayments, so-called demands for payment.
According to Ida Ekeroth Clausson, it is an increase, but according to the Swedish Enforcement Authority, it is a decrease of 10 percent compared to 2024. The number of affected persons is just over 412,000, which is a decrease of 7 percent compared to the previous year. The amounts in the claims have also decreased by 18 percent compared to the previous year.
This raises questions for Ida Ekeroth Clausson: What is it that Statistics Sweden has wrong? What is it that the Enforcement Authority has wrong? Why can one not base one's statements on our authorities' official statistics? It is not certain that only what is discussed at internal courses is the truth.
My question to Ida Ekroth Claesson is, as said: What is it in SCB's and the Enforcement Authority's statistics that is wrong? Obviously, it rhymes quite poorly with the claims that Ida Ekeroth Clausson read out.
Ida Ekeroth Clausson (S)
Madam Speaker! The statistics are clear: debts are still increasing in society. It is also clear that the Minister does not want to answer what the government is doing to stop evictions and reduce child poverty.
Many families simply cannot manage to make ends meet in their everyday lives. They borrow money to cover ongoing expenses and end up in a financial hamster wheel that is very difficult to escape from. The effects of this inequality are seen, among other things, in the children's grades.
At the same time, the government declared last week that the reform space for the next mandate period is essentially exhausted. Now there is no money left for welfare in the coming years. The government has borrowed billions to lower taxes for high-income earners instead of supporting Sweden's families with children through increased child allowance or investing to create jobs and build a strong Sweden for the future through housing and infrastructure.
The government has lost control over the Swedish economy and emptied the Swedish people's coffers. The Moderates and the Sweden Democrats have governed Sweden for four years, borrowed hundreds of billions, and lowered taxes for the very richest. It is deeply irresponsible, and it will cost the Swedish people dearly.
Finansmarknadsministern Niklas Wykman (M)
Madam Speaker! I have accounted for how we have strengthened the economy for Sweden's families with children, for example through changes to the housing allowance for the first time in a long while. It is increased by 800 kronor if you have one child and 1,000 kronor if you have two children. A single mother or father who works as a nursing assistant has today 3,100 kronor more per month compared to when the Socialdemokrater governed in 2022.
I have also asked a number of questions. I have received no answers to any of them.
An important measure and change that we have made is to stop people's over-indebtedness. When Ida Ekeroth Clausson and Magdalena Andersson governed Sweden, so-called blank loans, consumption credits, increased by 100 billion kronor. One had to take out a Magdaränta, a very high interest rate of 40 percent. We have halved that.
We have also introduced a written requirement for the purchase of games on phones, which the Social Democrats had exempted. A written requirement was introduced for everything else, but because one sold games on phones oneself, that specific item was exempted. Games could be sold without a written requirement.
We have introduced a requirement to be a bank in order to be allowed to lend money. The Social Democrats thought that the SMS companies could just continue, but we have stopped that. Now it must be a bank.
We have, as we said, halved the margin that one was allowed to take. Ida Ekeroth Clausson and the Social Democrats thought it was okay to take 40 percent on credits. It was a major debt trap for many people.
We have also reduced the possibilities for unsecured loans by removing the interest deductions. We do not think that people should be subsidized for indepting themselves in an unhealthy way. The Social Democrats thought that was completely okay, so they continued with it.
In area after area, we have cleaned up in this. This applies both to the self-interest surrounding the lotteries and to the fact that one has prevented measures from being taken or in other ways been passive towards something that has created terrible life fates.
I do not have Ida Ekeroth Claussons experience of sending people to the Enforcement Authority. The Social Democrats themselves have sent 8,000 people there via their gambling and betting activities. I think that is indecent.
TREDJE VICE TALMANNEN
I want to remind that the interpellation debates are about scrutinizing the ministers' performance of their duties and not other parts.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.