OVK for property owners and managers

If you own or manage a residential or commercial building in Sweden, the ventilation system must be inspected regularly under a Swedish law known as OVK (obligatorisk ventilationskontroll, mandatory ventilation inspection). The obligation rests with the owner, wherever the owner lives. This page explains what that means in practice. For the background, read What is OVK?

Your obligations as an owner

• You are responsible. The property owner is always responsible for having OVK carried out within the correct interval. In a housing cooperative (bostadsrättsförening) the board carries the responsibility. A property manager can handle the practical work, but the legal responsibility stays with the owner.
• Use a certified inspector. Only certified ventilation inspectors (funktionskontrollanter) are allowed to carry out OVK.
• Inform residents. Residents or tenants must be told in good time when the inspection will take place and must give access to their homes.
• Act on deficiencies. If the inspection finds deficiencies, you must correct them within a set time and have a follow-up inspection.
• Keep the certificate displayed. After the inspection a certificate is displayed in the building, and a copy of the protocol is sent to the municipality.

Failure to comply can lead to an order from the municipality and a financial penalty (vite), and can affect the value and insurance terms of the property.

How often is OVK required?

For most apartment buildings and office buildings the interval is 3 years for buildings with mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation (FT or FTX) and 6 years for buildings with natural or exhaust-only ventilation (S, F or FX). Preschools, schools and healthcare premises are inspected every 3 years regardless of system. Detached and semi-detached houses normally need only one inspection when the ventilation system is taken into use. A full table is in What is OVK?

What we take care of

Notification of residents. We provide ready-made notices and, if agreed in advance, we can send them for you.

Scheduling and access. We plan the inspection with you so that disturbance is kept to a minimum.

The inspection itself. Air flows are measured, fans, vents, filters and ducts are inspected, and the system is assessed against the requirements that applied when the building was constructed.

Protocol and certificate. We issue the OVK protocol, send a copy to the municipality and provide the certificate for the building.

Follow-up. If deficiencies are found, we help with proposed measures and can coordinate cleaning or air balancing.

Managing several properties?

We work nationwide and adapt to your structure for notification, invoicing and reporting, so that nothing falls between the cracks across your portfolio.

Getting started

Send us the address, the type of building, the type of ventilation system if you know it, and the number of apartments or premises. You receive a fixed-price quote, normally within 24 hours.