How Sweden’s communal laundries shield renters from rising energy bills

Many Swedish apartment blocks built in the 1960s and 1970s have shared laundry facilities. Cathy Xiao Chen/Shutterstock

People in many parts of the world are worried about rocketing energy bills as the conflict in the Gulf continues. But for the majority of renters in Sweden’s apartment blocks, this is not so much of an immediate concern.

Part of the reason for this is that many buildings have communal laundries where washing machines and dryers (as well as water and heating) are provided and the cost is included in the rent.