Form for reporting a complaint under the Swedish Environmental Code

Information about the environmental unit’s case handling process of complaints under the Swedish Environmental Code Carefully read the information below before filling in the form

What is an inconvenience?
The environmental unit at Västmanland-Dalarna miljö- och byggförvaltning handle complaints under the Environmental Code with the purpose of removing inconveniences affecting peoples’ health or the environment. In the Environmental Code, inconveniences affecting peoples’ health are defined as “a disturbance that, according to medical or hygienic assessment, can affect the health adversely and is not little or entirely temporary”.

Examples of complaints under the Environmental Code
A report about a complaint under the Environmental Code can for instance concern burning of firewood, noise, unwanted smell, low temperature, faulty ventilation or similar issues regarding the indoor environment in homes and public places (pre-/schools, hospitals, hotels, sport centers). It can also concern disturbances outdoors, for instance on the house’s plot. Complaints that do not fall under the Environmental Code, for instance about loose pets or wild animals like foxes, badgers and birds are not handled by the environmental unit.

Contact your property owner or the one disturbing
For the environmental unit to start the case handling process of your reported complaint, you normally must have contacted and stated your concern about the disturbance recently to your property owner or the person/operator of the establishment causing the disturbance. The property owner or the one causing the disturbance should have had a reasonable amount of time to investigate the problem and take precautions. If you are not receiving help despite having contacted the person responsible, you can fill in the form “Form for reporting a complaint under the Swedish Environmental Code” and send it to the environmental unit.

Form for reporting a complaint under the Environmental Code
For a case to processed by the environmental unit, you have to fill in the form “Form for reporting a complaint under the Swedish Environmental Code” as detailed and thoroughly as possible. If more writing space is needed to fill in the necessary information you may use and attach a separate piece of paper to write on. In addition to the form, other documents for assessing the case might be needed.

Public documents
The information written in the report and documents created in the case handling process are normally viewed as open and public documents. A copy of the report is often sent as information to the property owner or the one causing the disturbance together with an appeal to return with comments on the case or suggestions of possible precautions.

Anonymous complaints
If you wish to file your report anonymously it could mean that the complaint cannot be processed. Actual conditions of a person being disturbed and where the disturbance takes place must be able to be demonstrated. You also cannot run a juridical case anonymously in court. If you wish to be anonymous, you will not take part of information on how the case progresses or if the case is left without further actions and is closed.