What is an OVK inspection and when is it required?

What is OVK?

OVK (mandatory ventilation inspection) is a statutory check that a building's ventilation system works as intended. The requirement is set out in the Swedish building regulations (BFS 2011:16, OVK) and aims to ensure a healthy indoor environment.

Who is responsible?

The building owner is responsible for ensuring OVK is carried out on time, whether the building is owner-occupied or let.

How often?

The interval depends on building type and ventilation system — typically 3 or 6 years. Preschools, schools and care facilities have shorter intervals than, for example, apartment buildings with natural ventilation.

Building type	Interval
Preschools, schools, care	3 years
Apartment buildings (FT/FTX)	3 years
Apartment buildings (S/F)	6 years

What happens on failure?

The inspector issues a protocol. Any remarks must be remedied and a re-inspection carried out. The municipal building committee supervises and may order the owner to act.

Read on

This page answers what an OVK is. The detailed questions have their own guides:

• OVK intervals: the full table — including the office case that most often goes wrong.
• How to read an OVK report — field by field, and what passed with remarks means.
• Passed with remarks — how to remedy the defects.
• What if OVK is not carried out? — supervision, orders and penalties.
• The OVK certificate must be displayed — the requirement and where it goes.
• Qualified ventilation inspectors — the difference between K and N.

OVK is one of seven recurring inspections a property owner is responsible for. The rest are in the annual calendar of statutory inspections.

With Emphyx, every OVK protocol, interval and upcoming inspection date is collected automatically — so nothing slips through.