Hyresvärden får dra av pengar för skadan.

Because Swedish forms compounds very freely. Hyresvärd is a single compound noun:

• hyres- = rent / rental
• värd = host, keeper, landlord

So hyresvärd means landlord, and then -en is added to make it definite:

• en hyresvärd = a landlord
• hyresvärden = the landlord

This is very typical Swedish. Where English often uses two words, Swedish often prefers one compound word.

The -en is the definite ending, equivalent to English the.

Swedish usually puts definiteness at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word:

• en hyresvärd = a landlord
• hyresvärden = the landlord

This happens with many common-gender nouns:

• en bil → bilen
• en lägenhet → lägenheten
• en hyresvärd → hyresvärden

If there is an adjective, Swedish often uses double definiteness:

• den nya hyresvärden = the new landlord

Not necessarily. In modern Swedish, hyresvärd is the normal gender-neutral word for landlord, regardless of whether the person is male or female.

So hyresvärden usually just means the landlord, not specifically the male landlord.

Får and kan are related, but they are not the same.

Here, får usually means:

• may
• is allowed to
• has the right to

So in this sentence, får is about permission or legal/contractual right.

By contrast, kan usually means:

• can
• is able to

So:

• Hyresvärden får dra av pengar ... = the landlord is allowed to deduct money ...
• Hyresvärden kan dra av pengar ... = the landlord is able to deduct money ...

In rules, contracts, and legal language, får is often the better choice.

Because after modal verbs such as får, Swedish normally uses the infinitive without att.

Common examples:

• Jag kan simma. = I can swim.
• Du måste gå. = You must go.
• Vi vill äta. = We want to eat.
• Hyresvärden får dra av pengar. = The landlord may deduct money.

So after får, dra appears as a bare infinitive.

Dra av is a particle verb, and you should learn it as a whole expression.

• dra by itself often means pull, draw, or drag
• dra av can mean deduct, subtract, or in other contexts pull off

In this sentence, dra av pengar means deduct money.

So the meaning does not come just from dra alone; the particle av changes the meaning.

Here av belongs with the verb dra. Together they form dra av.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Hyresvärden = subject
• får = finite verb
• dra av = infinitive verb phrase
• pengar = object
• för skadan = prepositional phrase

This means av is not connected to skadan. The phrase för skadan is separate.

In Swedish, pengar is the normal everyday word for money, and it is grammatically plural in form.

So Swedish says:

• pengar = money

even though English uses a singular-looking mass noun.

That means a phrase like dra av pengar is completely normal for deduct money.

You usually do not need an article here, because the amount is unspecified. It just means money in a general sense.

Here för means something like:

• for
• because of
• on account of

So för skadan means the money is deducted for the damage or because of the damage.

It shows the reason or basis for the deduction.

This is a natural use of för in Swedish when talking about charges, compensation, or deductions connected to something.

Because skadan is definite: the damage.

That suggests the damage is specific and already known from the context, for example damage to the apartment that both sides know about.

Compare:

• skada = damage / a damage (indefinite, less specific)
• skadan = the damage (specific)

In a sentence like this, the definite form is very natural because it usually refers to a particular damage that has already been identified.

The basic structure is:

• Hyresvärden = subject
• får = finite verb
• dra av = infinitive verb
• pengar = object
• för skadan = prepositional phrase

So the sentence follows a normal Swedish main-clause pattern.

A useful thing to remember is that Swedish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually comes in the second position in main clauses.

That is why if you move another element to the front, the verb still stays second:

• För skadan får hyresvärden dra av pengar.

That is still grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

Yes, it is natural, especially in neutral or somewhat formal contexts.

You might also see similar alternatives such as:

• Hyresvärden får göra avdrag för skadan.
• Hyresvärden har rätt att dra av pengar för skadan.

These are slightly different in style:

• dra av pengar = more direct, everyday wording
• göra avdrag = more formal, administrative wording
• har rätt att = explicitly states a right

But the original sentence is perfectly normal Swedish.