Housing types in Denmark

In Denmark, there are four main types of housing: you can rent a flat/room, rent a flat/room on a sublease, purchase a house or flat, or purchase a shared flat. You can find out more about the different possibilities by reading this guide. If you are planning on living in Copenhagen, you can read more about the diffent areas here. 

1. Renting an apartment:

Rented housing is owned by either private or public housing agencies. You may also rent an apartment directly from an individual owner.
The housing agencies often operate with waiting lists where prospective tenants can register for a fee. Please note that it may take some time (for some areas years) before housing is offered. Some private housing agencies do not have waiting lists, and the owner determines who is offered vacant housing.

Rent varies depending on the proximity to the city centre and the condition of the flat. It is expected to pay 400 to 1200 DKK/m2. On new buildings after 1991 there is no rent regulation and therefore it is not unusual that rent may be 1200 to 2000 DKK/m2.

Please look at the section Complaining to the Rent Tribunal about how to complain about your rent. You can secure your housing by signing the lease and moving in. You can then complain about the rent later. Generally, it has no negative impact to complain. The board does not increase the rent, and your landlord cannot evict you because of this. The rent can be lowered for the previous period, if you complain within a year from the first date you paid your rent.

2. Renting on a sublease:

If the person you are renting the flat/room from is not the owner of the flat, you must follow the rules for subleasing. Rooms in a flat shared with others are frequently sublet.

A person renting a flat can sublet a room to others, if:

• The number of rooms (kitchen and bathroom not included) does not exceed the number of tenants.
• The owner receives a copy of the sublease before the new tenant moves in.

The entire flat can be sublet for a period of up to two years, if:

• The two conditions above are complied with. 
• The property includes more than 13 flats for habitation.
• The previous tenant has to move because of illness, a business trip, studying abroad, a temporary transfer to a job somewhere else.
• The owner has "no good reason" to reject the sublease. The owner is very restricted in using this to reject a sublease! However, one instance could be if the new tenant has a known track record as being a noisy and messy tenant.

When you are subleasing, you are dependent on the person on the actual lease. If he does not pay the rent and is evicted, you are evicted with him - even if you have paid a deposit and rent to him! Furthermore, reclaiming such money can be difficult, hence it is not recommendable to pay more than one or two months deposit for a sublease. Howevr, it is fully legal for the subleaser to claim three months rent in deposit and the same amount in prepaid rent.

3. Purchasing a house

If you wish to purchase a house or a flat, you can seek information on purchasing houses and flats from the many real estate companies.

Loans for houses are granted by mortgage credit institutions, and you can generally borrow 80% of the property value. The mortgage loans are often financed on bonds. They are based on collateral in the house/flat and typically paid back over 30 years. Many banks also offer mortgage loans, and you should ask several banks and mortgage credit institutions for offers.

You can find some advise in this document by Danske Bank. 

In Denmark, you must pay tax on the value of your property.

4. Purchasing a shared flat (andelsbolig)

In Denmark, we have a system of "shared flats" (andelsboliger). When you buy a shared flat, you own only a fixed number of m2 of the total area of the building, and have the usage right for one of the flats. It is a different way of organizing ownership, however, living in a shared flat is too a great extend similar to living in your own flat.

For shared flats, you pay a monthly contribution to the organization running the building, but shared flats have the advantage of a substantially smaller purchasing cost. The price is fixed and often set at around 75-80% of the biannual public land valuation. It can also be adjusted to the valuation of a private valuer.

The owners of a building of flats are often jointly and equally liable for payments of debts, and hence it is very important to assess these regulations as well as the economy of the organization before purchasing a shared apartment.

You cannot obtain mortgage loans for shared flats, but must opt for a kind of personal loans which are granted on less favorable terms than mortgage loans. The personal loans for shared flats are generally also based on collateral.

You do not pay property taxes on your shared flat.

Signing the lease

According to the Danish Rent Act (Lejeloven), both tenant and landlord have certain rights and obligations. There is no obligation for either tenant or landlord to receive or work out a lease in writing. One of either party is, however, entitled to receive the lease in writing which can be done afterwards. It is most favourable to rent a flat without a lease because a lease normally reduces the conditions of the tenant. In this way leasing follows the rules of the Danish Rent Act. An oral lease is therefore very favourable especially if the state of moving and the notice period is not included.

If you as a tenant claim to receive a lease in writing stating the arrangements that you and the owner/landlord have agreed upon, the lease should state:

• The rent
• The notice period
• The state of the flat in which you are to hand it over when you move

Do not sign the lease before you have read it through thoroughly and have inspected the flat/house with the landlord. Links to English standard contract are provided below, however, if the lease is in Danish ask to have a scanned copy forwarded before you meet to sign it and go over it with a colleague, or even better bring a Danish speaker along.

You should make a report of all defects or shortcomings, write them down in the lease or an additional document signed by both you and the landlord. In case of future disputes, it is also recommended that you take photos to document the shortcomings together with the landlord and mention the photos in the lease. If you discover additional defects or shortcomings after moving in, you have two weeks to report them to the caretaker or landlord. Consequently, you will not be held accountable for damages that you have not caused.

Deposit

There are limits to the deposit amount that the owner may request. He can request up to 3 months deposit and 3 months prepaid rent.

The deposit will remain in the account of the owner until the flat has been inspected for any damages, and the heating and other utilities have been settled.

When you terminate your lease, you are not obliged to pay rent for the last three months, if you have prepaid your rent for this period.

In case of increments in the rent, the owner may also regulate the 3 months deposit and 3 months prepaid rent, so that it is equivalent to 6 months rent.

Noticing the lease

When moving out, it is recommended that you go over the report you made with the owner when you moved in where you assessed the defects and shortcomings of the flat. You must leave the flat in the same condition as when you moved in. If it is stated in the lease about refurbishing that you have to leave the flat in the same condition as you moved in, this means that if the floors were freshly sanded and varnished, and the walls newly painted, you must leave the flat in that same condition. However, if nothing is stated about refurbishing the rules about wear and tear applies which means you should paint when needed. The owner can put forward additional claims more than 14 days after you have left the flat and returned the keys to him.

Rent, housing subsidy

The lease should state the rent. If the rent is very high, you can apply for housing subsidy from the municipality. The right to housing subsidy is dependent on your income.

For the municipality of Copenhagen, you can do a calculation of your housing subsidy here (Danish only). You must provide information about your yearly income before tax (not including the 8% labour market contribution), fortune and rent (excluding utilities).

Examples: If you are a PhD (level 4) in the municipality of Copenhagen with no fortune paying 9.500 as rent for a 2 bedroom flat of 68m2 where you live alone, you can receive approximately 904 DKK monthly.

A postdoc (level 6) would receive approximately 346 DKK monthly for the same flat.

Complaining to the Rent Tribunal

It might be a better option to file a complaint about your rent instead of applying for a housing subsidy. It is not uncommon that foreign tenants pay as much as the above rent of 9500 + utilities for 68m2. A flat of 68m2 should cost no more than 4550 + utilities.

If you are paying too much, you can complain to the Rent Tribunal (Huslejenævnet) in the municipality where you live. You can complain both about a normal lease, as well as rooms/flats rented on subleases. The rent cannot be increased on the initiative by the Rent Tribunal.

In 2010, it costs 131 DKK to submit a complaint to the Rent Tribunal. It costs 262 DKK to complain of two issues. Seven of ten people who complain have their rent lowered. If you complain within the first year, you can have excessive rent which you have already paid returned. If you complain after the first year, you can have the future rent lowered. Your landlord cannot evict you because you have complained of the rent.

You should submit a written complaint with a letter stating briefly what you are complaining of. You must also include the lease, and any other documents relevant to your complaint. You will subsequently receive information about how to pay the fee. The Rent Tribunal accepts that you write in English, however, they respond in Danish.

If you live in the municipality of Copenhagen you can submit a scanned copy to borgerservice@kk.dk or mail it to Huslejenævnet, Københavns Kommune, Rådhuset, 1599 København V.

If you live in the municipality of Frederiksberg, you must email it to lejeret@frederiksberg.dk or mail it to Huslejenævnet, Fredriksberg Kommune, Rådhuset, 2000 Frederiksberg. Telephone: 38214237/38214238.

You can also complain about the amount of the deposit and the prepaid rent, if they exceed 6 months rent, as well as a variety of other unreasonable demands made by the landlord.

Expenses for utilities

Please note that that in addition to your monthly rent, you should expect to pay additionally for utilities, i.e. heating and hot water, electricity and gas. The amount that you use is registered on metres, which will be read once a year and when you move out. This is not always the case for heating which can also be measured by area or cubic content.

How to find Housing

A number of housing agents are targeting foreigners through English websites etc. Many of these are fairly expensive.

To locate cheaper housing options, we recommend that you use www.dba.dk and other websites where private landlords advertise. Use Google Translate or another online services to translate the advertisements that interest you.

Make sure to spread the rumour among your colleagues that you are looking for something cheaper/closer to work. Personal networks often play an important factor in finding better housing opportunities.

Websites for advertisements primarily by private landlords (information only in Danish):

http://www.dba.dk/boliger/lejebolig/lejelejlighed/
http://boligbasen.dk/indryk_lejebolig.asphttp://www.boligstedet.dk/
http://www.ledige-lejligheder.dk/
http://www.boliger.dk/
http://www.lejebolig.org/findrentals1.aspx
http://info.findbolig.nu/
http://www.flytteklar.dk/ 

Housing agents with information in English and Danish:

http://www.danishhomes.com/ (furnished and unfurnished apartments and houses)
http://www.copenhagen-housing.com (you need a login, but it is free)
http://www.boligportal.dk/
http://www.cphbolig.dk/
http://lejdinbolig.nu/

More Links

For general information about buying or renting a place, you can read more at this website.

If you need legal counselling in housing matters, you can become a member of LLO. Please visit the official website for more information.

If you are renting an apartment, you can use this standard rental contract (only in Danish) which is preferred by many landlords. For a translated English version please click here.

For the Danish Rent Act please go to this website. If you prefer it in Danish, you can read more at this website.

Vocabulary

2 Bedroom = 3 værelser (typically 2 bedrooms and a living room)
Apartment = Lejlighed
Apartment for rent = Lejlighed til leje or Lejebolig til leje
Room = Værelse
Room for rent = Værelse til leje
Sublease = Fremleje