Norway Rental Laws: Pro-landlord, Neutral or Pro-tenant?

Norway's landlord and tenant laws are judged by the Global Property Guide to be Pro-Tenant between landlord and tenant. Norwegian rental law leans pro-tenant, especially in terms of stability and legal protections. However, it also allows landlords to maintain control of their property within a structured and predictable legal process.

Rents: Can landlord and tenant freely agree rents in Norway?

The Norwegian rental market is free. However, rent may not be agreed upon that is unreasonable compared with that normally obtained in agreements for newly rented property let on similar terms. But in practice, this provision is not onerous to the landlord.

If no specific rent has been agreed on, the landlord or tenant may demand a rent corresponding to that normal in similar property let on similar agreement terms. Cases will be heard either by the Conciliation Court (forliksrådet) or by the Rent Disputes Tribunal (Husleietvistutvalget).

Before raising the rent, a landlord is required to provide the tenant with a minimum of three months’ notice. Any rent increase must be fair and stay within the legal limits set by law.

Deposits

In Norway, landlords are allowed to request a security deposit, but it cannot exceed the equivalent of three months' rent. This deposit is intended to cover any damages or unpaid rent and must be refunded in full if the tenant meets all payment obligations and leaves the property undamaged.

What rights do landlords and tenants have in Norway, especially as to duration of contract, and eviction?

In Norway, both landlords and tenants have well-defined rights and responsibilities governed primarily by the Tenancy Act (Husleieloven).

Rental agreements can either be fixed-term or indefinite. A fixed-term contract typically runs for a specific duration, such as one year. However, if the landlord is a private individual, the contract must be for a minimum of three years, or at least one year if the rental involves the landlord’s own residence. If these conditions are not met, or if the contract does not explicitly state that it is fixed-term, the agreement is automatically considered indefinite.

Indefinite, or open-ended, contracts do not have a set end date and continue until either the tenant or landlord terminates the agreement according to legal procedures. These types of contracts are more common in Norway and generally offer greater protection for tenants.

How effective is the Norwegian legal system?

In the case of indefinite rental contracts, a landlord in Norway may only terminate the agreement if there are legal grounds. These include situations where the landlord or a close family member needs to move into the property, when the property is due for significant renovation or demolition, or when the tenant has committed a serious breach of the agreement, such as failing to pay rent or causing substantial damage. Any notice of termination must be provided in writing and must clearly state the reason. The standard notice period is three months, unless a different period has been agreed upon in the contract. If the tenant disagrees with the termination, they have the right to object, and the landlord would then need to take the matter to court in order to proceed with an eviction.

Tenants, on the other hand, can usually terminate an indefinite lease with three months’ notice, unless the lease specifies a different notice period.

If a tenant violates the lease agreement in a serious way—such as through repeated non-payment of rent—the landlord can initiate an eviction process. However, eviction in such cases must go through the legal system; landlords are not permitted to remove tenants on their own without a court ruling.

Legislation

Tenant and landlord relations in Norway are primarily regulated by the Tenancy Act, known in Norwegian as Husleieloven.

Brief history: Recent changes in Norwegian landlord and tenant law

In the 1970s, a deregulation of the housing sector began, and now Norway has a liberalized housing market, similar to the USA or Australia. The Law of Tenancy (2000) removed the last rent controls, with the exception of Oslo pre-war housing. There is broad political consensus that the rental market constitutes an important part of the overall housing market, which requires numerous rental houses to function properly; in addition, a well-functioning rental market is believed to stabilize the price of owner-occupied houses.

At the same time, there is an emerging consensus that the free market does not provide sufficient housing for the poor. In 1998, the Government agreed that the state should finance a new non-commercial rental housing sector, with the aim of building 50,000 new non-commercial rental dwellings over the next 10-15 years, located in the biggest towns, with low and regulated rents.