Check the ads or ask around
In many parts of the country, finding accommodation can be difficult. If you want to find accommodation, you can:
- Consult your municipal authority housing office.
- Put your name down on a building association waiting list.
- Check the ads in the daily newspapers, local papers or special housing ne wspapers. You can also place an ad stating that you are looking for accommodation.
- Search the Int ernet. Here, you can plac e a fr ee ad. You can gain free access to the Internet at your local library.
- Look up under the “Accommodation section” in the yellow pages of your telephone directory or log onto www.degulesider.dk.
- Put a notice up at local supermarkets.
- Ask family, friends and acquaintances.
Social or private housing
Rented accommodation is either privately owned or owned by a non-profit building association. You can put your name down on a waiting list for an apartment. This means that you can rent the apartment when your name appears at the top of the list. But this may take many years. Ask a housing association.
Your municipal authority can refer you
Your municipal authority has a number of subsidised housing apartments at its disposal. You might be able to fi nd an apartment in this way. Ask your municipal authority.
Privately-owned apartments rarely have waiting lists
Privately-owned housing associations rarely have waiting lists. Here, it is the owner who decides who is to rent the vacant apartment.
Tenancy agreement
Rights and duties
Both the tenant and the owner have rights and duties. These are set out in the Danish Rent Act. The Act includes the rules regarding termination of the lease. As a tenant, you normally have to give three months’ notice. And the landlord can not suddenly evict you onto the street for failing to fulfi l your duties.
The Danish Rent Act also contains rules relating to the level of rent, apartment maintenance and the number of people who are allowed to live in the apartment.
You are entitled to a tenancy agreement
In accordance with the Danish Rent Act, it is your right to demand a tenancy agreement stating the conditions agreed by you and your landlord. Among other things, the tenancy agreement must state how much notice you have to give when terminating the lease. And it must state in what condition the apartment must be left when you vacate it.
Be sure to have both names on the tenancy agreement
If you are a husband and wife couple who are to live together in the same apartment, make sure that both your names are on the tenancy agreement. This will ensure that one of the parties can remain in the apartment if the other party leaves or the couple gets divorced.
Check the apartment for faults and flaws
Do not sign the tenancy agreement before you have read the small print. And not before you and the landlord have gone through the apartment to check for any flaws and faults. If the apartment has flaws and faults, write them down, either in the tenancy agreement or on an alternative piece of paper which should then be signed by you and the landlord. If you discover flaws and faults in the apartment after moving in, you should contact the building caretaker within the first 14 days. This will ensure that you will not have to pay for damage you have not caused.
Deposit or lease premium
Agree on the deposit with the landlord
You should expect to pay a deposit or lease premium before or together with the fi rst month’s rent. The size of the deposit or premium is to be decided by you and the landlord.
The landlord can use the deposit or premium to cover the cost of damages to the apartment. However, if you leave the apartment in the same condition as you found it, the landlord must refund the full deposit or premium amount when you vacate the apartment.
How many tenants?
There may be certain limits
In the tenancy agreement, some landlords stipulate the maximum number of tenants that can occupy an apartment. And municipal authorities can choose to adopt a policy restricting the number of people in each living room area to two people. Ask your municipal authority about what rules apply.
Rent subsidy
Apply to your local authority for a loan and a rent subsidy
You can apply to your municipal authority for a deposit loan for your rented accommodation. The authority will assess your request on the basis of your financial and social situation. You are required to pay back the loan.
As a tenant, you can also apply to your municipal authority for a rent subsidy. This is called rent subsidy. The authority will calculate this on the basis of:
- The number of people living in the apartment.
- The size of the apartment.
- The amount of rent.
- The size of the total household earnings.
Pensioners can apply for a special housing allowance.
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with the municipal authority’s decision regarding a deposit loan or rent subsidy, you can complain. The letter from the municipal authority must contain complaint guidelines explaining where and when you can file your complaint.
Advice
Speak to a housing advisor
Some large non-profi t housing associations have their own
housing advisors. Here you can get useful advice regarding your accommodation and help in understanding letters relating to your accommodation.
Cooperative housing
You have to pay a share as well as rent
A cooperative dwelling consists of one or more houses or one or more apartments owned and administered by a cooperative housing society. The cooperative housing society owns the property. When you buy a share of the property, you gain the right of use to a part of the property owned by the association. In addition to the share, you must also pay rent to the housing society.
Rules and activities
As a cooperative member, you automatically become a member of the housing society. As a cooperative housing member you have the right to participate in and vote at the society’s annual meeting. At the annual meeting, the members decide what rules shall apply within the association. The annual meeting also decides when and how the building is to be maintained
and improved.
