The Danish Rental Act is the law that primarily regulates the conditions of being a tenant in a private residential rental property. If you’re looking to rent a residence in a private property, like an owned apartment or a house, then you’ll need to follow the rules of the Danish Rental Act.
If you’re renting a residence in a common rental property, or if you’re renting rooms in a business property, then your situation would instead be regulated by the Common Rental Act and the Business Rental Act (not official translations).
The Danish Rental Act’s most important purpose is to protect you as a tenant, by regulating the conditions of your tenancy. Therefore it’s in the Danish Rental Act that you’ll find the rules for determinations of your rent and your deposit. It’s similarly in the Danish Rental Act that you’ll find the rules regarding the lease, moving out, renovation of the rental, as well as the rules on subletting, termination and annulment of the tenancy.
If you think the Danish Rental Act is way too extensive and difficult to understand, then you’re not alone! The Danish Rental Act is in fact among the most complex laws that you can find in Denmark, and is even compared to the complexity of the notorious Danish tax laws. The reason why the law is so complex is among other the many special conditions that the law contains, and because the law often times refer to other laws as well. The Danish Rental Act is therefore often revised, which definitely doesn’t reduce the difficulty of working with the Danish Rental Act. The current iteration of the Danish Rental Act was implemented on the 1. of July 2015.
If you’re facing a challenge regarding your tenancy, then it might be necessary for you to seek legal council by experts on the area. You will most often be able to get legal assistance with a wide range of challenges regarding your tenancy in a tenant’s organization like the LLO. If you have a concrete complaint regarding your tenancy, then you’ll most likely need to file it with the Housing Board.
If you’ve been paying too much rent, then we at Rent Guide are experts at getting you your overpaid rent back. We also make sure you don’t need to involve yourself with all the legal struggles with your landlord – we take that battle for you.
Good to know about the Danish Rental Act’s rules
When you wish to rent an apartment or a house, then you should be familiar with the rules of the Danish Rental Act.
As a minimum, you should be aware of the Danish Rental Act’s rules regarding:
- The lease
- Moving in
- Faults in the apartment or house
- Termination and annulment of the tenancy
- Moving out
- Your rent
If you wish to sublet your apartment or house, then the Danish Rental Act allows for this as well, however it unsurprisingly has a separate set of rules for this! In the following section, we’ll take a close look at some of the Danish Rental Act’s rules.
- The lease is the written agreement of the tenancy between you and your landlord. The lease describes the obligations and rights that exists in the tenancy, both for you and your landlord. The lease also defines the size of your rent and your deposit, how long the tenancy will last, and what things of the house or apartment that you’re allowed to use.
According to the Danish Rental Act, the lease can be written between you and your landlord, should you wish to do so. It’s not a necessity to have a lease however. That’s because the tenancy will always be subject to the rules of the Danish Rental Act, unless you and your landlord have agreed on special terms.
Among the most important parts of the lease for you as a tenant, is section 11 (often written as § 11) regarding special terms. It’s in this section where the landlord would make exceptions and additions that might add additional obligations for you as a tenant.
- When moving in, then you as a tenant would be invited to do an inspection. However, according to the Danish Rental Act, you’re not obligated to participate. You’re entitled to be sent a physical copy of the inspection-rapport at the latest two weeks after the inspection. You need to confirm in writing that you’ve received the rapport to your landlord.
- Issues with the residence needs to be reported and documented to your landlord no later than 2 weeks after you’ve moved into the residence. If you don’t, then you might risk having to pay for these issues yourself when you move out.
- Termination of the tenancy can be done by the tenant with 3 months warning. If the residence is only a single room in the landlord’s private residence, then you only need a warning of a single month. You and your landlord can also agree on a more appropriate warning of termination if you wish. You can also agree on a time limited tenancy. This means that the tenancy can’t be terminated in the period that is agreed upon. Typically, your landlord’s access to terminate the tenancy will be more limited than yours, and they will need to meet a list of certain conditions before they can even terminate. Under normal circ*mstances, then your landlord have to give a full years warning before they can terminate your tenancy.
- According to the Danish Rental Act, annulment of the lease can happen if either party violates the lease. A typical reason for annulment is if you as a tenant have missed a payment of rent. The rules regarding annulment are of course also riddled with special and detailed rules!
- When you’re moving out of your rental residence, then you need to make sure that you’re leaving it in the same condition that it was when you moved in. This means you don’t need to fully renovate the apartment or house when you’re moving out. And this applies regardless of how the place was when you moved in. Your landlord can only demand that you renovate the apartment or house, if you return it in a worse state than it could be reasonably expected to be in. Consequently, you can’t expect your new rental residence to be newly renovated or freshly painted when you move in.
Another central part of the regulation in the Danish Rental Act is the size of the rent, and how to determine it.
The Danish Rental Act and your rent
It’s crucial to be clear on the rules and special conditions surrounding the determination of your rent in the Danish Rental Act, so you don’t pay too much rent. Here it’s worth remembering that if you have been paying too much rent, then there’s help to be found! At Rent Guide, were experts at helping you get you overpaid rent back into your pockets.
According to the Danish Rental Act, the first determining factor is whether the rental residence is located in a regulated or unregulated municipality. In regulated municipalities there are special rules regarding the size of your rent, as well as the regulation of the rent itself. This is all described in “Boligreguleringsloven” chapters II-V.
Municipalities that are unregulated don’t have special rules on the size of the rent. In these areas, the determination of the rent must be done based on the “value of the rented”. In layman’s terms, it means that the rent needs to be set in relation to similar rental residences in the area. However, the far majority of municipalities in Denmark are regulated.
In regulated, as well as unregulated municipalities, the rent is determined by a list of factors such as:
- The location of the property
- The size of the rental residence
- The amount of residences in the property
- Whether parts of the property are used for business
- What equipment and facilities are included
- The condition of the rented residence
In certain instances the parties can agree on being able to set the rent freely according to the Danish Rental Act § 53. For example, this applies to residential apartments in properties that haven’t been used prior to December 31st 1991. In this case, you’ll only be able to lower your rent, if it’s so unreasonably high so that it falls under “Aftaleloven” (Danish contract law) § 36.
Should you suspect that you might be paying too much rent, then you should have it looked at by professionals. Since the rules are so complex, then most websites and guides on the Danish Rental Act recommend that you get help from a legal professional. In some instances this might very well be a good idea. However, if you’ve been paying too much rent, then we’d always think that you’d be best served with the experts and excellent service you can find at Rent Guide!
Get your overpaid rent back – Rent Guide are experts in the Danish Rental Act
The correct determination of rent is a very complex question. Consequently many tenants end up paying too much rent. Even if you as a tenant were to find out that you’ve been paying too much rent, then the complexity of the Danish Rental Act might still keep you from complaining. You risk having to spend immense amounts of energy and time on something that doesn’t guarantee any results.
It doesn’t have to be like that. At Rent Guide we’re experts at helping tenants like you get your overpaid rent back. We have a strong familiarity with the rules of the Danish Rental Act, as well as the common law on the area. Since the level of you rent is regulated in the Danish Rental Act, then we at Rent Guide have a clear procedure and action plan for how to get your overpaid rent back.
When Rent Guide is helping you, we among others check whether your rent falls under the category cost-determined rent, rent based on the value of the rented, or whether it’s market-rent.
The rent in most rental apartments are to be set following the rules of cost-determined rent, but not always. When the rent is cost-determined, then it depends on the location of the residence, and when the property was built. It’s definitely not easy for most tenants to figure out whether they’ve been paying too much rent!
Luckily, we at Rent Guide know our stuff when it comes to rent! We are experts on the Danish Rental Act, and its rules. We’re also highly experienced in dealing with the lawyers of landlords, who’re trying to prevent you from getting your overpaid rent back. To most tenants, even the thought of having to deal with lawyers who work with the Danish Rental Act keeps them from trying to get their money back. At Rent Guide, we consider ourselves ninjas on this particular area!
When working to get your overpaid rent back, we work from the principal “No Cure, No Pay”. It means that if we don’t win the case for you, then you don’t have to pay us anything. If you’ve paid too much rent, then there are good chances that you’ll get your money back. Contact Rent Guide today!
