Housing
As a general rule, you need permission to build new buildings, extend or convert existing buildings, and to change their use. Smaller buildings (sheds, canopies, carports and the like) do not always need planning permission, but they are subject to a number of rules.
In practice, it is the individual municipality that deals with building applications in the municipality and the municipal council that issues building permits and any exemptions.
The municipality deals with building applications in accordance with the Building Regulations, but in certain areas the municipality can lay down rules that are stricter than or different from those prescribed by the Building Regulations, and this is done by adopting a local plan.
There may also be restrictions on what you can do to your house or land. Such restrictions are set out in recorded easements, also called declarations, which appear in a transcript from the land register.
Building permit
You should always apply for planning permission and submit notifications to your local authority. If you have questions about your construction case, you should contact the relevant staff at the municipality.
You must submit your building permit application digitally. If you are not able to make the application yourself online, you can get help at your local Citizen Service centre. Remember to book an appointment.
Other laws and regulations
The Building Act, the Building Regulations and the instructions of the Danish National Building Research Institute (SBi) are the basis for all construction, but other laws and regulations can also have a concrete impact on a construction. This applies, for example, to certain Danish Standards and the Danish Engineering Association’s norms, which have the same validity as the SBi’s instructions, the Heavy Current Regulations, which are the basis for electrical work, and the Planning Act, according to which the country is divided into different zones.
Depending on whether your home is located in an urban zone, a rural zone or a holiday home area, there may be different requirements that need to be met in terms of distances and occupancy.
You must submit your building permit application digitally.
If you are not able to make the application yourself online, you can get help at your local Citizen Service centre. Remember to book an appointment.
A property assessment is the Danish government’s assessment of the value of your property.
Your property assessment consists of 2 values:
- property value
- land value.
The 2 values will be used to calculate your property tax.
The Danish Property Assessment Agency generally assesses your property every 2 years. You pay property tax on the assessment for the following 2 years until your next assessment, after which your property tax is readjusted.
Since 2020, The Danish Property Assessment Agency has been assessing properties with a new property assessment system. New property assessments are regularly sent out to homeowners.
You will be notified via Digital Post when your property assessment is complete. You can read your Digital Post on several different platforms: lifeindenmark.dk, the Digital Post app, e-Boks and mit.dk.
On the Property Assessment Portal, you can read what to do if you wish to complain about a property assessment:
The digital Land Register
You can apply to the municipality for a tenancy deposit loan if you are moving into social housing (almen bolig). It is a requirement that the residence was built and first put into use after 1 April 1964.
Loans are available for both flats and single rooms. You cannot apply for a loan if you are moving into social young person’s housing without an independent kitchen.
As a general rule, the municipality must grant a loan – known as a ‘compulsory loan’ – if your household income is below a certain threshold:
- If you are moving into a flat: your total household income on moving in must not exceed DKK 302,677 (2026) DKK per year. If there are children in your household, this amount is increased by DKK 53,100 (2026) for each child up to and including 4 children.
- If you are moving into a single room: your total household income on moving in must not exceed DKK 205,040 (2026) per year. If there are children in your household, this amount is increased by DKK 53,100 (2026) for each child up to and including 4 children.
In addition to social housing, loans can be granted for certain specific types of housing for elderly and disabled people. There are also a number of special rules for refugees and for young people studying and living in social housing in a shared flat.
If you move to another municipality, you can apply for a tenancy deposit loan in the new municipality.
Contact the municipality if you want to know more about tenancy deposit loans (for social housing).
The tenancy deposit loan (for social housing) covers the entire deposit of the tenant.
The municipality may refuse your application for a tenancy deposit loan (for social housing) even if your household income is below the threshold. This can happen in various scenarios, listed below:
- According to the municipality’s overall assessment, you do not need the loan. This will typically be the case if you have sufficient assets to pay the deposit or if your income is only temporarily below the income threshold. Another example is if you already live in satisfactory accommodation in the same municipality or urban area.
- The rent exceeds half your household income.
- You have not settled an outstanding balance on a previous tenancy deposit loan. However, there are special cases where you should not be refused even if you have not settled the outstanding balance. Thus, the municipality is generally obliged to provide a new tenancy deposit loan even if you have not settled an outstanding balance on a previous tenancy deposit loan, if you have been evicted due to defaulting on payment or if you are threatened with eviction and your landlord has applied to the bailiff’s court.
Contact the municipality if you want to know more about being refused a loan for a tenancy deposit.
Even if your household income is higher than the stipulated threshold, the municipality can still grant tenancy deposit loans (for social housing) or guarantee loans. These are called ‘voluntary loans’.
Voluntary loans can be granted regardless of when the home was first put into use.
The municipality decides in which cases it will grant a voluntary loan.
Tenancy deposit loans (for social housing) are paid directly to the housing organisation.
As a general rule, you do not have to pay interest or make repayments on the loan for the first 5 years of the term of the loan.
Once the first 5 years have passed, the interest on the loan begins and you need to start paying back the loan over a period of time. The interest rate is currently 4.5 per cent of the outstanding balance at any time. The repayment period depends on the type of accommodation in which you live:
- If you live in a flat, you must repay the loan within 10 years.
- If you live in a single room, you must repay the loan within 5 years.
When you move out of your home, the housing association must repay the tenancy deposit to the municipality, which will then settle the tenancy deposit loan with you.
Contact the municipality if you want to know more about repaying tenancy deposit loans.
If you do not agree with the municipality’s decision, you must make a complaint to the municipality within 4 weeks. The municipality must then re-assess its decision within 4 weeks of the complaint being received.
If the municipality upholds its decision, it will forward your complaint to the Board of Appeal, which will rule on the decision.
When you rent housing, expenses for, for example, electricity and water consumption are most often not included in the rent. How much you will have to pay depends on how much you consume.
Your home is equipped with meters, which record your consumption. You can read the meters yourself and you must report the readings to the utility companies once a year and when moving in and moving out.
How to report meters
Reporting meters can often be done online or by phone. The necessary information – customer number and recipient number – is marked on your bill.
Central heating might be included in your rent as a monthly payment in advance. Once a year, the actual amount of consumed heating is read by a company. Typically, they will post a note in your hallway on when to expect their visit. If you are not able to be there, you will be asked to give your keys to a neighbour or the building’s caretaker.
Leaving a residence
You must read your meters before you move out and inform your provider. Otherwise you risk paying for more than you have consumed and you will be held responsible for the consumption until the next resident registers as a consumer.
Electricity in Denmark is 230 Volts and the electrical frequency is 50 Hertz. If you bring an electrical appliance to Denmark that does not accept 230 Volts at 50 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter.
These 2 types of plugs are most common in Denmark:
- Plug C: Popularly known as the Euro plug. It is a 2-pin unearthed plug
- Plug K: Has 2 round pins and a spade grounding pin.
In residences, general transportable 230 V class I electrical appliances, for example coffee machines, irons and toasters need not be fitted with an earthed plug. If the socket has no earth connection, the ground wire cannot be connected and it is therefore necessary to ensure that the socket is protected by means of ground fault circuit breakers (HFI/HPFI).
There are a great many different providers of TV packages, internet and telephony. Some of them offer packages with all services in one.
There are several ways to gain access to TV channels. In many buildings, it is possible to get a bundle of programmes through cable TV. Another option is to use a satellite disc. Ask for advice in the shop where you buy or rent your TV or talk to colleagues and friends.
There are several ways to gain access to the internet. It can be done via ADSL, ISDN, cable TV, satellite master antenna networks ('SMATV') or via mobile broadband.
Internet access via cable TV requires access to cable TV. You can gain access to mobile broadband, for example via a mobile phone, a USB modem or the computer’s built-in broadband modem.
ADSL is the most widely used broadband connection in Denmark. Several telecommunications entities provide ADSL connections at various speeds.
Most subscribers to the internet pay a fixed price that is charged on a monthly basis.
Mobile phones, mobile subscriptions, and prepaid telephone cards for the mobile phone are available from a great number of shops and on the Internet.
Check the specific supply and prices on providers’ websites. Their offers change quickly and the competition is tough, so you might save money by doing some thorough market research.
In Denmark, we aim to recycle as much waste as possible in order to be as environmentally responsible as possible.
The municipalities are responsible for providing waste bins and collecting waste from properties.
If your residence is rented, you may receive housing benefits from Udbetaling Danmark to pay the rent. It depends on a number of conditions whether you can get housing benefits. It depends for example on how much you pay in rent, how many children and adults live there, and what total income is for all who live in the dwelling.
Contact Udbetaling Danmark if you wish to apply for housing benefits:
Contact Udbetaling Danmark by phone +45 70 12 80 63.
You can check to see if you are entitled to housing benefits, and you can also apply for housing benefits via the self-service. The self-service is in Danish, but you can find English instructions to help you:
If you are moving from one address in Denmark to another address in Denmark, you have to inform the authorities.
The online self-service is primarily in Danish (depending on which municipality you live in or are about to move to), but you can always get help to fill it in at the local Citizen Service centre. Remember to book an appointment. Or maybe you know a Danish speaking person, who can help you. You need MitID to be able to use to the self-service:
Remember to bring your MitID, if you need help with a self-service at the local Citizen Service centre.
You can at the earliest inform the authorities of your change of address 4 weeks before you move and it must be done no later than 5 days after you have moved to your new home.
6950 Ringkøbing
