Renting in Denmark!! 

when you rent... always remember: - read the water meter and the electricity meter... both when you move in and when you leave the tenancy. - take pictures of ALL damage BEFORE you move in and review them with the landlord so you don't have to pay for them when you move. (if necessary, have the pictures printed on the bibliothek, and circle all damages, and attach them to the rental contract. ) -a chip on the kitchen worktop can suddenly mean that YOU have to pay for a new worktop. paint, table top, sanding of the floor, new lock, and then there is simply no more left of your deposit.

I once rented an appartment, when I moved the boligselskab (mangement cooperative) wanted to keep a lot of my deposit. Well I disagreed and tried to complaint to the caretakers to no awail. Then I wrote a complaint to the board of directors, and signed my name PLUS a degree as cand.jur (law degree). All of a sudden, the coop only wanted a fraction of my deposit, and only what they could prove I had to pay (i.e. The wooden floor had to be re varnished). The funny part is that I do NOT have a cand.jur law degree, but they did not call my bluff - so that was a small but quite satisfactory win.

The danish legilation on renting is preceptive, this means that key conditions in the renting contract that has to follow a national standard. That is max. three month depositum, and max. 3 month of rent ahead (the latter optional for the owner wether he wants to use this option in full). Normally it is very hard for the owner to evict a tenant, and you can subimit a complaint over prices to a public board. It is very restrict regulation in favour of the tennants. The costs of leaving a rented appartment is more loosly regulated, but newer legislation place a kind of a limmit on this as well. ❤ your channel.

Regarding deposits: My theory is that private owners are pretty willing to give a fair share of the deposit back (and tend to charge a fairer rent as well). Companies just see it as part of maximising their profit: they are allowed to use it to refurbish the apartment, and so they *will* do that. We rented a place when we first came to Denmark that we knew would only be temporary. It was expensive, yet far away from everything. So we made sure not to drill any holes in the walls and we made sure not to harm the wooden floor in any way. Nevertheless, we got some smudges on the wall, and so we painted it ourselves as neatly as we could, using properly good paint. The company however sent a professional inspector who just said "I can see you painted the walls and this is not good enough" and so we lost our _entire_ deposit AND paid for the paint AND lost time on the painting. Fortunately we were able to buy property now, so no more of that b.lls.it. Regarding owners kicking out tenants: that is pretty difficult to do, and that is why you will often get a temporary contract. But I am told that private owners can force out the tenants by claiming that they need the place back for their own usage. Just announce that, give the tenants a few months to move out, then 'live' there for some time, and then you're free to do what you want again with the property. Not sure if that is true, but it sounds legit.

Boligforeninger are not unimportant to mention here. It helps to be a member of one, but it matters how long you have been a member, so that will be a hurdle for people new to the country. I don't know about other boligforeninger, but in mine, you move ahead in the queue to an apartment if you have already been living in one of their apartments. That is how I got my 75m2 apartment near the centre of Esbjerg, with a shed(convenient for bikes and scooters or storage), a decent sized storage cellar, and a shared laundry room where you hook up your own machines. I pay around 3500kr. a month before boligstøtte. Then there're utilities on top of that.

There is a new law, that normal wear and tear on rentals you can't take from deposit. Good idea with pictures, I do the same when renting my places out, but we can make a fault. Great video 👍

How timely this video is! I am looking forward to starting school this fall, and there is little information in terms of testimonials when it comes to renting in Denmark. This pretty explained most of the questions I had in mind, especially on the 3 month deposit and refund policy. Thank you very much for sharing this.

I've lived in 3 different apartments one privately owned and 2 that was part of a bigger company, each time I got most of the deposit back as I took really good care of the places, but I also did cleaning and such by myself.

It’s actually true. If you rent your house out for more that two years you as a house owner can no longer ask people to leave except if you move abroad and you come home again. We rented our flat out when we moved to London and it was for two years. The guy that lived there wanted to rent for 1 more year so we wrote another contract but stated we would come back from abroad and live in our flat after the 3 year. Only that way you can rent and ask your renters to move out of your home again. Of cause most people are normal and kind and you can always hope that you can ask people to leave your home if you rented your place out for more that two years but if they don’t want to move out you’ll need to go to court to get them out and even though you can not be sure that you win your home back. The guy that rented our flas did actually track the flat so bad that we honestly couldn’t gov any deposit back we even had to pay a lot of our own money to repair our flat.

It is funny that this is basically exactly the same as in Germany. Our countries are very similar in many regards but things like this are always interesting to know

You are perfectly right about deposits. The standard is that it looks like it did when you when you got it. So yea taking pictures and clean and paint when you leave. Personally I have always gotten 75-100% back from renting in Denmark.

I've previously rented through a private person and got 95% of my deposit back. Currently renting through management company and expect to get 80% back whenever I move. Edit: I'd probably only get 50% back, if I just left without deep cleaning the place, painting the walls, polishing the floor etc. But being cheap and from Jutland, I will handle it myself for less money

2 things: - The time-limited rent is something I have exclusively encountered in the Greater Copenhagen Area. Most places in Denmark your contract runs until you decide to move, be it 6 months or 51 years like my neightbour just did. - You generally get your depotit back when you move away, after the over uses some of the money to make repairs inside the apparment, and sometimes re-paints. HOWEVER, Copenhagen's landlords are have a notoriously bad (but accurate) rep for finding any excuse to pocket every single coin of the deposit, such as "There are scratches in the brushed steel sink" or supposedly finding the most expensive paint store in Europe and using it for a tripple coating.

You seem to navigate well in your rentals and communication. I bet you are happy to be in your own home now. Thanks for the good information.

That is great information, thanks.

Something to always remember when signing renting contracts, is that you can never sign away rights that is given to you by the renting law. So even if you sign a time limited lease, it might not be valid. The owner has to have a good reason to set a time limit at all, usually 6 or 12 months. These may include "after that I want to live here myself" or "after that I plan to renovate the place". And then they have to do what they said they would do, meaning they can't rent it out again just after you move out. Not even to you, so you can't stay a second period. IF the owner lets you stay longer than a month after the the period end, then you automatically become a permanent renter no matter what you signed. As long as you pay your rent or violate other terms (It takes a lot) These laws exist to protect renters from exploitation. And if rent in the states is anything like we see in movies, I think we should be happy we have them.

really helpfull guys!

I've rented trough a cooperative (DEAS) and, although it has unlimited dates, they included in the contract that there's a yearly update on the costs (rent and utilities), so, I guess that even in private landlords they can include that in the renting contract... but I think that there's a limit on which they can increase it, and if it's a 2years limited contract, then they can increase the rent and utilities freely.

There is deposit and then there is prepaid rent. You cannot pay more than 3x monthly rent in deposit, you can also not pay more than 3x prepaid rent. Usually you pay 3x rent in deposit and 1x prepaid month worth of rent. Make sure you get the bills for the spendings of the deposits(You are the one paying for the services in the deposit). Make sure to stop the rent the month before as you already paid for the last month of rent.

the 2 year rule is just that if you stay more than 2 years you will have right to keep the place over another tenant or the first right to buy for the estimated market price ..... you got the deposit thing almost spot on

I love this chanel... Thanks. Some comments on today's theme: 1) Yes, identify, write down and take pictures of all damage / wear and tear in the apartment / house. BUT you should also know that there is a period of time after you have moved in, during which you can show damage / wear and tear. I'm not sure exactly how long the period should be, but it's AT LEAST two weeks. But actually think it is longer. Most landlords will accept such notices within "an acceptable period of time" if it is clear that it was there on takeover. 2) When moving out, it is correct that it typically takes two weeks until the end of the rent payment. BUT Water, heating and electricity should be read on the date the landlord takes over the apartment. In other words, the tenant should not pay for the electricity (+ heat and water) that craftsmen, cleaning crews, new tenants who take over the apartment early, etc. use.

The part where you talk about leaving halfway through the month and still paying for utilities till the end of the month can be further explained. You can check your "elmåler" in the date you leave (take a picture of it) and do the same for the water/heat if you can moniter your usage and it should be very easy for the landlord to deduct so you don't pay for the utilities you aren't using.

4 months upfront isn't so bad, often you have to pay 7 months upfront. Those would be the first month's rent, 3 months deposit and 3 months payed in advance. When you terminate your rental period, the last 3 months are already paid for. I think they do it so people can't just terminate the contract and then try to skip the payment the last months.

I have moved from my, now sold house to my wife's appartement for over 50 years! I think we are the only ones still renting, as the block has mostly been sold as single appartements, but with a small garden outside, we hope to live here for the rest of our, now both 75 years life. We have efficient laws protecting people renting! I also had a house for rent for many years and paid most of the deposit back, before I finally sold it.

Of cause you don't have to leave 2 weeks early if you don't want to on a timed lease. But you can have an agreement with the owner that you get a refund of that time if you do. Otherwise they will have to do cleaning afterwards. But since they can't re-rent immediately after a time based lease anyway, they don't have to worry about a period without rent. Those "half month's" are for normal leases, where the owner wants to prepare for a new renter as quickly as possible.

❤ YOU GUYS...and Your content 😊

When you rent (like an apartment) from rental-companys, you will normally move in a complete restored and painted place,and when you move out it is redone for the next owner, this is where the rental-company can make a little extra, because they have agreement with the restorers, the bill will match your deposit, and they get a discount from the restorer (unofficially) so expect to loose your deposit if you rent from a company!!!!!

If the contract is not renewed every two years, the tenant cannot throw you out of the house / flat, therefore the contract is typically for 2 years. Under the housing company I live in, the deposit is used to pay for the renovation of the vacated apartment, if renovation is necessary. If you live in the property for more than 10 years, the property pays for renovations, unless there are things that are damaged. Normally after 10 years, a new kitchen and sometimes a new bathroom are installed, which the next owner pays with a depreciation over 10 years.

Nope its if you sub lease, then after 2 years you can takeover the appartement, but if the owner owns it, they can rent it out forever. Some owners live abroad for a period of time, so they rent out their for that time.

Works both ways with regard to the deposit and renovations. I would expect a freshly painted and as new condition when I overtake an apartment. And suspect the next person after me the same. So I think its perfectly ok

Hi Joshua Loving your videos. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm in the same predicament as you were when you moved to Denmark. Planning my move in mid November this year for work. My family will follow a few months later when the weather improves. Your videos have given me great insight into what to expect when I move up. On another note, I would like to see a video on how you found the right school for Maya. Was this an english medium International School? Hope we can hook up when I move over. Would love to meet you and your family in person.

Some fact that could be useful: If a tenant wants to move out before the (usually) three months notice the owner is obligated to try to find a new tenant. This means that when the owner finds a new tenant you have the right to get (some or all of) the prepaid rent back accordingly

yes, she could not break the lease, because you had a longer than 2 year lease. Only if she herself wants to move back in, or you grossly mismanaged it, could she kick you out. Also normally you pay 7 months rent in advance 1 month for current month 3 months deposit, and 3 months exit...

in an place, that's not privatly owned, there's almost always something that says "live here for X years (6-8 years) and it's normal wear and tear" so u dont have to pay anything, and will get your full deposit back, just make sure u clean it...

Hey Josh & Miranda. In addition to your "renting video". There are two separate things when it comes to paying out upfront. One is called a "Deposit": here you should get everything back unless there is severe damage but normal wear and tear does not count. The other is called "indskud": here you say bye-bye to everything. They will use and abuse everything. This is most common for larger places with lots of apartments and managed by a management company. BTW, Miranda is right about the latter. Those management companies will spend every single krone and more so if they can. It is outrageous!! Private rent you just have to be careful who owns it. Some people are pros and have no shame and own multiple places. They are normally "famous" for their scam so it is just a matter of staying clear of such. Otherwise, as you said it is pretty straight forward but covering your a.. ;).

I've never heard about having to leave 2 weeks before the month is up. And I'm danish btw

2 year rule has been amended so the owner can now return if its obvious that the owner wants to return to live in the apartment/house themselves.

The law is simple. Beyond two years you get close to squatters rights, but can be ejected if you don't pay the rent on time or if the owner wants to move in. If you make multiple consecutive contracts that add up to two years or more, then it's the same as having had a contract for the full time. In general the law says you can't make a contract that puts the renter worse off than what's in the law. The owner can agree to changes that makes them worse off than the law. For the deposit, there's a renters union you can join who can help you get a reasonable part of the deposit back. The law says it has to be real costs, so you could end up having the work needed appraised.

On getting deposits back. I do think none the less. Expect it to be gone, for your own sanity. :P Then you get happy when you get half back. :P But your experience is about my experience as well. :)

What are the requirements for income? In USA you have to make 3 times of monthly rent in order to be eligible to rent an apartment or a house.

Haven't heard about the two week overlap, myst have been something your previous landlord wanted. Definitely not standard

Do you need cpr number to rent a flat as an EU resident.

More important, do you like your new house? Was it worth it?

Even though most people are trustworthy, always get the negotiations in writing. Also, If you feel like you're paying to much rent, you can file a claim to Huslejenævnet

hi now that we talk about "trying on tuesday", did you have a cowboy toast? :) (yes, we have a toast that is called that)

U might can make a video about the quality of the buildings. that might worth a video... if U don't live in a new building for 12-15000 dkk + accommodation/month then when your neighbors jump the whole floor moves paper walls you can hear your neighbors fart and conditions of the bathrooms and sizes are a big jokes if there's any in the apartment and not just a shower cabin in your bedroom I was pretty disappointed when I moved here

A rented apartment, can only be re-rented for two years, unless the owner agree. That's maybe why two years often is mentioned.

The 2 year rule is a myth confused with a rule that gives tenants the right to sub-let the entire apartment up to 2 years if their absence is temporary, i.e. travelling / education / working abroad. Whether a tenant stays 2 years or 5 years does not affect the rights of the landlord. Br Danish Real Estate attorney specialized within residential lease law working with big law in Denmark.

Sound like your previous landlords were fair and descent - what I think most are, but as you say, we mostly hear about bad experiences, not the good ones.

Something is wrong or you got majorly screwed. The 2 weeks from you move out and someone else move in when renting, you shall NOT pay for power/water, that is for the owner, they can not demand that you pay for something that you are not using.

Its not the same in Jutland we pay with pigs not money :)

I'm sorry to say that but most of the danish owners always find a reason why not to give your deposit back even when everything was in perfect condition . Lots of bad experiences. I met olny 1 owner in 14 yrs who was very very surprised about the condition of the apartment when I moved out.....ONLY 1 !!!!!!!!!!!! Same experiences with friends and colleagues!!!!!!!!

I rented my entire life (5 apartment, 2 terraced house) and every single time i gotten huge chunk of depositum back. Except one time, which was totally my own fault. It honestly depence on how long you have lived there, and how much damage you have done, and how well you cleaned before you left in my book. My secound last apartment i live there 8 years 4 month ... and i got nearly every single coin of my deposite back. Because the longer you live a place the bigger a % of moving bills is covered by owner of ranted place. I think the limit is 8year 6-7month, if you lived there longer then that you dont pay for anything when moving except damages. So i only paid a very little % of the moving bill. And since i cleaned the place VERY well they didtn have to hire alot of workers to clean it, which is usually the most expencive part of you moving away if you havent done it well enough. Because i learned that the hard way earlier in life .... i hade 18.000 in deposite and when i moved i paid over 11.000 for cleaning services on the moving bill . So after that i have cleaned VERY well every single time haha. Repainting and adjusting floors was only like 8000 . So i ended up paying abit on moving. This is the ONLY time i havent gotten it back, but it was because i didtn do what i was supose to do. Last terraced house i lived in 3.6 years ... and still nearly 50% the moving bill was covered by firm i ranted from. My deposit was 24.000 i think and i got around 16.000 back, moving bill was 8000 total for painting, readjusting floors and a tad of cleaning (a door frame i hade forgotten, since i never used that door myself, and the air filter in bathroom) See cleaning is IMPORTENT haha. i think those two things cost me like 1600 in cleaning bills. Another apartment i lived 6.8 years and i alot of deposit back, i only paid for a new door i hade accidently damage. 1600kr for new door and moving bill was a few thousind if i recall, not much. Again because place was so clean they didtn need to hire any, and i lived there so long that a high % of bill was covered (except damages). So if i hade not damaged that door :P