§ 3-4. Payment suspension in the first four months

The Debt Settlement Act (Gjeldsordningsloven)·LOV-1992-07-17-99

Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська

In brief

Four months of payment suspension (betalingsutsettelse) from the opening: no payment, attachment (utlegg) or forced sale (tvangssalg).
Interest accrues but does not fall due, except for home loans with security (pant).
Maintenance obligations (bidragsforpliktelser) are excepted. Public claims are included.
As a general rule, the guarantor (kausjonist) can be pursued once the period is over.

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

§ 3-4. Payment suspension in a debt negotiation period

The opening of debt negotiation (gjeldsforhandling) means that the debtor (skyldner), in a debt negotiation period (gjeldsforhandlingsperiode) of four months counted from the opening, is granted a payment suspension, which means that the creditors (fordringshavere) can neither:

demand or receive full or partial payment or other recovery of their outstanding amount,
set off a claim, unless the main claim and the counterclaim arise from the same legal relationship,
invoke any acceleration clauses in the relationship because of the payment suspension under this section,
levy attachment on or enforce the sale of the debtor's assets,
with reference to earlier payment default, refuse to supply goods or services that are necessary for the subsistence of the debtor and the debtor's household (husstand) against cash payment or satisfactory security, or
bring claims against the guarantor, cf. the Financial Contracts Act (finansavtaleloven) § 6-10 fourth paragraph.

Interest accrues during the period but does not fall due for payment. Interest on claims (fordringer) secured by security within the market value (omsetningsverdi) with the addition of 10 percent of a home (bolig) that is to be kept, cf. § 4-8 letter a, nevertheless falls due for payment during the period.

The payment suspension covers all obligations, which are not payment for a future counter-performance that the debtor is entitled to receive under §§ 4-3 to 4-5, and which the debtor has incurred up to the day the court (retten) or the enforcement officer (namsfogden) opened debt negotiation.

The payment suspension does not cover maintenance obligations imposed under marriage legislation or the Children Act (barneloven). Claims of the public authorities against the debtor are covered by the payment suspension.

Wage deduction orders (utleggstrekk) are replaced by protective wage deductions (sikringstrekk). In the protective wage deduction, maintenance obligations as mentioned in § 4-8 letter d and claims as mentioned in § 4-8 letter h which it has already been decided are to be covered by a wage deduction order have priority over the protective deduction.

The provisions of this section apply even if the debtor is not resident in Norway.

Source: Lovdata — Gjeldsordningsloven (the Debt Settlement Act) § 3-4

What does this mean?

Once debt negotiation has been opened, the debtor gets a payment suspension (a pause in payments) for a period of four months from the opening. During this period, creditors cannot demand or accept payment, and they cannot levy attachment on or force the sale of your assets.

Further protections come with it. Creditors cannot use set-off (motregning) unless the claims arise from the same legal relationship. They cannot use acceleration clauses triggered by the suspension itself. A supplier cannot refuse to supply goods and services that are necessary for your and your household's subsistence, as long as you pay cash or provide security, and earlier default is not a sufficient reason. Nor can creditors pursue the guarantor during the period.

Interest continues to accrue, but does not fall due during the period. The exception is interest on claims secured on a home you are going to keep, to the extent the claim is within the home's market value plus ten percent. Such interest must be paid.

The suspension applies to debt you incurred before the negotiation was opened. Payment for services you are entitled to receive in the future is not included. Maintenance obligations under marriage legislation or the Children Act are excepted, so you must still pay them. Claims from public authorities, on the other hand, are covered. The section also applies to debtors who do not live in Norway.

The guarantor is not entirely free. According to the Financial Contracts Act § 6-10 fourth paragraph, the creditor (kreditor) can pursue the guarantor when the debt negotiation period is over. If the debtor has provided security that gives the creditor full coverage, a rule applies instead that three months must pass after the creditor has filed a petition (begjæring) for forced recovery (tvangsdekning) from the security.

The case can be dismissed during the period under § 3-7.

Related sections

All §§ in the Debt Settlement Act →

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