§ 1-2. The Act cannot be departed from to your disadvantage
If you have rented a home (bolig), the landlord cannot use the contract to take away the rights the law gives you. Clauses that make your situation worse than the law's minimum rules are invalid — even if you have signed them.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
It cannot be agreed or enforced terms that are less favourable to the tenant than what follows from the provisions of this Act.
In the case of a lease of commercial premises (lokale), the Act may be departed from by agreement, with the exception of §§ 1-1 to 1-4, 4-1, 4-4, 4-6, 9-7, 9-8, 9-10, 12-3 and 12-4 and Chapter 13.
What does this mean?
The Tenancy Act is what lawyers call mandatory for residential tenants. This means that the rights in the Act are a floor — you can always get more than the law says, but never less.
Think of it this way: The landlord can offer you better terms than the law requires. But the landlord cannot use a contract to take away what the law guarantees you.
Some examples of invalid clauses:
Does your contract say that you as the tenant must give six months' notice of termination (oppsigelse)? The law says three months — so six months is invalid for you (but you can choose to give more notice if you want).
Does it say that the deposit (depositum) is eight months' rent (husleie)? The law sets a cap of six months — the excess is unlawful, and you can demand it back.
Does it say that the landlord can give notice of termination at any time without a reason? For homes, the law has strict rules on notice of termination — a clause like that is invalid.
For commercial leases (næringsleie), it is different. If you rent commercial premises for your business, you and the landlord can to a large extent agree to depart from the rules of the Act. Businesses have greater freedom to adapt the terms. But some basic rules always apply — including on protection against unreasonable rent (leieprisvern) and the procedure for notice of termination.
Examples
Ingrid signed a tenancy agreement (leieavtale) with a clause saying she is not entitled to get her deposit back if there is "wear" in the flat. The landlord demands to keep the entire deposit when she moves out — and points to what she signed. Ingrid cannot lose her rights this way. The law decides what the landlord can deduct for, and a vague "wear" clause is not enough. What she signed does not change the law.
Marius runs a café and rents commercial premises. He has signed a 10-year contract with no right to give notice of termination. That is allowed — commercial lease contracts can be adapted much more freely. He should still make sure that some core rights are preserved, such as the right to object to an unlawful notice of termination.
Common mistakes
- "I signed, so it's binding." For residential tenants, that is not the case. An unlawful clause is invalid even if you have signed it.
- Believing that you can "give up" your rights in advance. You cannot. You can choose not to use a right, but you cannot agree away the right to use it.
- Believing that commercial tenants have equally strong protection. No — if you rent commercial premises, there is much greater freedom of contract.
What should you do?
Have you been given a contract with terms that seem strict? Compare them with the Tenancy Act. If the terms are worse than the law, the law applies — not the contract. You can contact the Rent Disputes Tribunal (Husleietvistutvalget) if you are unsure whether something in your contract is valid.
- Additional terms and house rules (husordensregler) attached to the tenancy agreement: what binds you?
- Renting out a home for the first time: what private individuals need to know
- Renting commercial premises: what you need to clarify before you sign
- Renting from a rental company or through an agent: what applies to you