§ 10-6. Compensation for customer base in a commercial lease (næringsleie)
If you are a tenant (leier) of commercial premises (lokale) and are given notice of termination (oppsigelse), you can in some cases claim compensation for the customer base you have built up — which the landlord (utleier) now benefits from when renting to someone else. This right does not apply if you have committed a material breach (vesentlig mislighold).
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)
If the tenant of commercial premises has been given notice of termination, and the notice is not set aside under the rules in § 9-8, the tenant may claim compensation for the benefit the landlord obtains as a result of the customer base the tenant has built up. When compensation is awarded, the court shall as a rule determine that the landlord may reclaim all or a specified part of the compensation if the tenant, within a set time limit of up to three years, again starts a similar business within an area determined by the court.
Compensation cannot be awarded if the tenant has committed a material breach.
What does this mean?
This section is for business owners who rent commercial premises — shop owners, restaurants, hairdressers and the like.
Imagine you have run a successful café in a set of premises for ten years. The neighbourhood knows you. People come back because you are there. Now the landlord gives notice and wants to rent to someone else — who thereby inherits your customer base and the reputation you have built.
It is not fair for the landlord to profit from this without compensating you.
The conditions:
The notice of termination must have been given and not set aside. So you cannot use this as an argument to keep the premises — it is compensation for having to leave.
You must not have committed a material breach of the tenancy agreement (leieavtale). If you were evicted because you did not pay the rent (husleie), you are not entitled to compensation for customer base.
Repayment clause: The court can decide that the landlord may reclaim all or part of the compensation if you start a similar business nearby within three years. In that case you have in practice taken the customer base with you — and the benefit the landlord received is no longer real.
Example
Sara runs a sushi restaurant and is given notice to leave the premises. The notice is lawful and Sara must move. She can claim compensation for the customer base she has built up. The court sets an amount based on the benefit the landlord actually obtains. Sara gets compensation for ten years of building up the business.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the compensation is automatic. It is not — you must make the claim, and the court assesses it case by case.
- Starting a new business nearby right afterwards. Then the landlord can reclaim the compensation.
What should you do?
If you run a business and are given notice to leave the premises: Consider whether you are entitled to compensation for customer base. Contact a lawyer with experience in tenancy law — this is an area where professional help pays off.