§ 3-2. When is the rent due?
Rent (husleie) is normally due at the start of the payment period, typically on the 1st of the month. The landlord (utleier) cannot require you to pay more than one month in advance. If the due date (forfallsdag) falls on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the nearest working day.
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)
Unless otherwise agreed, the landlord may require the rent to be paid in advance for each month or other agreed payment period. Advance payment for a period longer than one month cannot be agreed.
If the rent falls due on a Saturday or Sunday, a public holiday, or 1 or 17 May, the due date is postponed to the nearest following working day.
The due date is also postponed for as long as payment is prevented by a stoppage in transport or payment services or another circumstance beyond the tenant's control which the tenant cannot overcome.
What does this mean?
Rent is usually paid in advance for one month at a time. This means you pay for April at the start of April, not afterwards at the end of the month.
No more than one month in advance. The landlord cannot require you to pay two or three months' rent in advance, except for the deposit (depositum), which is something different. A clause in the contract requiring three months' advance payment is invalid for tenants (leier) of a home (bolig).
Due on a weekend? Then the due date automatically moves to the nearest working day. You are not in breach of the tenancy agreement (mislighold) if you pay on Monday for rent that was due on Sunday.
An obstacle beyond your control? If the banking system goes down, you are ill without access to online banking, or a strike prevents payment, the due date is postponed for as long as the obstacle lasts. You do not have to pay interest for late payment in such cases.
Examples
Petter is due to pay rent on 1 May. But 1 May is a public holiday. The due date is automatically postponed to 2 May, or the nearest working day after that. Petter is not in breach if he pays on 2 May.
Ingrid signs a contract stating that she must pay three months' rent in advance. This is not a deposit; it is future rent. Such a clause is invalid for tenants of a home. Ingrid can demand that the unlawfully collected amounts be returned to normal monthly payment.
Common mistakes
- Paying late and thinking it has no consequences. Repeated late payment can give the landlord grounds for termination with immediate effect (heving) of the tenancy agreement (leieavtale). Pay on time.
- Believing that "due on a Sunday" means you are in breach if you pay on Monday. That is not correct — the due date moves automatically.
- Accepting a demand for several months' payment in advance. This is not allowed for tenants of a home.
What should you do?
Set up a fixed payment arrangement in your online bank — AvtaleGiro or a recurring transfer — so that the rent is paid automatically on time. Then you don't have to think about it every month.