§ 4-5. Exceptions from the protection against unreasonable rent (leieprisvern)
If you pay separately for electricity, water or wastewater in addition to the rent (husleie), the CPI rules do not apply to that part — the landlord (utleier) can adjust it according to actual costs. If you rent commercial premises (næringslokale) with turnover-based rent, the protection against unreasonable rent does not apply to that part either.
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)
The provision in § 4-2 does not apply to separate payment of a proportionate share of the costs of consumption of electricity, fuel, water or wastewater in the property, cf. § 3-4. This payment may be adjusted so that the landlord has the necessary costs of these services covered.
The provisions in §§ 4-2 and 4-3 do not apply to the part of the rent that has been agreed in a fixed proportion to the turnover in or the result of the tenant's business.
What does this mean?
Two exceptions from the usual price rules:
Electricity, water and wastewater. If you pay a supplement for energy and water on top of the rent, this can be adjusted independently of the CPI. The landlord can adjust it upwards if electricity prices rise, and downwards if they fall. The point is that the landlord should neither lose nor profit from energy prices — he should only have the actual costs covered.
Turnover-based rent. Some commercial lease (næringsleie) contracts are set up so that the rent is a percentage of the shop's turnover — for example "the rent is 8 percent of monthly turnover". That part of the rent is adjusted neither according to the CPI nor according to prevailing rent (gjengs leie) — it follows the business's results.
If you are an ordinary residential tenant (leier), the first exception is the most relevant: check that the landlord's adjustments of the electricity and water supplement are based on actual costs, not arbitrary increases.
Example
Ingrid pays NOK 10,000 in rent plus NOK 600 for shared hot water. Electricity prices rise sharply and the landlord's actual costs increase. The landlord can adjust the hot water share to NOK 900 without following the CPI rules. But he must be able to document the actual costs — he cannot just raise the amount without a basis.
What should you do?
Ask the landlord to document that adjustments of the energy and water supplement actually reflect increased costs. This is your right under § 3-4.