§ 5-1. Your duties and the landlord's duties while you live there
While you rent, the landlord (utleier) must keep the home (bolig) available to you. You must treat it with care and only use it for what you agreed. Neither of you can break these duties without consequences.
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)
During the rental period, the landlord must make the rented premises (husrom) available to the tenant (leier) in accordance with the agreement.
The tenant must treat the rented premises with due care and otherwise in accordance with the tenancy agreement (leieavtale).
The tenant cannot use the rented premises for any purpose other than the one agreed. A tenant of commercial premises (lokale) may nevertheless carry on other related business, provided that this does not cause material inconvenience to the landlord or the other users of the property.
A tenant of commercial premises for a shop or a place serving food and drink must keep the business open and in normal daily operation, except when temporary closure is necessary.
What does this mean?
§ 5-1 is the core of what a tenancy (leieforhold) is about: two parties, two sets of obligations.
The landlord's duty: He must let you use the home as agreed — all the way through the rental period. He cannot suddenly take the home back, lock you out, use it himself while you live there, or deny you access in other ways.
Your duty as a tenant:
Treat the home with care. This does not mean you have to tiptoe around — you are supposed to live there normally. But you must not let damage happen that you could prevent, ignore obvious problems, or treat the home carelessly.
Use the home for what you agreed. If you rent a home, you are supposed to live there — not run a business from a flat without it being agreed, rent it out on Airbnb without consent, or use the basement storage room as a workshop with chemicals.
Exception for commercial premises: If you rent commercial premises, you have a bit more flexibility — you can carry on related business without new approval, as long as it does not cause material inconvenience to the others in the building.
Examples
Anne rents a flat to live in. She starts running a tattoo studio from the living room — customers coming and going, noise, and smells. The landlord has not approved this. Anne is using the home for a purpose other than the one agreed, and the landlord can demand that she stop — and possibly terminate the contract with immediate effect (heving) under § 9-9 if she continues after a written warning.
Petter rents bakery premises. In addition, he starts selling simple convenience goods — newspapers and soft drinks. This is related business, and it does not inconvenience anyone. It is within what § 5-1 allows for commercial premises.
Common mistakes
- Thinking it is allowed to run Airbnb because "it's only a few nights". Subletting (fremleie) and short-term rental require approval. See §§ 7-2 and 7-3.
- Thinking that the landlord's duty to make the home available only applies when you move in. The duty applies throughout the rental period.
What should you do?
If you are unsure whether something you plan to do in the home is okay — ask the landlord and get the answer in writing. It is always easier to clear things up in advance than to sort out a dispute afterwards.
- § 5-2Peace and order
- § 5-3Maintenance duties
- § 5-7Rights in the event of defects during the rental period