§ 6-2. What does the tenants' representative do?
The tenants' representative (tillitsvalgt) represents all the tenants (leiere) in dealings with the landlord (utleier), can demand meetings about anything that concerns the tenants in the building, and must hold at least one joint meeting per year. He is bound by what the majority decides.
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 tenants' representative shall look after the interests of the residential tenants in dealings with the landlord, and may demand to discuss with the landlord all matters of importance to the residential tenants in the building.
The tenants' representative shall at least once a year call all the residential tenants, including subtenants, to a meeting in an appropriate manner.
The tenants' representative is bound by decisions made at a meeting by an ordinary majority of the votes cast. In votes, each residential tenancy has one vote. Subtenants do not have the right to vote.
What does this mean?
The tenants' representative's rights in dealings with the landlord:
The tenants' representative can demand to discuss all matters of importance to the tenants with the landlord. This means the landlord cannot turn down requests for meetings on relevant topics — maintenance (vedlikehold) plans, house rules (husordensregler), shared facilities, planned works, and similar.
The duty to hold a meeting:
At least once a year, the tenants' representative must call all the tenants — including subtenants — to a joint meeting. This is the forum where the tenants can raise issues, agree on positions and instruct the tenants' representative.
Democratic principle:
The tenants' representative is not free to do as he likes. He is bound by what the majority decides at the meetings. Each tenancy (leieforhold) has one vote — regardless of how many people live in the flat. Subtenants attend and can give their views, but do not have the right to vote.
Example
Eva is the tenants' representative in a building with six flats. The landlord is planning to remove the bicycle storage room. Eva demands a meeting with the landlord about the matter. The landlord is obliged to meet and discuss this. Five of the six tenancies vote to keep the storage room. Eva takes this to the landlord as the tenants' official position.
Common mistakes
- The tenants' representative acts without consulting the tenants. The tenants' representative is bound by the majority — not by his own opinion.
- Forgetting to hold the annual meeting. It is a duty — and it is the forum where the tenants can change course if they are unhappy with how they are being represented.
What should you do?
If you are the tenants' representative: Hold the annual meeting, raise issues with the landlord as they come up, and document what you have agreed. If you are a tenant with a tenants' representative: Attend the meetings and vote. It is the only way you can influence what the tenants' representative does on your behalf.