§ 7-1. Who can you take into your household?
You can take in your spouse (ektefelle) or cohabiting partner (samboer), your children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents — without asking the landlord (utleier). Other people require approval. But the landlord can only refuse if there is a legitimate reason (saklig grunn), or if the home (bolig) will clearly become overcrowded.
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 tenant (leier) has the right to take into their household (husstand) their spouse or cohabiting partner, their own or their spouse's or cohabiting partner's relatives in the direct ascending or descending line, and foster children. Taking other persons into the household requires approval from the landlord. Approval can only be refused if circumstances relating to the person concerned give a legitimate reason for it, or the rented premises (husrom) will clearly become overcrowded.
What does this mean?
Your home is your home — and you decide who lives there, within certain limits.
The right to take people in without asking:
You can always take in these people — no approval is needed:
- Spouse or cohabiting partner
- Your own children, grandchildren, and further down the line
- Your parents, grandparents, and further up the line
- The corresponding relatives of your spouse or cohabiting partner
- Foster children
Others who require approval:
If you want to take in a friend, a sister, an uncle or another person who is not in the group listed above, you must ask the landlord for approval.
The landlord can only refuse on two grounds:
One: Circumstances relating to the person give a legitimate reason to refuse. This means something concrete and documented — not gut feeling or prejudice. If the person has, for example, a history of damaging other people's property, that may be a legitimate reason. That the person "looks unreliable" is never a legitimate reason.
Two: The home will clearly become overcrowded. A two-room flat with six adults will typically be considered overcrowded.
Remember: Discrimination is illegal under § 1-8. The landlord cannot refuse on grounds of ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or similar.
Examples
Ingrid lives with her cohabiting partner Petter. Petter is not on the tenancy agreement (leieavtale). Ingrid takes Petter into her household without asking the landlord — she has every right to do so. She should still let the landlord know, so that no misunderstandings arise.
Sara wants to take in her friend, who needs somewhere to live for three months. This is not subletting (framleie) — the friend is part of Sara's household and does not pay rent. Sara asks the landlord for approval. The landlord can only refuse with a legitimate reason, and "I don't want more people in the flat" is not a sufficient reason on its own — the question is whether the flat can accommodate it.
Common mistakes
- Asking for approval for a spouse or children. You do not need to. It is your right.
- Believing that the landlord can freely refuse anyone. He can only refuse with a legitimate reason.
- Confusing taking someone into the household with subletting. Subletting is when someone pays you to live there. Taking someone into the household is not that.
What should you do?
Take in your spouse and close family without asking — but inform the landlord in writing for the sake of good order. If you want to take in others: send a written request. Remember that the answer cannot be a refusal without a legitimate reason? Then it helps to have the request and the answer documented.