§ 7-3. You can sublet a room if you live there yourself
If you live in the home yourself, you can sublet part of it, such as a bedroom, with approval from the landlord (utleier). The landlord can only refuse if there is a legitimate reason (saklig grunn), or if the home becomes clearly 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)
A tenant (leier) of a home (bolig) who will live in the home themselves may sublet (framleie) part of the home with approval from the landlord. Approval may only be refused if circumstances relating to the subtenant give a legitimate reason for it, or if the rented premises (husrom) clearly become overcrowded.
What does this mean?
Many people rent a flat with a spare room and want to rent it out to get help paying the rent (husleie). This is legal, but you must have approval from your landlord.
The conditions are the same as for taking someone into your household (husstand): The landlord can only refuse if the person in question gives a legitimate reason for it, meaning something concrete and documented, or if there will be clearly too many people in the home.
A "legitimate reason" relating to the subtenant could be that the person has a documented history of damaging other people's property, repeated breaches of house rules (husordensregler) in previous tenancies (leieforhold), or similar. Vague objections are not enough.
Clearly overcrowded means something more than "a bit cramped". If there are already three of you in a two-room flat and you want to take in a fourth person, it can be argued that the home is overcrowded. If you live alone in a three-room flat, it is difficult to refuse on that basis.
Remember § 7-6: If the landlord does not reply to your request within one month, this counts as approval. Send your request in writing and keep proof that it was sent.
Examples
Lars rents a three-room flat and wants to rent out one of the bedrooms to a student. He asks the landlord in writing. The landlord does not reply for four weeks. After one month, this counts as approval, and Lars can take in the tenant.
Kari wants to rent out a room to someone she met online. The landlord refuses, on the grounds that this person was previously evicted from another tenancy in the same city for damaging the home. That is a legitimate reason. Kari's request is rejected.
Common mistakes
- Taking in a flatmate without asking. That is subletting and requires approval.
- Giving up if the landlord is slow to reply. Wait one month from when the request was sent; if you hear nothing, it then counts as approval.
- Asking verbally. Always ask in writing, so you can document that you asked and when.
What should you do?
Send a written request to the landlord. Describe who the person is, and state that you will live in the home yourself. Give the landlord reasonable time to reply, but note that one month without a response counts as approval. Keep all communication.
- § 7-2Subletting requires consent
- § 7-6Approval when the landlord does not respond
- § 1-8Prohibition of discrimination
- § 7-4Subletting during absence