§ 8-3. Who keeps the home when a relationship ends?
If the tenant (leier) leaves the shared home when a relationship ends, the spouse (ektefelle) who stays can take over the tenancy agreement (leieavtale) and keep the home (bolig). What is decided about the home on separation or divorce is also binding on the landlord (utleier).
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)
If the tenant leaves the spouses' shared home, the other spouse has the right to take over the tenancy agreement.
The arrangement for the right to use the spouses' shared home that is determined or agreed on separation or divorce is binding on the landlord.
A member of the household (husstand) has the right to take over the tenancy agreement if the conditions in § 3 first paragraph no. 1, cf. § 1 of the Act of 4 July 1991 no. 45 on the right to a shared home and household contents when a joint household ends, are met. The spouses' relatives in direct descending line have the same right as a household member to take over the tenancy agreement if both spouses leave the shared home.
What does this mean?
A relationship ending is one of the most stressful situations in life — and the home is often the most pressing question. § 8-3 ensures that the person who stays does not lose the home just because the other person was the tenant.
A spouse who stays:
If the tenant leaves the shared home, you as the spouse who stays can take over the tenancy agreement. This means you take over as tenant — with all the rights and obligations that come with it.
What you decide on separation or divorce binds the landlord:
If you — or the court — decide that you will keep the home as part of the separation or divorce settlement, that decision is binding on the landlord. He cannot refuse to let you take over the tenancy agreement because it was the other spouse who originally signed.
Cohabiting partners:
Cohabiting partners (samboere) who have children together or who have lived together permanently for at least two years may have a similar right — they are covered by the Joint Household Act (rights to the shared home when a household breaks up) (husstandsfellesskapsloven). The threshold is higher than for spouses, but the right exists.
Examples
Anne and Petter are married. Petter is the tenant. They separate and Petter moves to another city. Anne and the children stay. Anne has the right to take over the tenancy agreement and keep the flat. She sends written notice to the landlord that she is taking over as tenant.
Sara and Marius are cohabiting partners without children. They have lived together permanently for 18 months. Marius is the tenant. They break up. Sara has lived there for less than two years and they have no children together — she probably falls outside the Joint Household Act. She does not automatically have the right to take over the tenancy agreement.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the right is automatic and that you do not need to tell anyone. You should always inform the landlord in writing that you are taking over — it protects you.
- Cohabiting partners thinking they have the same rights as spouses. Cohabiting partners have narrower rights — check whether the conditions in the Joint Household Act are met.
What should you do?
If you stay in a rented home after a relationship ends: Send written notice to the landlord that you are taking over the tenancy agreement. Refer to § 8-3. If your right to the home has been determined through the separation or divorce settlement, send a copy of that decision.
- § 8-2Rights when the tenant dies
- § 8-1Transfer of the tenancy to another person (personskifte) requires consent
- § 9-5The landlord's right to give notice of termination (oppsigelse)