§ 9-4. You can give notice to end an open-ended tenancy agreement
If you have an open-ended tenancy agreement (tidsubestemt leieavtale), you can give notice whenever you want — without explaining why. You only need to notify the landlord (utleier) within the deadline, which is normally three months.
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)
Unless otherwise agreed, an open-ended tenancy agreement may be terminated by notice from the tenant.
What does this mean?
As a tenant (leier) with an open-ended tenancy agreement, you are completely free to end the tenancy (leieforhold). You do not need a reason. You do not need to ask for permission. You do not need to wait for the landlord to approve anything.
You give notice — and once the notice period (oppsigelsesfrist) has run out, you are done.
Freedom with a reservation: You and the landlord may have agreed in the contract on a different notice period than the law's standard of three months. If a longer period has been agreed for you as the tenant, that period applies. If a shorter period has been agreed, it applies and is lawful — it is to your advantage.
The notice of termination should be in writing. The law does not require your notice of termination (oppsigelse) to be in writing, but it is always wisest to put it in writing. That way you have documentation that you gave notice and when. A verbal notice can end up as your word against theirs.
You will find the notice period itself and the rules for giving notice in § 9-6.
Example
Tom rents a flat on an open-ended agreement and has got a job in another city. He sends a written notice of termination to the landlord on 1 March. With a three-month notice period running to the end of a month, the last day is 30 June. Tom can move out whenever he wants between March and June, but he must pay rent (husleie) up to and including 30 June.
Common mistakes
- Thinking you need a reason to give notice. You don't — you can give notice without explaining anything at all.
- Giving notice verbally without documenting it. Always do it in writing — an email is enough.
- Calculating the deadline wrongly. Three months to the end of a calendar month — not three months from date to date. See § 9-6.
What should you do?
If you want to give notice: Send a written notice of termination to the landlord. State the date you are giving notice from, count three months to the turn of the month, and state the last day you must pay rent for. Keep the receipt showing that the message was sent.
- § 9-6Length and calculation of the notice period
- § 9-5The landlord's right to give notice
- § 9-1Fixed-term or open-ended
- § 9-7Formal requirements for notice of termination