§ 2. Purchase of goods made to order (tilvirkningskjøp) and services
If you order something to be made for you — a tailor-made suit, a custom-built shelf, a wedding cake — it is a purchase under the Sale of Goods Act (kjøpsloven), as long as the maker provides the materials. But if most of the job is work rather than goods, it becomes a service instead. Building a house or a cabin is never a purchase.
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)
(1) The Act applies to orders for things that are to be manufactured, unless the person placing the order is to supply a substantial part of the material. The Act does not apply to agreements for the construction of a building or other structure on real property.
(2) The Act does not apply to an agreement that obliges the party who is to deliver the thing also to perform work or another service, where this constitutes the predominant part of his obligations.
What does this mean?
The Act answers a borderline question: when is something a purchase, and when is it a service? This decides which rules apply if something goes wrong.
The first paragraph says: if you order something to be made specially, it still counts as a purchase — as long as the seller (selger) supplies most of the material themselves. Only if you provide the materials does it fall outside the Sale of Goods Act.
But: houses, cabins and other structures on your plot are never considered a purchase. There, the Housing Construction Act (bustadoppføringslova) applies (if you are a consumer (forbruker)), or one of the construction contract laws (entrepriselovene).
The second paragraph says: if work and service are the main part, and the goods are only one part, the Sale of Goods Act does not apply. Then the Craftsman Services Act (håndverkertjenesteloven) or another services act applies instead.
The rule of thumb: is it mostly goods or mostly work?
Comparison: Purchase or service?
| Order | What applies? |
|---|---|
| Tailor-made suit (the tailor provides the fabric) | The Sale of Goods Act |
| Custom-built kitchen from a carpenter | The Sale of Goods Act (the goods are the main part) |
| Extension to the house | The Housing Construction Act / the construction contract laws |
| A painter paints your house | The Craftsman Services Act |
| A confectioner makes a birthday cake | The Sale of Goods Act |
| The hairdresser cuts your hair | The Craftsman Services Act / consumer services |
Examples
Ingrid orders a large wedding cake from a confectioner for NOK 8,500. The confectioner uses their own ingredients and decorates it according to Ingrid's wishes. When the cake arrives, it is the wrong colour and tastes strange. This is a purchase of goods made to order under § 2 first paragraph — the confectioner delivered both goods and work, but the goods (the cake) are the main part. The Sale of Goods Act applies. Ingrid can claim a price reduction (prisavslag), replacement (omlevering) or cancellation of the purchase (heving) under §§ 30 onwards.
Tom hires a plumber to renovate the bathroom. The plumber supplies the pipes and tiles for NOK 25,000, but the work itself costs NOK 80,000. In total NOK 105,000. Here the work is the main part. The Sale of Goods Act does not apply — it is the Craftsman Services Act that governs.
Common mistakes
- Believing the Sale of Goods Act applies when you have hired a tradesperson — it mostly does not
- Applying the Sale of Goods Act to an agreement for building a house — that has its own set of rules
- Demanding replacement under the Sale of Goods Act when it is really a service — instead, pursue repair of the defect (retting) or a price reduction under the Craftsman Services Act
What should you do?
When you have a dispute with someone who has made something for you: ask yourself whether the goods or the work are the main part.
- More than half goods → the Sale of Goods Act (and see § 26 for cancellation of a purchase of goods made to order)
- More than half work → the Craftsman Services Act or similar
- Building on real property → the Housing Construction Act / the construction contract laws
The rules are similar, but the deadlines for complaints (reklamasjonsfrister) and rights are different.