Nice to know when you are a tenant

During the period you live in the apartment, you must pay rent every month or every quarter, depending on what is agreed in your rental contract. The rent must be paid on the 1st of every month. If the 1st is a Saturday or a holiday, the rent is not due until the first working day thereafter. Remember, it is your responsibility to pay the rent, even if you do not receive a bill.

Payment Service

We recommend that you register your payment with the Payment Service, so you are sure that the rent is paid on time. If you are not registered, you will receive a payment card with the same specifications. It is important that you use the payment card so we can always identify your payment.

Read more about rent and adjustments via the button below.

Damages can occur at any time, and sometimes when you least expect it. But don't worry. We have your back - also outside normal working hours.

We collaborate with a nationwide damage service provider, which all tenants can contact in urgent cases and emergencies - outside our normal opening hours.

The provider ensures that acute situations are handled efficiently, and the damage service provider has contact information for each property and ensures that actions are taken based on the agreed guidelines.

We define an acute damage as:

• A damage that cannot wait for repair or limitation

• A damage where there is a danger to the tenants' safety

• A damage that will increase in scope and cost if not repaired immediately.

If you as a tenant have the maintenance obligation, you must arrange for the repair and pay for it. If damage has occurred in your apartment, which you are responsible for due to incorrect use or neglect, you must pay for the repair yourself. This applies regardless of the maintenance arrangement you have agreed upon.

Examples of such damages are faucets, bathtubs, and toilets that have been damaged by lime and rust deposits, or a window that you have broken.

As a tenant, you have the right to sublet your apartment. However, there are some conditions that must be met:

• You must be able to document that your sublease is temporary and is due to illness, business trip, relocation, study programme or similar.

• The sublease period may not exceed 2 years (in one continuous period).

• You must draw up a written sublease contract with your tenant. Remember to send a copy of the contract to us before the sublease period begins.

• You can also sublet your apartment partially, i.e. rent out one or more rooms and live in the rest of the apartment yourself. However, in this case, you may only sublet a maximum of half of the living space in the apartment.

• Before you enter into a sublease contract, you must inform us that you want to sublet.

• It is also important that you tell your subtenant that it is not possible to take over the lease after the end of the sublease period - even if you choose not to move back.

• If you are considering subletting via Airbnb, for example, you must have authorisation from your landlord. Otherwise, it is an illegal sublease and you may risk the landlord cancelling your lease.

Tenant keeps the responsibility

You should be aware that even if you have sublet your apartment, you are still responsible for ensuring that the rent is paid, that rules are followed and that the apartment is not neglected or abused.

We recommend that you pay the rent yourself and let your tenant pay directly to you to ensure that the rent is paid on time every month.

In other words, you are responsible to us, not your subtenant.

In special cases, your family or relatives can take over your apartment if you move out due to e.g. divorce, separation, termination of cohabitation or moving into a nursing home.

If you and your partner or cohabitant are not married, you must have lived in the same household for at least two years. Common household means that you have jointly paid rent, living expenses, etc.

As a property manager, we can request documentation of this on behalf of the landlord.

It is important that you remember to send an application to us before you transfer the lease, as we must give our approval.

Separation and divorce

The licence or judgement decides which of you will have the right to the apartment after separation or divorce. The one of you who stays will continue the tenancy without changes and take over all obligations. 

Remember that we must always be notified of the changes and documentation as soon as possible.

From time to time, properties and individual apartments are modernised. Modernisation can be described as work that adds something new or replaces the old with something new and better.

If you want a modernisation in your apartment, such as a new kitchen or a new bathroom, it may be possible to do so for an increase in rent.

Before you start a modernisation, there are a few things you need to be aware of:

• You are not allowed to initiate or carry out modernisations in the apartment without our permission.

• You must contact the property's project manager, whose tasks include assessing whether improvements need to be made to the interior and exterior of the property.

• The project manager will inspect the apartment and prepare a construction budget.

• The construction budget forms the basis for how much your monthly rent will increase.

• It is the project manager who can tell you what will happen and how long the construction work will take. It is up to the project manager to decide whether or not the modernisation is feasible.

We often announce major improvement and maintenance work by posting notices in the property's corridors. If you live in a property with a residents' council (beboerrepræsentaion), they will be informed.

Every year after 1 July, we draw up a 10-year maintenance plan for the property, which you are welcome to receive if you contact us.

Minimise inconvenience to residents

We do everything we can to minimise the impact of the work, but you may experience noise and dust. In other cases, you may experience scaffolding being erected or you may have to use the kitchen stairs instead of the main staircase for a period of time.

If the improvement and maintenance work interferes with your normal everyday life, you will be notified approximately six weeks in advance.

Some works require us to completely change some conditions on the property - for example, you may not be able to use the laundry room or other facilities for a period of time. In these cases, you will be notified approximately three months in advance.

The caretaker is typically the person in the property that you as a tenant have the most contact with. The caretaker may have a fixed phone time when you can reach them. If you call outside of these hours, you can leave a message on the answering machine and the caretaker will contact you as soon as possible.

The caretaker may also be affiliated with our customer centre, which you can contact every weekday between 8:00 and 16:00 or via email.

Typical tasks

The caretaker looks after the property and is responsible for cleaning stairwells, ceilings and basements, as well as looking after the outdoor areas and supervising waste collection. The caretaker may not do the work themselves, but supervise those who do.

The caretaker also oversees the building components themselves, from roofs, drains, wells, windows and stairs to heating systems, lifts, ventilation systems and other technical installations. In agreement with us, the caretaker calls in tradesmen for repairs and maintenance.

The caretaker also monitors the property's energy consumption and reports to us.

Finally, the caretaker carries out move-in inspections, shows vacant apartments and is responsible for the refurbishment of apartments that have been vacated.

Sometimes we need to access an apartment. The reasons can be many and varied, and the timeframe can vary. Sometimes we need to get into an apartment immediately, while in other cases we can wait.

To ensure we don't 'barge in' when it suits us, there are strict rules for access.

If there is an immediate risk of damage to the property or your and others' apartments, e.g. in the event of fire or a burst water pipe, we have the right to gain or obtain access to your apartment, even if you are not present. 

Notice

It is a requirement that we give notice of our arrival. This means that we must let you know when we are coming before we are allowed to enter your apartment.

With six weeks' notice, we can carry out work in your apartment if the work is not a significant inconvenience to you. Examples include replacing windows, downpipes, roofs, and when we need access to your apartment in connection with the modernisation of your upstairs or downstairs neighbour.

However, if the work is major, you are entitled to a longer notice period. In such cases, the deadline is three months. Examples of such tasks include replacing kitchens and bathrooms and installing central heating.

If you disagree with a rent notice, water and heating bills, maintenance or house rules, you can bring the matter before a rent board (huslejenævn). All municipalities have a rent board, and you can find addresses, phone numbers, etc. on your municipality's website. 

Your case will typically be handled in writing. However, the rent board may decide that you, the landlord and representatives from the rent board should meet. This can be either to look at your apartment or to mediate the case.

A decision has legal effect. This means that you and the landlord must comply with the decision.

If you live in the municipality of Copenhagen, both tenant and landlord have the opportunity to appeal the decision to Ankenævnet within 14 days of receiving the decision.

It is not only the house rules that determine what you as a resident can and cannot do. The general rules of good behavior and order in Section 79a of the Tenancy Act also apply.

If a resident in the property does not adhere to the rules of conduct, it can have consequences, even if it is not the tenant themselves but a member of the household or a visitor who has displayed unacceptable behavior.

Initially, the resident will usually receive a reminder, but if the behavior is repeated, it can lead to a rent tribunal case, where the rent tribunal can make the lease conditional for up to one year. If this happens, the tenant must ensure that there are no further violations in the following year.

If the violation of the house rules or the general rules of good conduct is more serious, the landlord has the option to terminate the lease without first bringing the case to the rent tribunal. If this happens, the resident is obligated to move out immediately.

When disputes arise between residents, our experience shows that the best way to resolve the issue is for the residents to communicate directly with each other and find a solution together.

However, if you as a resident feel significantly disturbed by another resident's behavior, you always have the option to contact your administrator, who can issue a reminder or terminate the lease agreement. It can be challenging to issue reminders in cases of interpersonal conflicts.

There are some limitations to the contents insurance that you should be aware of when storing your belongings in a basement, attic, sheds, garages, etc. Typically, only ordinary household contents are covered by insurance, as these types of spaces are unsupervised and more susceptible to theft.

Valuables such as jewelry, as well as items like alcohol, wine, travel cards, TVs, and money, may not be covered.

Something else applies if there is water damage in a basement due to heavy rainfall. In most cases, a contents insurance policy will cover damage to belongings if the property is built on a concrete base.

However, some insurance companies may have specific requirements for how storage should be done. For example, they may require that the belongings be placed on top of something.

A contents insurance policy covers the entire household, meaning that everyone living at the same registered address is covered by the insurance. 

In fact, even children living away from home are covered by their parents' contents insurance policy until they reach the age of 21, provided they live alone.

A distinction is made between building insurance (home insurance) and contents insurance.

In a rental property, the landlord is responsible for insuring the building, including the roof, ceilings, walls, floors, and kitchens.

However, the landlord's insurance usually does not cover cases where the tenant has installed structural elements such as kitchen fixtures, suspended ceilings, partitions, or floor coverings.