Renting Out a Room

If you are the owner of a property, you can rent a room for part of or the whole year. As with a normal apartment rental, you must abide by the Danish Rent Act.
There are no rules that state you MUST have a tenancy agreement with your lodger, but we strongly recommend it, even if you rent out a room to a friend.
Renting out a room should be by standard 8th edition agreement. Read more here.

A tenancy agreement should include the following as a minimum:

  • Name of both landlord and tenant.
  • Date of acquisition.
  • How many square metres the room covers.
  • Whether there is access e.g. to a kitchen, bathroom, common room, basement, washing machine, garden, etc.
  • Rent, prepaid rent and deposit, if applicable.
  • Consumption (gas, electricity, heating, etc., if it is not part of the rent).
  • When the rent is to be paid and to whom/which account.
  • Whether it is allowed to have pets.
  • House rules or rules of conduct.
  • Condition of the room at the start of the rental and how it should be handed back on vacating.

Additionally, we recommend that you draw up a set of house rules (rules of conduct). This includes stipulations about noise, common areas, snow removal, stair cleaning, etc.

When you rent out a room, you may well have some special conditions the tenant should comply with. These may be included in § 11 of the tenancy agreement. Bear in mind that by renting a room you have more direct contact with your tenant than if you rent out the whole of your property, especially if you too live in the property. We therefore recommend that you are not too “hard” in the agreement. With a good and sensible dialogue you can go far in renting your room.

Unlike other rental forms, you do not as a landlord need any particular reason for terminating the tenancy. The notice period depends on the specific agreement, and what kind of room it is.

Renting A Room – Termination

You may terminate the rental of the room with one month’s notice without a reason, unless otherwise agreed in § 11 of the tenancy agreement. The notice period may be longer, but never shorter than 1 month.

Renting a Room With Kitchen – Termination

A room with a kitchen set up in the form of a cabinet arrangement with sink and hob is regarded by law as an apartment. This means that the notice period is 1 year. However, it is not necessary here to state a reason for the termination.

Renting a Room in a Dual Household Property

If you rent out a dual-household property, you should be aware that different rules apply. If you rent out both an apartment and a room with a full kitchen (which is therefore regarded as an apartment), there are actually three apartments in the property. This means that you may terminate your tenancy in accordance with §82-83 of the Rent Act. In addition to containing a reason, the notice must be in writing and make the tenant aware of their right to appeal against the termination. Read The Rent Act § 87

Setting The Rent When Renting a Room

As with any other property rental, it makes a difference whether you have “free” rent setting or whether your property is subject to the Housing Regulation Law, in which case you cannot charge anything you like. If your apartment/property was built after 31 December 1991, in most cases there is free rent setting. If your property was put into service before 31 December 1991 and is located in a “regulated” municipality, the individual municipality may set your rent, but only if your tenant makes an objection.

A well-appointed furnished room can often be rented at a higher price, but beware! You cannot do business by putting old furniture in the room and believe that you can make a few thousand extra. Seek advice from a professional property agent before you rent out the room.

A tenant may complain about your rent at any time to your municipality’s rent appeals board. If the complaint is lodged after 12 months, the landlord need only repay the overpaid rent from the time of the complaint. However, if the tenant continues to occupy the room at the time of the complaint, the landlord has the option to terminate the tenancy.

Deposit And Prepaid Rent For Renting A Room

It’s very simple. You may take a maximum of 3 months’ deposit to cover any damage to the room and 3 months’ prepaid rent. Prepaid rent is the rent which applies to the last 3 months of the rental period.

Do you have questions regarding taxation from renting a room? Read more