The landlord sells the apartment: can you stay on as a tenant?

Yes, as a rule you can stay. The Danish Rent Act (lejeloven) does not list a sale as a reason to give a tenant notice, and your rights under the Act apply against a new owner without registration in the land register (tinglysning). If the buyer wants to live in the home, that can be a lawful reason to give you notice, but then the notice period is at least 1 year, and the conditions depend on what kind of home you rent.

Can your landlord give you notice because the apartment is being sold?

A lease without a time limit runs until notice is given. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (in Danish), the tenant can as a rule stay for as long as the tenant wishes, and the landlord can only give notice in the situations the Rent Act lists.

The list is in §§ 170 and 171 of the Rent Act (in Danish). § 170 lists four kinds of tenancy with a special right to give notice, and § 171 lists the reasons that apply to all others, for example that the landlord wants to use the home, or that the building is to be demolished. A sale is on neither list.

This applies both to the landlord who sells and to the one who buys. A notice after a sale must be based on one of the Act’s reasons and meet the formal requirements. If the buyer wants to live in the home, that is a lawful reason when the conditions are met.

This article is about private rental homes; if you live in social housing (almen bolig), other rules apply under the Act on the Rental of Social Housing.

Your lease and your deposit pass to the new owner

Under § 17, subsection 1, your rights under the Rent Act are valid against anyone without registration. According to the explanatory notes to the bill (in Danish), the rule protects precisely the tenant’s rights against a new owner. You do not have to do anything to keep them. If you rent the home from someone who rents it themselves (subletting), this does not apply: according to the explanatory notes, subtenants are not protected by § 17.

The same applies to agreements on prepaid rent, key money, deposit and the like when the amounts together are at most ½ year’s rent. The landlord may demand at most 3 months’ rent as a deposit and 3 months’ prepaid rent (§ 59, subsections 1 and 3). According to the explanatory notes, amounts above ½ year’s rent must be registered to be protected.

Agreements that give you more than the Act are a different matter. If, for example, you have agreed that the landlord cannot give you notice for a number of years, you can demand that the agreement is registered (§ 17, subsection 3). According to the explanatory notes, such rights are only protected once they are registered.

There is also a deadline to know about for when the tenancy one day ends. If the building has changed owner, a claim against an owner other than the one who owned the building when the claim fell due must be pursued by legal action within 1 year of the end of the tenancy (§ 17, subsection 2). According to the explanatory notes, it is enough to bring the case before the Rent Tribunal (huslejenævnet) within the year when the tribunal can deal with it, for example a disagreement about getting your deposit back. See how to complain to the Rent Tribunal in Copenhagen. Keep your lease, the receipt for the deposit and the move-in report, so you can document your claims against a new owner.

When can a new owner give you notice?

It depends on the type of home. The notice period runs to the first working day of a month that is not the day before a public holiday (§ 175, subsection 2).

Your home	Can the buyer give you notice?	Rule	Notice
A flat in a house that only had two flats when you rented it, and where the owner lived in one of them	Yes, without giving further reasons. According to the explanatory notes, the right is kept even if the house is transferred to a new landlord who does not live there.	§ 170, no. 2	At least 1 year
Owner-occupied flat (ejerlejlighed)	Only if the buyer is a person who wants to live in the flat, the notice is reasonable, and the extra requirements for owner-occupied flats are met.	§ 171, subsection 1, no. 1, and § 172, nos. 1, 2 and 4	At least 1 year
House or flat in a rental building	Only if the buyer is a person who wants to live in the home, and the notice is reasonable. A company cannot.	§ 171, subsection 1, no. 1, and § 172, nos. 1 and 2	At least 1 year

The seller’s special right does not pass to the buyer

An owner who only rents out one owner-occupied flat or co-op apartment (andelsbolig) can give the tenant 1 year’s notice if the owner wants to live there (§ 170, no. 3). The rule only applies to owners who owned the home when the lease was made and who do not own other rented-out owner-occupied flats or co-op apartments. According to the explanatory notes, it is a right for the original landlord that cannot pass to a new owner. And under § 207, subsection 5, which was inserted by Act no. 1793 of 28 December 2023 (in Danish), the rule only applies to leases made on or after 1 July 2015. The rule also requires that the owner wants to live in the home. If it can later be proved that the owner never had that intention, then according to the explanatory notes the notice was not valid, and the tenant may be entitled to be reinstated or to compensation.

When the buyer wants to move in

Only individuals can give notice in order to live in the home themselves. A private or public limited company (ApS or A/S) cannot, because a company cannot move in. This is stated in the explanatory notes and by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing. The notice must also be reasonable based on an assessment of both parties’ circumstances (§ 172, no. 2). This includes how long the landlord has owned the building and your chances of finding another suitable home. According to the explanatory notes, the landlord’s ability to give notice grows with the number of years the landlord has owned the building, so a buyer who has just taken over is in a weaker position than a long-standing owner. On the other hand, the decision can go in the landlord’s favour if the considerations weigh equally.

A few more rules protect you. If another flat in the building becomes vacant no later than 3 months after the moving date you have been given notice to, and it is to be let, the landlord must offer it to you (§ 174, subsection 1). If the landlord lives in the building, the landlord must offer you their own flat at the same time as giving notice (§ 172, no. 6).

Owner-occupied flat: the extra requirements before the owner can move in

If your home is an owner-occupied flat, § 172, no. 4, sets extra requirements before the owner can give you notice in order to live there. The requirements depend on when your lease was made:

The lease was made	Requirements before the owner can give notice
Before 1 January 1980	The lease must have been made after the building was divided into owner-occupied flats.
1 January 1980 to 30 June 1986	As above, and you must have been told at the start of the tenancy that the home is an owner-occupied flat and that notice can be given under § 171, subsection 1, no. 1.
1 July 1986 or later	As above, and the landlord must previously have lived in the flat.

According to the explanatory notes, the purpose is to strengthen the protection of tenants in owner-occupied flats. The Act has no separate rule for buyers, and the requirements apply on top of the requirement that the notice is reasonable. In an authorised lease, § 1 states whether the home is an owner-occupied flat. Read more about the lease in our review of standard form A, 10th edition.

If you receive a notice from a new owner of an owner-occupied flat, ask them to explain how each requirement is met, and object before the deadline if you are in doubt. Then it is the Housing Court (boligretten) that decides.

A fixed-term lease with the sale as the reason

If you have a fixed-term lease, the tenancy ends without notice when the period runs out (§ 173, subsection 1). A planned sale can be a valid reason for a time limit. According to the explanatory notes, it supports the time limit if it was clear to you that the owner intended to sell.

The reason must lie with the landlord and exist when you signed. The Housing Court can set aside a time limit that is not sufficiently justified by the landlord’s circumstances (§ 173, subsection 3), and it is the landlord who must prove the reason. If a new owner buys the home, the buyer can rely on the time limit but also takes over the burden of proof. According to the explanatory notes, there is no deadline for when you can ask for the time limit to be set aside.

If you stay on for more than 1 month after the end date with the landlord’s knowledge, without the landlord having asked you to move, the tenancy continues without a time limit (§ 173, subsection 2). The landlord’s side of the matter is in our guide to fixed-term leases.

Viewings for buyers while you live there

The Rent Act has no special rule on viewings for buyers while your tenancy continues. The starting point is § 102: the landlord has a right of access when circumstances require it. According to the explanatory notes, the tenant has exclusive use of the home, and the landlord’s access must stem from the landlord’s rights and duties as owner. As examples, the notes mention works, reading meters and inspecting the building. A sale is not mentioned.

The rule that expressly deals with viewings is § 186. It only applies once notice has been given, or when the home must be vacated for another reason. You must then allow the home to be viewed for at least 2 hours every other working day at a time that is convenient for a viewing, and you are the one who sets the time. According to the explanatory notes, the purpose is precisely that the landlord can show the home to a new tenant or a buyer.

If you have not been given notice, the smoothest approach is to agree the viewings: fixed times, notice in good time, and that you or the landlord are present. If you refuse access in a situation where the landlord has a right to it, the landlord can, according to the explanatory notes, go to the bailiff’s court (fogedretten), and the landlord can terminate the lease (§ 182, subsection 1, no. 3). What else the landlord may do, and what notice applies, is covered in the article on the landlord’s access to your apartment.

The duty to offer when the whole rental building is sold

If the owner sells the whole building, the tenants may have the right to buy it first. Under § 196, the landlord must offer the tenants the building for takeover as a housing co-operative (andelsboligforening) before it is transferred to anyone else. The rule applies to buildings used only as homes with at least 6 flats, and to other buildings with at least 13 flats. As a rule it does not apply to buildings divided into owner-occupied flats (§ 196, subsection 3).

• The duty to offer (tilbudspligt) applies to sales, gifts, mergers, divisions and exchanges and in some cases when shares in the company that owns the building change hands (§ 198, subsection 1).
• It does not apply when the buyer is the state, a municipality, close family or a co-owner, nor on inheritance, unless the heir is a legal person (§ 198, subsection 2).
• The offer must be made to all tenants of flats. A housing co-operative formed by the residents must be able to buy at the same price and on the same terms as the owner can get by selling to someone else (§ 199, subsection 1).
• The deadline for accepting is at least 10 weeks, and July does not count.
• The rules cannot be waived to the tenants’ disadvantage (§ 201).

If the tenants say no, your lease continues with the buyer as described above.

If you receive a notice: object within 6 weeks

A notice under § 170, nos. 2 and 3, or § 171 must be in writing and tell you about your right to object. If it is based on § 171, it must also state the reason. If the information is missing, the notice is invalid (§ 176, subsection 1). The notice cannot be sent as a digital document (§ 13, subsection 2). According to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing, an invalid notice has no effect, even if you do not object.

1. Note the date the notice reached you. Your deadline runs from then.
2. Check the form: in writing, on paper, with information about your right to object and, when it is based on § 171, with the reason.
3. Check the reason against the table above and, for an owner-occupied flat, against the requirements in § 172, no. 4.
4. Check the notice period: at least 1 year when the owner wants to live there (§ 175, subsection 2).
5. If you do not want to accept the notice, send a written objection no later than 6 weeks after you received it (§ 176, subsection 2). Send it on paper, not by email: the objection cannot be given digitally either (§ 13, subsection 2). Keep a copy and proof that it was sent.
6. If the landlord wants to maintain the notice, the landlord must bring a case before the Housing Court no later than 6 weeks after your deadline has passed.

You have no duty to move because the home has been sold, nor to make an agreement to move early. If you want to move on yourself, you can give notice with the statutory 3 months (§ 175, subsection 1), unless you have agreed something else. Read more about giving notice on your rental home, and see our homes to rent if you need to find a new place to live.

Sources

• Act on Rent (the Rent Act, lejeloven), Act no. 341 of 22 March 2022 as amended (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Act no. 1793 of 28 December 2023 amending the Rent Act and other acts, § 1, no. 12 on § 207, subsection 5 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Bill on the Rent Act (L 47), explanatory notes to §§ 17, 102, 170, 172, 173 and 186 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Notice, termination and moving out (Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing, in Danish)
• Standard form A, 10th edition: lease for residential use (Ministry of the Interior and Housing, in Danish)