Can a rent tribunal decision soon be enforced directly? What it means for you as a landlord

Not yet, but it is coming. Today a decision from the rent tribunal (huslejenævnet) cannot be enforced. If you do not comply and the tenant wants the money, the tenant must first take the case to the housing court (boligretten) to obtain a judgment. A draft bill that the Ministry of Children, Elderly and Housing sent for consultation on 26 October 2026 would change that: a decision that has not been brought before the court within the 4-week deadline could go straight to the bailiff's court (fogedretten). The consultation deadline is 24 November 2026. It is a draft and has not been passed.

How does it work today when the tribunal has decided a case?

A rent tribunal decision is not a judgment, and it cannot be forced through. The ministry says so itself in the notes to the draft: decisions from the rent tribunal and the appeals board cannot be enforced by the bailiff's court (consultation portal, in Danish).

The rules are in the Danish Housing Act (lov om boligforhold, often called boligforholdsloven) (in Danish):

• Outside Copenhagen: The parties can bring the tribunal's decision before the housing court no later than 4 weeks after they were notified of it (section 88(2)).
• In Copenhagen: The decision can be appealed to the appeals board no later than 4 weeks after the notification (section 89(1)), and the appeals board's decision can then be brought before the housing court (section 89(6)). Cases on good conduct and order go straight to the housing court.
• Too late? The housing court or the appeals board can exceptionally allow a later referral if the application is made within 1 year of the decision.

If nothing happens within the deadline, the decision stands in practice, but it still cannot be enforced. If you do not pay voluntarily, the tenant must therefore start a case at the housing court only to get a judgment the bailiff's court can use. According to the notes, the court does not examine the substance of the case in that situation. It is an extra step that costs time and money without anyone deciding who is right.

The tribunals are also slow. On 16 September 2026 the Danish Tenants' Association (LLO) reported that the national average processing time for rent tribunal cases in 2025 was 190 days, based on figures from the Danish Housing Agency (LLO via Ritzau, in Danish). You can read how a case runs in Copenhagen in our guide to complaining to the rent tribunal in Copenhagen.

What does the draft propose?

The draft would make the tribunal's final decisions enforceable under the Danish Administration of Justice Act's rules on judgments (the proposed section 86(10)). It implements a political agreement of 11 December 2025 on the future rent tribunals. The agreement was made between the then government (the Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates), the Danish Democrats, the Socialist People's Party, Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives (cover letter on the consultation portal).

	Today	After the draft, if passed
Can the decision be enforced?	No, only a housing court judgment can	Yes, once final, directly at the bailiff's court
When is the decision final?	After 4 weeks it normally cannot be changed, but it cannot be enforced either	When it has not been brought before a court within 4 weeks
Does the tribunal learn that a case is brought before the court?	No	Yes, and it also receives the judgment or the court record
The fee when the tenant wins fully	Paid by the landlord and not refunded	Can be refunded after a final judgment or court settlement, and the fee is proposed to be raised

Four points are worth knowing:

• Both parties can use it. Tenant and landlord can both demand that a final decision be enforced. It also covers the appeals board's decisions in Copenhagen.
• Only clear decisions can be enforced. According to the notes, the decision must establish an unconditional duty to pay a precisely stated amount or similar. The notes say this is normally a duty to pay a specific sum.
• The tribunal must tell you. When it notifies the parties, it must also state that the decision can be enforced if it is not brought before a court.
• If a late referral is allowed, the decision is no longer final and cannot be enforced.

The courts must also notify the tribunals when a decision is brought before them and send them the judgment or court record when the case ends. The ministry says the tribunals otherwise cannot know whether their practice is being overturned.

What does it mean for you when a tenant wins?

It means you cannot count on having plenty of time. If you let the 4-week deadline pass and the decision orders you to pay the tenant, for example repayment of rent or deposit, the tenant can go straight to the bailiff's court if you do not pay. Today the tenant would first need a judgment. Under the draft, a decision that has not been brought before a court can be enforced under the rules for judgments.

The ministry estimates that the proposal will shorten the time before enforcement can take place and that it has no other business-economic consequences. That is the ministry's assessment, not a measurement of what it means for the individual landlord.

It changes your duties in three ways:

1. Deadlines matter more. The 4 weeks run from the day you were notified of the decision. Watch your post and your Digital Post so you know when the deadline starts.
2. Read the decision when it arrives. If it states an exact amount and a payment deadline, that is what can be enforced.
3. Pay on time if you accept it. Then the tenant cannot take the case on to the bailiff's court.

If you are a tenant, the opposite applies: if you won and your landlord does not pay, you can under the draft go straight to the bailiff's court once the deadline has passed. We still recommend contacting a tenants' organisation or a lawyer about the enforcement case itself. Our guide to getting your deposit back shows what you can claim when you move out.

What happens to the fee you pay when the tenant wins fully?

You would now get it back if a court later changes the outcome, but the fee is proposed to be raised at the same time. Under section 82(2) of the Housing Act, the landlord must pay a fee to the rent tribunal when the tenant wins fully. It was DKK 6,024 at 2021 level, and according to the draft it is DKK 7,027 in 2026. Today you do not get it back even if a court later reaches a different result, and you cannot claim it from the tenant (Housing Act and the draft on the consultation portal, both in Danish).

The draft inserts a new section 82 a. Under it, the tribunal must repay the fee at your request if:

• the tribunal's decision, where the tenant won fully, is changed by a final judgment so that the tenant no longer wins fully, or
• the tenant does not win fully through a court settlement.

A settlement outside court does not give a right to the fee back. Your request must enclose the judgment or court record, and the judgment must carry an appeal endorsement. The fee for the endorsement itself is not refunded.

On the other hand, the notes say the intention is to raise the fee so that total fee payments do not fall and the municipalities do not lose income. The draft does not state a new amount. So only landlords who lose in the final instance bear the fee, but it may become higher. The Landlords' Association of Aarhus and LLO describe the same (both in Danish).

Do you disagree with the decision? How to proceed

You bring it to court within 4 weeks. Both today and under the draft, that deadline decides whether the decision stands.

1. Find out when the deadline starts. It runs from the day you were notified of the decision (section 88(2) and section 89(1)).
2. Bring the case in time. In Copenhagen you appeal to the appeals board, and its decision can be brought before the housing court. Outside Copenhagen you go straight to the housing court. Cases on good conduct and order always go straight to the housing court.
3. Gather your documentation. In a court case it is more the parties than the tribunal who must carry the burden of proof. LLO points this out (Vi Lejere). Also contact a lawyer or a landlords' association before you go further.
4. Think about the fee. If you win in court, you can under the draft get the fee back. If you lose, you have still paid it.

If you disagree but missed the deadline, you can apply to bring the case anyway within 1 year of the decision. That is an exception, and the court does not have to say yes. Apply before you risk an enforcement case, because under the draft an allowed late referral makes the decision non-final again.

To understand whether the rent in your tenancy can be reviewed at all, read about rent adjustment.

When does it come, and what is unresolved?

That is unresolved. The draft is in consultation, and the sources disagree on the date:

• The draft itself says: "the Act enters into force on 1 January 2027". The same applies to the political agreement from December 2025 (Vi Lejere).
• The consultation portal states 1 July 2027 as the entry-into-force date. We cannot explain the difference from the documents we have read.
• The consultation deadline is 24 November 2026. The bill must then be introduced and passed in the Danish Parliament, and it may change along the way. The draft does not say what applies to decisions made before it enters into force.

Until an adopted law has entered into force, the rules are as they are today. Act as if the decision cannot be enforced directly, but do not let the 4-week deadline pass if you disagree. We will update the article when the bill has been introduced.

When we manage the tenancy

If you let us manage your letting, we are the contact for the tenant and collect the rent. Correspondence and payments are kept in one place if a tenant decides to complain to the tribunal. We also follow up on late payments and handle notices to terminate. You pay 8.5% excl. VAT of the monthly rent. Read more about long-term rental with BY Administration. We are not lawyers and do not represent you in a case before the tribunal or the court.

The article is based on the Housing Act and the draft bill as they stood on 13 November 2026. It is general information and not legal advice.

Sources

• Consultation on amending the Housing Act regarding decisions from the rent tribunals, with cover letter and draft, 26 October 2026 (the consultation portal, in Danish)
• The Housing Act, Act no. 342/2022 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Years-long waits hit tenants hard, 16 September 2026 (the Danish Tenants' Association via Ritzau, in Danish)
• New agreement on the future rent tribunals (Vi Lejere, LLO, in Danish)
• Political agreement on the rent tribunals, 14 January 2026 (the Landlords' Association of Aarhus, in Danish)