Renting out your apartment while it is for sale: lease and handover
Written by Jasmin, writing assistant at BY Administration · 7 October 2026 · 9 min read · Property management
Contents
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Yes. You can rent out your owner-occupied apartment (ejerlejlighed) or house while it is on the market and still sell it to a buyer who wants to live there. What makes this work is a fixed-term lease with a set end date, the sale written in as the reason, and a handover date for the buyer after that end date. What does not work is a clause saying the tenant must move out on 3 months’ notice once the apartment is sold. Under the Danish Rent Act (lejeloven), that clause is invalid.
The end date does the work, not a notice clause
§§ 170 and 171 of the Rent Act (in Danish) set out when a landlord can give a tenant notice, and a sale is not on the list. Under § 181, the rules in §§ 171 to 179 on notice from the landlord cannot be varied by agreement to the tenant’s detriment, and according to the explanatory notes to the bill (in Danish), a tenant cannot sign away those rights in advance. A clause requiring the tenant to leave on 3 months’ notice if the apartment is sold therefore does not hold, even with the tenant’s signature on it.
What does work is a fixed-term lease. It ends without notice on the agreed date (§ 173, subsection 1), but only if the fixed term is sufficiently justified by your circumstances as the landlord (subsection 3). The explanatory notes name exactly this: a wish to sell, and a wish to postpone a sale to avoid a loss. It counts in your favour if the tenant could see that you intended to sell, and if you have tried to sell. The burden of proof is yours.
The fixed term goes in § 11 of standard form A (in Danish), which we walk through in the A10 lease agreement:
- A set end date. According to the explanatory notes, the agreement runs for a period specified in the lease, so write a date, not “until the apartment is sold”.
- The reason: the apartment is on the market and must be handed over without a tenant.
- Who can give notice during the period. You can give the tenant the right to give 3 months’ notice, but you cannot give yourself a right to give notice because of the sale.
- Documentation, such as your agreement with the estate agent. Keep it.
An example: “The tenancy is for a fixed term and ends without notice on 30 April 2027. Reason: The landlord has put the apartment up for sale with an estate agent and must be able to hand it over without a tenant. The tenant may give notice during the period with 3 months’ notice. The landlord may not give notice during the period.” Which other reasons hold up is covered in our guide to the fixed-term lease. All of this applies to owner-occupied apartments and houses. For a co-op apartment (andelsbolig), the rules are stricter: see renting out a co-op apartment.
How the lease period and the sale fit together
Choose the end date based on when you can realistically hand the apartment over to a buyer. § 173 sets neither a minimum nor a maximum period.
| Situation | What you do | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| The buyer wants to live in the apartment | Set the handover date in the purchase agreement after the end date, with time for the move-out inspection. | § 173, subsection 1 |
| The buyer wants to rent it out | The buyer can take over with the tenant in place. The lease continues with the buyer. | § 17 |
| The sale drags on | The lease can be extended, but each extension needs a reason at that time. Document that the apartment is still for sale. | Explanatory notes to § 173 |
| The tenant wants to leave early | The tenant can only do so if you have agreed a right to give notice, or if you breach the agreement. | § 173, subsection 1 |
| The tenant does not move out on the end date | Ask the tenant in writing to move out. If the tenant stays more than 1 month with your knowledge and you have not asked, the tenancy continues with no end date. | § 173, subsection 2 |
If you asked the tenant to move out in time and follow it up, you can demand an eviction, and according to the explanatory notes, clear cases can be decided by the bailiff’s court (fogedretten). Even so, agree with the buyer what happens if the move-out is delayed.
What the buyer takes over
The tenant’s rights under the Rent Act apply against a new owner without registration. The same goes for the deposit and prepaid rent, as long as the amounts together do not exceed 6 months’ rent (§ 17, subsection 1). You can ask for at most 3 months’ rent as a deposit and 3 months’ prepaid rent (§ 59).
The buyer can rely on a valid fixed term, even if the buyer does not meet the conditions personally. In return, the buyer takes over the burden of proving that the reason held when the lease was signed. So give the buyer the lease and the documentation.
Without a valid end date, a buyer who wants to move in is in a weak position. If the apartment is an owner-occupied apartment and the lease was signed on or after 1 July 1986, one of the requirements for giving the tenant notice is that the landlord has lived in the apartment before (§ 172, no. 4), and the notice period is at least 1 year (§ 175, subsection 2). Your own right, as the owner of a single let home, to give notice so you can move back in (§ 170, no. 3) cannot pass to a new owner, according to the explanatory notes.
If you sell to an investor who wants to keep renting it out, the tenant can stay on the terms of the lease. The duty to offer the property to the tenants first does not, as a rule, apply to buildings divided into owner-occupied apartments (§ 196, subsection 3). The tenant’s side is covered in landlord sells the apartment, and the investor’s in buying an apartment to rent out.
Viewings, the owners’ association and the municipality
Viewings while the tenant lives there
While the tenancy runs, you have access to the apartment when circumstances require it (§ 102), and the rules on access cannot be varied to the tenant’s detriment (§ 110). The duty to allow viewings for at least 2 hours every other working day applies once notice has been given, or when the tenant has to move out for another reason, for example because the lease period expires (§ 186). According to the explanatory notes, it also applies when the home is to be sold rather than let again. The tenant sets the times. Before that, viewings happen by agreement, so tell the tenant about the sale before you sign and agree fixed time slots. The rules are set out in landlord access to your apartment.
The owners’ association
Under the model bylaws for owners’ associations (normalvedtægten, in Danish), you must tell the board about the letting, its length and the tenant’s name and contact details no later than when the tenancy starts (§ 30, subsection 1). Check your own association’s bylaws too.
The municipality and the residence requirement
In Copenhagen and other regulated municipalities, the owner must make sure that a vacant year-round home continues to be used as a home, and a home is vacant when it is not let for, or not used as, a residence (§ 5 of the Housing Conditions Act, in Danish). A tenant who lives in the apartment meets the requirement. If it stands empty, it must be reported empty to the City of Copenhagen (in Danish) no later than 6 weeks after the last occupant moved out, and the city lists a sale as a reason for being given a deadline. An ordinary lease has no 70-day limit. That limit only applies to holiday letting of your own year-round home (§ 5 of the Summer Houses Act, in Danish). See Airbnb rules in Copenhagen.
How we handle the letting while your apartment is for sale
We advertise the apartment and screen every tenant before they come to a viewing, and you make the final choice. We draw up the lease under the Rent Act with the end date and the reason written in, collect the deposit and the rent, and carry out the move-in inspection and the move-out inspection with written and photographic records.
It costs 8.5% excl. VAT of the monthly rent. All administration is included, and there are no hidden fees. If you are still weighing up whether to rent out or sell, see the numbers in rent out or sell your apartment and the market figures in hard to sell your apartment. The full service is described under renting out temporarily.
Want to know what the apartment could earn in rent while it is for sale? Get a personal estimate within 24 hours from the rental income calculator. When you are ready, you can get your home rented out.
The article is based on the rules as they apply in October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Act on Rent (lejeloven), Act no. 341 of 22 March 2022 as amended (Retsinformation, in Danish)
- Bill on Rent (L 47), explanatory notes to §§ 170, 172, 173, 181 and 186 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
- Lease for residential use, standard form A, 10th edition, with guidance (Ministry of Children, the Elderly and Housing, in Danish)
- Executive order on model bylaws for owners’ associations, no. 1738 of 2020 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
- Housing Conditions Act (lov om boligforhold), Act no. 342 of 22 March 2022 as amended (Retsinformation, in Danish)
- Summer Houses Act (sommerhusloven), consolidated act no. 400 of 12 April 2024 (Retsinformation, in Danish)
- Residence requirement (bopælspligt), City of Copenhagen (in Danish)
Have another question?Call +45 50 52 15 37 or book a meeting.
Frequently asked questions
The key questions, answered briefly.
Have another question?Call +45 50 52 15 37 or book a meeting.
Can I agree that the tenant must move out on 3 months’ notice if the apartment is sold?
No. A sale is not a ground for notice under §§ 170 and 171 of the Rent Act, and under § 181 the rules on notice from the landlord cannot be varied to the tenant’s detriment. Use a fixed-term lease instead, with a set end date and the sale as the reason. The tenant can be given the right to give 3 months’ notice, but that right is the tenant’s, not yours.
When can the buyer take over an apartment that is let?
If the buyer wants to live there, set the handover date in the purchase agreement after the end date of the lease, ideally with time for the move-out inspection. The buyer can rely on a valid fixed term but also takes over the burden of proving the reason, so hand over the lease and the documentation. A buyer who wants to rent it out can take over with the tenant in place under § 17.
Can a buyer give the tenant notice to move in themselves?
Usually not, if the buyer has never lived in the apartment. For an owner-occupied apartment with a lease signed on or after 1 July 1986, one requirement is that the landlord has lived in the apartment before, under § 172, no. 4, of the Rent Act, and the notice period is at least 1 year. The seller’s special right under § 170, no. 3, does not pass to the buyer. That is why the end date matters.
Does the tenant have to let buyers in for viewings?
When the tenant has to move out because the lease period expires, or notice has been given, the tenant must allow access for at least 2 hours every other working day and sets the times, under § 186. Before that, you have access when circumstances require it, under § 102, and those rules cannot be varied to the tenant’s detriment. So tell the tenant about the sale from the start and agree fixed time slots.
What happens if the sale drags on?
You can extend the lease, but according to the explanatory notes there must be a reason for the fixed term each time, assessed on the circumstances when the extension was agreed. Document that the apartment is still for sale, for example with your agreement with the estate agent. The explanatory notes also name a wish to postpone a sale to avoid a loss as a possible reason.
Can the tenant end a fixed-term lease before the end date?
Only if you have agreed it, or if you breach the agreement, under § 173, subsection 1, of the Rent Act. You can give the tenant the right to give notice, for example with the ordinary statutory notice period of 3 months. According to the explanatory notes, the notice rules may be varied to the landlord’s detriment. You just cannot give yourself a right to give notice because of the sale.
