Renting a home
In short
Renting in Denmark is arranged surprisingly fairly — but only for those who know two deadlines and one form. The form is typeformular A, the official contract. Since 2025 there is also an official English version of it.
Two deadlines: 14 days after you move in, to list in writing everything that is broken, and 14 days after the move-out inspection, during which the landlord can claim something from you. Miss the first one and you pay. If he misses the second one, you pay nothing.
if an unofficial form was used, every term that is worse than the law is simply invalid
Does this apply to me?
Yes, if you rent from a private landlord. For social housing the rules are partly different.
Steps
Check how much you are asked for up front
The law allows exactly two amounts up front — and both are capped at three months of rent each.
together with the first month that can legally be up to 7 monthly rents — a lot, but not a breach
Never pay before signing
The most common rental scam looks like this: a nice photo, a low price, "I am abroad right now, I will post you the keys, transfer the deposit". After the transfer, everything disappears.
The rule is simple: first you see the home and sign the contract, then the money, and only by bank transfer. No cash, no "friendly" MobilePay, no cryptocurrency.
a payment "for the keys" or "to be picked as the tenant" is a separate crime — that money gets returned
Read § 11 — everything important hides there
The standard contract has a paragraph called "Særlige vilkår" — special terms. That is where every deviation from the usual rules has to be written down: who does repairs, who paints, what extra duties you have.
And the other way round: a term written in somewhere else — into the printed text, or something crossed out to suit the landlord — is not properly set out and does not apply.
do not understand § 11 — do not sign until someone explains it to you
The move-in inspection: photograph everything
A landlord who has more than one flat is obliged to hold a move-in inspection (indflytningssyn) and draw up a report. If he did not do it, or did not give you the report in time, he loses the right to claim repairs from you when you move out.
But do not rely on him alone: walk through the home with your phone and film everything — scratches, stains, windows, appliances, meters.
And write your own list anyway — within 14 days
This is the step that saves deposits. Even if you were at the inspection and signed the report, you have your own 14 days from the start of the tenancy to send the landlord a written list of defects.
Send it so that a trace is left: by email, with the list and the photos. This is your main evidence a year or three from now.
a spoken "well, he saw it anyway" is not evidence
Apply for boligstøtte — and do not miss the 30 days
is help from the state towards the rent, paid by . You apply on borger.dk, attaching all the pages of the signed contract.
Apply within 30 days of moving in and the money is counted from the day you moved in. Later, it only starts from the month after the application is received — so delay costs you a whole month, not a few days. And one more thing: if you rent a room in someone else's home without your own kitchen, boligstøtte is usually not granted.
Guide: moving to another kommune →Moving out: the 14 days are now his deadline
Now the deadline works for you. After the move-out inspection the landlord has 14 days to make his claims. If he does not manage it, he can no longer claim anything.
And the second rule: costs that are not in the move-out report are not your problem. And most importantly — you cannot be made to hand the home back in better condition than you got it.
you do not pay for ordinary wear from living there — that is not damage
They will not return the deposit — there is huslejenævnet
Disputes about the deposit and about move-out repairs are decided by huslejenævnet, a board attached to the kommune. It is not a court: filing costs a few hundred kroner and anyone can do it. If you live in social housing (almen bolig), your board is a different one — beboerklagenævnet — and filing there is cheaper. You have to go to the right one.
Keep two things in mind: decisions take months, and even a decision in your favour is not enforced by the board itself — forced collection is another procedure again.
Where to go for help →What you will need
- The signed contract — every page
- Photos of the home on the day you moved in
- The move-in inspection report
- Proof that you transferred the deposit
- Meter readings
- The written list of defects, and proof that you sent it
Danish words you will see
- Lejekontrakt
- A tenancy agreement. Usually on the standard form — typeformular A.
- Depositum
- The deposit you pay the landlord. By law, no more than 3 months' rent.
- Indflytningssyn
- The move-in inspection of your home. Anything already broken must go in the report — otherwise you pay for it.
- Boligstøtte
- State help towards your rent. You apply on borger.dk, and Udbetaling Danmark pays it.
- Huslejenævnet
- The board in the kommune that settles disputes between tenant and landlord.
- Udbetaling Danmark
- The state body that pays housing support, child benefit and pensions. It is not the kommune.
Common mistakes
- Transferring the deposit without seeing the home. The most common scam in Denmark. Contract first, money after.
- Missing the 14 days for the list of defects. After that, anything broken counts as yours when you move out.
- Not reading § 11 "Særlige vilkår". That is where the duty to repair and repaint is hidden.
- Agreeing to pay for something that is not in the move-out report. You are not obliged to meet claims like that.
- Applying for boligstøtte later than 30 days. The money is counted from the month you applied, not from the day you moved in.
Need to talk to a human?
Tenants' associations and the lawyers at Bevar Ukraine help with tenancy contracts for free. If it is about the deposit — huslejenævnet in your kommune.
Where to turn and what to say →Where this information comes from
- Checked against sources: 21.09.2026
- Sources: sm.dk — Lejekontrakt og typeformular, lifeindenmark.dk — Renting a home, borger.dk — Beboerklagenævn og huslejenævn, borger.dk — Søg boligstøtte
This is an explanation in plain words, not legal advice. The final word always belongs to the authority. How we check
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