How buying a home in Denmark works — an overview
Buying a home in Denmark follows a fixed sequence. You get your financing in order first, then search for a home, review the documents, negotiate the price, sign a purchase agreement and take over the keys. The whole process takes four to eight weeks from accepted offer to ownership.
If you are new to Danish home buying, two things can cause delays when you start without preparation: the bank has to approve your financing before you make an offer, and every key document is in Danish. Neither is an obstacle, but both are worth preparing before you start.
This guide walks you through each step, with what to look out for along the way.
What can feel different when you are new to Danish home buying?
- The seller hires and pays the real estate agent. The agent’s job is to complete the sale for the seller. That is why it helps to have your own advisor, whose only job is your purchase.
- All property documents are in Danish. The condition report, the land register extracts, the purchase agreement, the deed: none of it comes in English. I read them for you and explain what matters.
- Market knowledge makes the difference. Without local market data, it is hard to tell whether a listing price is reasonable. I bring the comparable sales.
Step 1 — Get your financing in order before you search
Start here, before you book a single viewing. In Denmark, a seller’s agent will not take your offer seriously without proof that a bank has approved your financing. Searching without pre-approval wastes time for everyone and risks losing a home you wanted.
How much can you borrow in Denmark?
Danish banks lend up to 80% of the property value through a mortgage loan (realkreditlån). A bank loan can cover the next 15%. The final 5% is your down payment, the minimum you must contribute from your own savings.
How much you can borrow depends on your income, your employment, your savings and any existing debt. Have this conversation with your bank before you fall in love with a home.
What does a Danish bank ask for?
Typically recent payslips, your employment contract, recent bank statements, your CPR number and documentation of any existing debt or loans. Each bank sets its own requirements, so ask yours early.
If you are self-employed or run your own business, expect to provide company accounts for a couple of years.
Compare more than one bank
Book an appointment with at least two banks before you start searching. Their assessments of your borrowing capacity can differ, and shopping around at this stage costs nothing.
Do you need permission to buy?
Depending on your citizenship and how long you have lived here, you may need permission from Civilstyrelsen before you buy. Read what applies to you. We help you apply if you need it.
Step 2 — Search for a home in Denmark
In this phase of the home buying process, you should focus on what your new home should contain, how it should be built, the architecture, the land and the location. You can probably think of many other wishes or reasons for choosing a home.
However, it’s important that you try to narrow down what is most important to you. There will be some things that are absolute requirements, others you can live with if other things are met and some that are “nice to have”. Keep in mind that finances are often a limiting factor too.
You should sit down and formulate the most important 4-5 criteria you want to meet when buying a new home. If you’re buying a home together, take the time to establish what your common criteria are for your new home. It’s important that you align your expectations so that you buy the right home for you.
There are many ways to search for the right home. We recommend that you do what suits you best. You can either search via Boligsiden, Boliga or via real estate agents’ websites. On these portals, you can filter your search to find homes that match your requirements. A good tip is to start broad and see what comes up. Then try to narrow down the results by using filters.
A completely different approach is to contact the local real estate agents in the area you’re looking for a home in. Talk to them about your wishes and requirements for your future home. This way, they’ll contact you when something comes up for sale that matches your criteria.
The real estate agent may also have a property for sale in a so-called “drawer sale” that suits your wishes. When the seller and real estate agent choose to put the property up for sale in this way, it is not advertised publicly, so it is important to contact local real estate agents to find out about the properties in the “drawer”.
Once you’ve found one or more homes that meet your requirements, it’s time to come out and see the home(s) in person. You can either book a viewing by contacting the seller’s real estate agent or by attending an open house.
I recommend that you set aside time for a viewing where only you and the real estate agent are present. At the viewing, you’ll have the opportunity to have a thorough look at the property and get answers to any questions you may have about the property. Of course, you’ll also have the opportunity to have your own building expert come along and assess the house’s defects and damage.
Open houses are often hectic, and in some cases there are many other interested parties. When there are several interested home buyers at an open house, it’s easy to get the impression that the home is more desirable and interesting than it really is. The real estate agent plays on this, as they want you as a buyer to feel pressured to bid faster and more than you had planned.
The seller’s real estate agent often uses the opportunity to gather several interested home buyers at the same time. The idea behind this is that you unconsciously raise your threshold for what you think the property is worth and thus what you are willing to pay for it. So be realistic about what you think the home is worth to you before you go to open houses.
Step 3 — Review the property documents before you sign
Every property sale in Denmark generates a set of documents that describe the physical condition of the building, its official registration, and any legal restrictions attached to the land. Reviewing these documents is not optional — it is the stage where problems are found and prices are renegotiated.
None of these documents come in English as standard. Below is a plain-language guide to each one.
Tilstandsrapport — the condition report
A certified building surveyor carries out the tilstandsrapport, a physical inspection of the property. It lists visible defects and rates each one on a scale: K1 is cosmetic, K2 is a defect that should be repaired, K3 is serious and must be addressed, and UN flags something that requires further investigation by a specialist.
The seller orders and pays for the report, which must be valid when the home is sold. If the seller provides a valid tilstandsrapport and offers you change of ownership insurance (ejerskifteforsikring), the seller is largely released from liability for defects after the sale. Without a valid report, the seller remains liable for hidden defects for up to ten years.
Read every K2 and K3 rating before making an offer. Each one is a repair cost. Each one is also a negotiation argument. A K3 rating on the roof means you should get a contractor’s estimate and use it to negotiate the price down.
Elinstallationsrapport — the electrical inspection report
A licensed electrician produces the elinstallationsrapport, which documents the condition of the property’s electrical installations. It is valid for one year from the date of issue.
The report uses two categories for problems: Category 1 means the issue must be corrected, Category 2 means it should be corrected. Properties built before 1980 tend to fail on both counts. Bringing an electrical system up to current standards can be a significant cost, so get a quote before you negotiate.
Check the report date. A report issued eleven months ago on a property that has been on the market since then may be close to expiry. Request a fresh one if there is any doubt.
BBR-meddelelse — the property data sheet
BBR stands for Bygnings- og Boligregistret, the Danish Building and Housing Register. The BBR-meddelelse shows what the municipality has registered for the property: the total floor area, basement area, garage, outbuildings, and any extensions.
Walk through the property with the BBR document in hand and compare what you see against what is registered. A converted loft that adds 30 square metres is worth money. Only if it appears in the BBR. If it does not, the conversion was done without planning permission. As the new owner, the obligation to legalize it transfers to you. Legalization can be straightforward or it can be refused entirely, depending on the local planning rules.
Unregistered extensions are one of the most common issues in Danish property transactions. Check the BBR before you make an offer, not after you have signed.
Servitutter — easements and restrictions on the property
Servitutter are legal obligations and restrictions tied to the land itself. Every new owner inherits them. They remain in force regardless of what the purchase agreement says.
Common examples include a neighbour’s right of way across part of the garden, a building line that restricts where you can build on the plot, a utility company’s right to access a section of the land for maintenance, or a restriction on the type of fence or hedge you are allowed to install.
You find servitutter by searching the property’s matrikel number on tinglysning.dk. Most are minor and have no practical effect on daily life. Some are significant. A right of way crossing the area where you planned to build a garage changes the value of the property. Read them before you make an offer.
Step 4 — Negotiate the price
Listing prices in Denmark are not fixed. Sellers set an asking price, buyers make offers, and the final price is agreed through negotiation. The seller’s agent manages this process on the seller’s behalf.
How price negotiation works in Denmark
Research comparable sales before you make an offer. Boliga.dk shows sold prices for every property transaction in Denmark, searchable by address, area, and property type. Calculate the price per square metre for properties sold in the last six months in the same street or neighbourhood and compare it to the listing price.
A property priced at 28,000 DKK per square metre in an area where comparable homes sold for 24,000 DKK per square metre last quarter has room to move. Come with data.
Defects in the tilstandsrapport are your other negotiation tool. A K3 rating on the roof with a repair cost of 150,000 DKK is a direct argument for a price reduction of at least that amount. Get written estimates from contractors before you negotiate. Verbal estimates carry no weight.
Call 9393 0678 to hear how Nicolai can help you with the price negotiation.
Using a buyer’s advisor to negotiate on your behalf
The seller’s agent knows the local market and has run this process many times. I negotiate with the seller’s agent in Danish, backed by current market data. The fee for this is 10,000 DKK for the full advisory package including negotiation. In cases where negotiation achieves a price reduction, that fee pays for itself many times over. See all my services here.
Step 5 — Sign the purchase agreement
The purchase agreement (købsaftale) is the binding contract that transfers the right to buy the property from seller to buyer. Once both parties sign, the deal is binding subject to any reservations written into the agreement.
Which reservations should you always insist on?
The seller’s agent typically prepares the agreement using a standard template. The template is designed to complete the transaction. A buyer’s advisor reviews it with your interests in mind.
Two reservations belong in every purchase agreement. The financing reservation (finansieringsforbehold) makes the purchase conditional on your bank approving the mortgage. If the bank declines, you can withdraw without paying the cancellation fee. The advisor reservation (rådgiverforbehold) gives your buyer’s advisor or lawyer a fixed number of days to review the agreement and raise objections. If they find a problem, you can renegotiate or withdraw.
Never sign a purchase agreement without both reservations in place.
Make sure to inform the seller’s agent that you use Hjælp til huskøb as your buyer’s advisor. Then he makes the purchase agreement dependent on my approval.
Step 6 — Complete the purchase
The purchase agreement is the agreement between the seller of the property and you as the buyer of the property. It is the seller’s real estate agent who prepares the purchase agreement and ensures that the parties sign the agreement. As a buyer, it’s important to make sure that your buyer’s advisor’s approval of the purchase agreement has been reserved. The real estate agent should have written this in section 11.
In the past, the buyer and seller would meet at the real estate agent’s office and the parties would put their signatures on the purchase agreement. Today, most real estate agents sign the purchase agreement digitally. As a buyer, this is free of charge, as long as you have ensured that a reservation has been inserted for your advisor’s approval of the agreement.
I offer a free and non-binding screening of the purchase agreement before purchase. Simply send me the purchase agreement via this form. I will then clarify whether it is OK for you to sign the purchase agreement. I usually get back to you within 2 hours.
If you and your buyer advisor have agreed with the seller on the price and terms for buying the property, a purchase agreement must be drawn up. If your buyer advisor has negotiated the price and terms on your behalf, he or she will be the one to make arrangements with the seller’s real estate agent about signing the purchase agreement. If you have negotiated terms with the seller’s real estate agent yourself, it is the real estate agent with whom you must agree the signing of the purchase agreement.
Once the purchase agreement is signed by both parties, the property is yours. So it’s important that this happens as soon as possible, as the seller’s real estate agent must (by law) continue the sales process until there is a signed purchase agreement. You should therefore push to get the seller’s signature as soon as possible so that you don’t risk the property being sold to another party.
Once both you and the seller have signed, your statutory withdrawal period starts. The withdrawal period is 6 business days after you have been notified of the seller’s signature. Withdrawing from a home purchase costs 1% of the purchase price as compensation to the seller. You can read more in our guide to the right of withdrawal.
The real estate agent often sets a deadline of a number of business days for the buyer’s advisor and bank’s approval. We believe that this deadline should not be shorter than 6 business days, because it is important that your buyer’s advisor has time to review the deal documents and time to meet and explain the content to you. It’s also important that you can go through the financials with the bank so you know how the home purchase will affect your finances in the future.
What a buyer’s advisor does for you
A buyer’s advisor works only for you. My job is to look after your interests through every step of the purchase.
For you, that means reviewing all documents in Danish and explaining what they say, checking the property’s legal status in the Land Register, negotiating the price in Danish with local market data, applying for permission if you need it, reviewing the purchase agreement before you sign it, and staying available from the day you find the home to the day you receive the keys.
My fee for full buyer advisory is 7,500 DKK for a completed transaction. Negotiation is included in the 10,000 DKK package. If the transaction does not complete, you pay only for the work I have done. See all my services.
Remember this before taking possession of the home
Before you get the keys to your new home, there are a few things to remember (and don’t worry, your buyer advisor will remind you).
- Take out home insurance (husforsikring)
- Take out change of ownership insurance (ejerskifteforsikring), if the seller offers it
- Choose your electricity supplier
- Agree on the handover date
As the buyer, you take over the risk of the property on the transfer date or on the disposition date if this is earlier than the transfer date. It is therefore important that you take out home insurance before you get the keys to the house.
Change of ownership insurance (ejerskifteforsikring) covers hidden defects and deficiencies in the property. It is up to the seller to decide whether to use the HE scheme. If the seller has chosen to use the scheme, you will have received a condition report and an electrical installation report before you bought the house. We always recommend taking out change of ownership insurance when buying real estate. This insurance protects you against high costs in the event of defects and deficiencies in the property.
As a buyer, you must ensure that you notify the utility companies you wish to use of the move-in and meter readings. Otherwise, you will be supplied by the utility companies.
Unless you agree otherwise with the seller’s real estate agent or the seller, you will receive the keys to the house at 12:00 on the day of takeover. However, you can contact the seller’s real estate agent well in advance to see if you can arrange another time. Remember, however, that you must have taken out insurance and selected utilities before you receive the keys.
After handing over the keys
Once you’ve been handed the keys, the house is yours and the responsibility for the house is also yours. So if something breaks, it’s your responsibility. It’s also your responsibility to maintain the house.
On the day of the handover, it’s also a good idea to check if the appliances that came with the house are working. Test them and let us know as soon as possible if they don’t work. You took over the risk of the house on the day of takeover at 12:00 (unless otherwise agreed) and you usually have 24 hours to complain about defective appliances.
After the takeover date, a refund statement must be prepared. The reimbursement statement is an overview of the expenses the parties have incurred on the property, which covers the other party’s period of ownership. The principle is that each party pays for their own period of ownership.
When the refund balance is paid, the process of buying a new home is complete. All that’s left is to enjoy the new home.
