housing search Oct 23, 2026

Finding a Flatmate in Denmark: How to Choose and Set Rules

By Bolighub Published Oct 23, 2026 Updated Oct 23, 2026 Reading time: 18 min.

housing searchleasetenancy

It’s rarely the rent itself that breaks up a flatshare. It’s the washing-up, the partner who never goes home, the electricity bill nobody keeps track of, and the question of who pays when one of you wants to move out. The good news is that most of this can be avoided if you choose each other carefully and agree on the ground rules before you move in together. This guide shows you how to find a flatmate, which questions to ask and which flatmate rules are worth writing down. It also explains how the contract affects your responsibilities towards the landlord.

First: How will you live together on paper?

Before you talk about cleaning rotas, you need to know who has an agreement with whom. That decides who is liable for the rent and what happens when one of you moves out. There are usually three models:

	Both/all of you are on the lease	One is the tenant and sublets a room	Each has their own contract with the landlord
Who has an agreement with the landlord?	All flatmates	Only the main tenant	Each flatmate separately
Who is liable for the full rent?	As a rule, all of you, jointly and severally	The main tenant	Each for their own tenancy
If one wants to move out	As a rule requires the landlord’s consent	The subtenant gives notice to the main tenant	The person moving out terminates their own contract
Typically seen with	Friends renting a flat together	A tenant with a spare room	Room rentals and shared housing

Model 1: You are all on the lease

If several of you are on the same lease (lejekontrakt), tenancy lawyers describe you as, as a rule, jointly and severally liable (solidarisk hæftelse). Joint and several liability means the landlord can demand the full rent from any one of you, and it’s then up to you to get the money back from the others. The same typically applies to the cost of putting the home back in order when you move out (istandsættelse).

As a rule, a flatmate can’t simply take themselves off the lease either. That normally requires the landlord’s agreement, for example through a written addendum to the contract. Lejeloven (the Danish Rent Act) has special rules on who can stay on when spouses and cohabiting partners split up. Friends and flatmates are typically not covered by those rules.

Model 2: One is the main tenant and sublets a room

If only you are on the lease and your flatmate pays rent to you, it’s partial subletting (delvis fremleje). Under section 157 of lejeloven, as a tenant you may sublet up to half of the living rooms, and no more people may live there than there are living rooms. The sublease agreement must be in writing, and your landlord must have a copy before the sublet begins. Under section 159, you are liable to the landlord for damage your flatmate causes through irresponsible behaviour, and for making sure they follow the house rules (husorden).

You are liable to the landlord for the full rent, even if your flatmate stops paying. We go through the rules on rent, depositum (deposit), notice and tax for this model in our guide to renting out a room in your home.

Model 3: Separate contracts

Some landlords let out a shared home room by room. Here each flatmate has their own tenancy, and as a rule you are not liable for each other’s rent. On the other hand, you have no say in who moves in when a room becomes free, unless the landlord gives you one.

Tip: Always ask which model you’ll be using before anyone signs. The question is especially important if you are moving in with someone who already lives in the home.

How to find the right flatmate

1. Know your own requirements first

Write down what matters to you before you start looking. You could use these points:

Budget: How much can you pay in total each month, including utilities and internet?
Daily rhythm: Do you get up at 6am, or do you work evenings?
How social: Would you like to eat together and throw parties, or should you mostly just be good neighbours?
Dealbreakers: Smoking, pets, regular overnight guests, noise after 10pm, or something else entirely?
Time frame: One semester, one year or several years?

2. Look in the right places

Your own network: Friends of friends are often the safest choice, because someone can vouch for the person.
Study, work and clubs: Noticeboards, internal groups and student associations.
Housing websites: If you’re looking for a room in an existing flatshare, you can browse rooms for rent. If you want to find a flat together, you can browse rental properties and filter by whether the home is share-friendly.

A share-friendly (delevenlig) home is one where the landlord has stated that it can be let to several people who are not a couple. There aren’t many of them. Among the flats on Bolighub, 95 out of 1,307 listings in Copenhagen and 80 out of 447 in Aarhus were marked as share-friendly (as of 23 October 2026). If a home isn’t marked as share-friendly, ask the landlord directly before you apply.

3. Have a proper conversation, not just a viewing

Meet each other, ideally in the home, and ask specific questions. You could use these:

What does an ordinary day look like for you?
How often do you have guests, and do they stay the night?
What does “a clean kitchen” mean to you?
How do you prefer to deal with it if something annoys you?
What are your finances like, and how have you paid rent before?
How long do you expect to live here?
Have you lived in a flatshare before? Why did it end?

If you’re allowed to, talk to a previous landlord or flatmate. That often tells you more than a good first chat.

4. Check that the person is who they say they are

If you’re meeting the person for the first time, ask to see valid ID, and never transfer money to someone you haven’t met, or for a home you haven’t seen. This applies both when you’re looking for a room and when you’re looking for a flatmate. See our advice on searching for a rental safely.

Red flags

The person won’t meet, but wants to pay or be paid straight away.
The person is vague about their income or wants to “just pay a bit later” for the first month.
The person won’t register at the address in the folkeregister (the National Register, where everyone living in Denmark must record their address).
The person dodges questions about previous homes.
The person says yes to everything without asking a single question themselves.

Flatmate rules: What to agree on before you move in together

A flatmate agreement is a written agreement between those of you who live together. It’s separate from the lease. It can’t change what you owe the landlord, or give you fewer rights than lejeloven gives you. But it makes clear what you have agreed with each other. You can write it in a shared document that you all sign.

Money

Splitting the rent: Equally, or according to the size of the rooms? See the example below.
Payment date: Who pays the landlord, and when do the others need to have transferred their share? It’s a good idea to set up a standing transfer a few days before the due date.
Utilities: How will you split electricity, water, heating and internet? Whose name are the subscriptions in?
Shared kitty: Do you buy toilet paper, washing-up liquid and cleaning products together? Agree on a fixed amount per month.
Depositum: Who has paid what, and how will you settle it when one of you moves out?

Cleaning and shared spaces

A fixed cleaning rota with tasks and weeks, for example bathroom, kitchen, floors and rubbish.
What “clean” means: Should the washing-up be done the same evening, or is the next morning fine?
Who does what for a deep clean, and when?

Guests, partners and quiet

How many nights a week can a partner or guest stay over before you need to talk about it?
Notice for parties: How far in advance, and how many guests?
When is it quiet time on weekdays and at weekends? Also check the building’s house rules, which you all have to follow.

Food, furniture and belongings

Do you share basics, or does each of you have your own shelf in the fridge?
Who owns the furniture and kitchen equipment? Make a list so there’s no doubt when one of you moves out.
Can you borrow each other’s things?

Smoking, pets and other things

Is smoking allowed anywhere in the home or on the balcony? Remember that the lease and the house rules may have rules about this.
Pets typically require the landlord’s consent. Also agree on who looks after and pays for the animal.

Communication and conflicts

Hold a short house meeting, for example once a month, where you can raise small things before they grow.
Agree that problems are raised face to face and not just in a group chat.
Agree on what you’ll do if you can’t agree, for example asking a neutral friend to help.

When one of you wants to move out

How much notice should you give each other?
Should the person moving out help find a replacement, and do the others have the right to say no to a new flatmate?
Who pays the rent until a replacement is found?
How will the depositum and the cost of putting the home back in order be settled?

Example: How to split the rent fairly

According to Bolighub’s figures for flats listed on Bolighub (as of 23 October 2026), the median rent for a 3-room flat in Aarhus is DKK 10,800 a month. The median size is 76 m². In Copenhagen the median is DKK 17,575 for 91 m². The figures are asking prices, and utilities are not necessarily included. You’ll find more figures on our rental market page. (In Denmark, a “3-room” flat counts the living room as a room, so it usually has two bedrooms.)

Example: Emma and Jonas rent a 3-room flat in Aarhus N for DKK 10,800. Emma’s room is 14 m² and Jonas’s is 10 m². They share the living room, kitchen and bathroom.

A simple and commonly used model is to split the shared part equally and divide the room part by square metres. Here they choose to count 60 percent of the rent as the shared part and 40 percent as the room part:

	Emma (14 m²)	Jonas (10 m²)
Shared part: 60 percent of DKK 10,800 = DKK 6,480, split equally	DKK 3,240	DKK 3,240
Room part: 40 percent of DKK 10,800 = DKK 4,320, split by m²	DKK 2,520	DKK 1,800
Total per month	DKK 5,760	DKK 5,040

There’s no rule about which split you have to choose. The most important thing is that you agree on it in advance and write it down. If one room has a balcony or its own toilet, you can account for that with a fixed supplement.

Note: If you are all on the lease, the landlord can still demand the full rent from each of you, regardless of how you’ve split it between yourselves. The split only applies between you.

The practical and legal things you mustn’t forget

Folkeregister (National Register)

Everyone must register their move no later than 5 days after moving in. If your flatmate’s name isn’t on the door, they must write the tenant’s name in the “c/o” field when registering the move. The municipality may ask the tenant to confirm that the person actually lives there. Read more on borger.dk about moving (in Danish).

Boligstøtte (housing benefit)

If several of you live together, only one person can receive boligstøtte for the home, and that person must be a tenant and be on the lease. The benefit is calculated based on, among other things, the household’s income and assets, the number of adults and children, and the rent and size of the home. The other adults in the household must sign a declaration of joint and several liability. So if the recipient is paid too much, they may also end up having to pay it back. The home must also have its own kitchen. See borger.dk on applying for boligstøtte (in Danish), and talk it over before one of you applies.

Contents insurance

Insurance companies handle this differently. According to Forsikringsoplysningen (the Danish insurance information service), many companies treat two people who share a home and expenses the same as a couple. Some cover flatshares of up to three people. If you rent a room out to your flatmate, your contents insurance (indboforsikring) typically won’t cover them, because lodgers aren’t included. So call your insurance company and get it confirmed before you move in together.

Moving in and documentation

Go through the home together and take photos of every room, including your own rooms. That makes it easier to split the cost of putting the home back in order when one of you moves out.

When a flatmate moves out

If you are both on the lease: As a rule, the person moving out isn’t released from their responsibility until the landlord has accepted it in writing. The landlord also typically has no obligation to pay back part of the depositum until the whole tenancy ends. The person moving out and the person staying must therefore settle the depositum between themselves, for example by having the new flatmate buy the old one’s share. What the landlord can do if one of you moves out without an agreement depends on the contract and the specific situation. Contact the landlord in good time.

If your flatmate is subletting from you: Notice is given between the two of you, following the rules on subletting and your written agreement. Remember to let your landlord know when a new subtenant moves in.

Good to do in both cases:

Give notice in writing, with a date.
Do a move-out inspection of the room together, with photos.
Settle utilities, the shared kitty and the depositum in writing.
The person moving out registers the move, and you update boligstøtte and insurance if relevant.

Advice for tenants and home seekers

Choose your contract model deliberately. If you’re alone on the lease, you have more control, but you also carry all the risk.
Keep a buffer of at least one month’s rent if you’re liable for the full rent.
Write the flatmate agreement before you sign the lease. That way you can see whether you actually agree.
Keep records of all transfers between you.
If you’re moving in with someone, ask whether the landlord knows about the arrangement and has received a copy of the sublease agreement.

Advice for landlords renting to flatmates

Decide on the model: Do you want everyone on one contract, or to let room by room? State it clearly in the listing, and mark the home as share-friendly if possible.
Use special terms: With a joint contract, the contract’s special terms (section 11 of the standard contract) should state that the tenants are jointly and severally liable, and how it works if one tenant needs to be replaced. All tenants must sign.
Set up a procedure for replacements: For example, that the tenants propose a replacement, that you have the right to approve the person, and that the change is made with a written addendum to the contract.
Keep track of who lives there: Check that the names on the contract, the letterbox and in the folkeregister match.
Number of residents: Check that the number of residents fits the home and the building’s rules.
Seek advice in conflicts before you give notice or terminate the lease. The rules and case law in this area are not entirely simple.

Common mistakes

You move in together without talking about money. Disagreement about utilities and the shared kitty is one of the most common sources of conflict.
You don’t know who is on the lease. Then you don’t know who is liable either.
There’s no written sublease agreement, or the landlord hasn’t received a copy.
You assume one insurance policy covers everyone. It doesn’t always.
Only one of you is registered in the folkeregister. That can cause problems with post, boligstøtte and insurance.
You have no plan for moving out. Then you end up arguing about the depositum while one of you is already on the way out.
Problems are raised in the group chat instead of face to face.

Checklist before you move in together

When should you get help?

Disagreement with the landlord about rent or depositum: Huslejenævnet (the rent tribunal) in your municipality can handle many cases about rent and deposits.
Disagreement about who can stay, or whether the landlord can give notice: Seek legal advice, for example from a tenants’ association (lejerforening), a landlords’ association or a lawyer.
Boligstøtte: Contact Udbetaling Danmark (the public authority that pays out benefits) via borger.dk.
Insurance: Contact your insurance company and get the answer in writing.
Conflicts between you as flatmates: Start with a calm house meeting based on your flatmate agreement. If the conflict is about money you owe each other, it may ultimately end up in court. That’s why it pays to have everything in writing.

In short

Find out which contract model you’re using before you sign. It decides who is liable for the rent.
Choose your flatmate based on daily life, finances and how they handle conflict, not just chemistry. Meet the person and check their identity.
Write a flatmate agreement covering rent, utilities, cleaning, guests, quiet, belongings and moving out.
Remember the folkeregister (5 days), insurance and boligstøtte. If several of you live together, only one can receive boligstøtte.
Next step: Write down your own requirements and make a list of questions for the conversation. Once you’ve found each other, write the flatmate agreement before anyone signs a lease.

FAQ

Is a flatmate agreement legally binding?

A written agreement between those of you who live together can, as a rule, be used as evidence of what you have agreed with each other. However, it doesn’t bind the landlord and can’t change what’s in the lease or lejeloven. If you disagree about money between you, it’s a big advantage to have the agreement in writing.

Am I liable for my flatmate’s rent?

If you are both on the lease, you are, as a rule, jointly and severally liable, and the landlord can demand the full rent from you. If you are the main tenant and sublet a room, you alone are liable for the full rent to the landlord. If you each have your own contract with the landlord, you are normally only liable for your own.

How do you split the rent between flatmates?

There’s no fixed rule. Many split the shared areas equally and divide the rooms by square metres, or they add a supplement to the largest room. The most important thing is that you agree on the split before moving in and write it down.

What happens to the deposit when a flatmate moves out?

If you’re on the same contract, the landlord typically only pays back the depositum when the whole tenancy ends. So you have to settle it yourselves, for example by having the new flatmate buy the old one’s share of the depositum. Write down the settlement and take photos of the room when moving out.

Can you get boligstøtte when several people live together?

According to borger.dk, only one person in the household can receive boligstøtte. That person must be a tenant and be on the lease. The amount depends on, among other things, the household’s income and assets, and the other adults must sign a declaration of joint and several liability.

Does my contents insurance cover my flatmate?

It depends on the company. Many companies cover two people who share a home and expenses, and some cover up to three. If your flatmate rents a room from you, your insurance typically won’t cover them. Ask your insurance company before you move in together.

Sources and further reading

Lov om leje (lejeloven) on Retsinformation (in Danish), particularly sections 157, 159 and 170
Borger.dk: Søg boligstøtte (in Danish)
Borger.dk: Flytning i Danmark (in Danish)
Forsikringsoplysningen: Frequently asked questions about contents and liability insurance
WTC Advokater: Lease agreements with several tenants
Bolighub’s own rent figures for flats in Aarhus and Copenhagen, as of 23 October 2026

This article is general guidance and not legal advice. The rules may depend on your contract and specific situation.

Are you a landlord?

It is free to advertise on Bolighub. Click to read more about the many advantages of being a landlord on Bolighub.