Renting Out a Room in Denmark: Rules, Contract and Tax

If you have a spare room, a lodger can cover a good share of your rent or housing costs. In the vast majority of cases this is legal. But the rules depend on whether you own or rent your home, and rent, notice and tax follow rules that many people don’t know about. This guide takes you through it step by step: what you are allowed to do, what the contract must contain, how to set the rent, what tax you have to pay, and what to watch out for if you are the one renting the room.

The rules below apply to a room in a home where you live yourself. If you want to sublet your whole flat while you are away, different rules apply.

Overview: Owner or tenant, what applies?

	You rent your home	You own your home (house, owner-occupied flat or andelsbolig)
Can you rent out a room?	Yes, up to half of the living rooms	In principle yes, but check the articles of the owners’ association or housing co-operative
Do you need permission?	No, but your landlord must receive a copy of the agreement before the tenancy starts	No, but the association’s rules may impose requirements
Written contract	Must be in writing	Must be in writing if either party demands it, and you should always do so
Rent	The value of the rented property (det lejedes værdi)	The value of the rented property (det lejedes værdi)
Notice	1 month’s notice for both parties	1 month’s notice for both parties
Tax-free basic allowance when renting out for 4 months or more	2/3 of your annual rent	1⅓ percent of the property value, but at least DKK 24,000

The sections below explain each row.

If you rent your home: Partial subletting

When you rent out a room in a rented home you live in yourself, the Danish Rent Act (lejeloven) calls it fremleje (subletting). You become the “fremlejegiver” (sublandlord) and your lodger the “fremlejetager” (subtenant). The rules are in section 157 of lejeloven.

How many rooms can you rent out?

As a tenant of a residential flat, you have the right to sublet up to half of the flat’s living rooms. At the same time, the total number of people living in the flat must not exceed the number of living rooms. You don’t need your landlord’s permission as long as you stay within these limits.

Example: Sara and Ali rent a 4-room flat in Nørrebro with three bedrooms and a living room. The flat has four living rooms, so a maximum of four people may live there, and they may sublet up to two rooms. If they rent out one room, three people will live there. That is within the rules.

Example 2: Mikkel lives alone in a 2-room flat. In principle he can rent out one of the two rooms, giving two people in two living rooms. But that means he has to make do with one room himself.

Kitchen, bathroom and hallway usually don’t count as living rooms. If you are unsure how your home should be counted, check your tenancy agreement or ask your landlord before you make an agreement.

If the flat is covered by the rules on maximum occupancy (beboermaksimum), your landlord must also object to the subletting if more than two people per living room would end up living there (lejeloven section 157(2)).

Written agreement and a copy to your landlord

Under lejeloven section 157(3), a subletting agreement must be in writing, and you must send a copy of the agreement to your landlord before the subletting period starts. Many people forget the second part. It is a simple way to avoid an unnecessary conflict.

You are still liable to your landlord

Your lodger has no agreement with your landlord. You do. Under lejeloven section 159, you are liable to your landlord for damage caused by your subtenant’s irresponsible behaviour, and you are responsible for making sure that person follows the house rules. So if your lodger is noisy or breaks something, it is you the landlord will come to.

Almen bolig, andelsbolig and ejerlejlighed

• Almen bolig (non-profit social housing): Here the almenlejeloven applies, not the general lejeloven. The rules on partial subletting are similar, but ask your housing organisation or read the house rules before you rent out.
• Andelsbolig (housing co-operative): The co-operative’s articles may impose requirements on renting out, for example that the board must be informed or must approve. Read the articles first.
• Ejerlejlighed (owner-occupied flat): The owners’ association’s articles may also contain rules on renting out. Check them before you enter into an agreement.

If you own your home

As the owner of a house or an owner-occupied flat, you are in principle free to rent out a room in the home you live in. You become a landlord, and lejeloven applies to the tenancy. Among other things, this means:

• Lejeloven takes precedence over what you write in the contract when it comes to the amount of rent and notice. Terms that put the tenant in a worse position than the law allows cannot be enforced.
• A tenancy agreement must be made in writing if either of you demands it (lejeloven section 11). Always make a written agreement so you can both document what you agreed.
• If you use a standard contract, it must be an authorised form (lejeloven section 14). In practice, that means the official Typeformular A, 10th edition.

A room that is part of the home the landlord lives in is often called an accessorisk enkeltværelse (an ancillary single room). The term matters because special rules apply to terminating this type of room. More on that below.

Rent: What can you charge for a room?

The value of the rented property

Lejeloven doesn’t set a specific price for a room. The rent for a room in the landlord’s own home is assessed according to det lejedes værdi (the value of the rented property), meaning what is normally paid for comparable rooms in the area. The comparison looks at location, type, size, quality, fittings and maintenance.

The most important rule for you as a landlord is lejeloven section 45: if the rent is significantly higher than the value of the rented property, the tenant can demand that the rent be reduced and get back what they have overpaid. The case must be brought before Huslejenævnet (the local rent tribunal) within 1 year of the date the rent first had to be paid. According to borger.dk, it costs a tenant DKK 367 to bring a case before Huslejenævnet in 2026.

The rule applies whether you own or rent your home. So as a sublandlord, you can’t simply charge what the market will pay if that is significantly above the value of the rented property.

Utilities: Included in the rent or charged separately?

The simplest option is usually to agree on an all-inclusive rent covering water, heating and electricity. Københavns Kommune (the City of Copenhagen) states that the rent for a room in the landlord’s own home can cover all running costs, but that if utilities are to be paid separately, this must be based on suitable meters, not on estimated consumption. If the room doesn’t have its own meter, a fixed all-inclusive rent is therefore normally the safest solution. State clearly in the contract what the rent covers: internet, furniture, washing machine, cleaning of shared areas and so on.

What does a room cost on Bolighub right now?

According to Bolighub’s own figures for rooms advertised on Bolighub (calculated on 20 October 2026), the median asking rent for a room nationally is DKK 6,000 a month. The median size is 20 m². The figures are based on 99 listings, and 80 percent of them are between roughly DKK 2,700 and DKK 11,300. In Copenhagen, the median is about DKK 10,150 for a room of about 17 m² (45 listings). In Aarhus (DKK 3,800) and Aalborg (about DKK 3,000) the median is considerably lower, but those figures are based on only around ten listings each and are therefore uncertain.

Note that these are asking prices, and some of them include furniture and utilities. The asking price is not the same as the value of the rented property. The price of a specific room depends on its standard and on whether the tenant has access to the kitchen, bathroom and living room. You can find more figures on our page about the rental market.

The tenancy agreement: What it should say

Whether you own or rent, you should make a written contract. If you use a standard form, it must be the authorised Typeformular A. Also read our guide to understanding a Danish rental lease agreement.

Checklist for the contract:

• Names, address and which room is being rented out (ideally with floor area)
• Which shared areas the tenant may use: kitchen, bathroom, living room, balcony, garden, washing machine
• Start date and whether the agreement is open-ended or fixed-term
• Monthly rent and what it covers (utilities, internet, furniture)
• Payment date and how to pay
• Depositum (deposit) and any forudbetalt leje (prepaid rent)
• Notice period (see below)
• House rules: guests, overnight stays, smoking, pets, cleaning, noise
• Who maintains what, for example painting the room when the tenant moves out
• Date and signature of both parties

Make a habit of doing a short move-in report with photos of the room and the furniture that comes with it. It is worth its weight in gold if you later disagree about the deposit.

Depositum and forudbetalt leje

For rooms used as homes, the same cap applies as for flats: you can demand a maximum of 3 months’ rent as depositum (lejeloven section 59(1)) and in addition up to 3 months’ forudbetalt leje (section 59(3)). However, the prepaid rent must not be higher than the rent payable from when the tenant gives notice until the tenancy ends.

With a notice period of 1 month (see below), this means that prepaid rent of more than one month rarely makes sense for a room in your own home.

A special rule for fremleje: the subtenant can choose to provide security in the form of a bank guarantee or an amount in a separate escrow account instead of paying a deposit (section 59(2)).

Notice: Usually 1 month

For a room that is part of the landlord’s own home, two important rules apply:

1. The landlord can terminate without a specific reason. Lejeloven section 170, no. 1 gives the landlord the right to terminate tenancies of single rooms used as homes when the room is part of the landlord’s home.
2. The notice period is 1 month, ending on the first working day of a month that is not the day before a public holiday (lejeloven section 175(1)). The same notice applies when the tenant gives notice on the room.

Example: If you give your lodger notice on 10 March, the notice runs until the first working day in May that is not the day before a public holiday. So the tenant does not have to move out as early as 10 April.

Always give notice in writing so you can document the date, even though it isn’t a formal requirement in every situation.

There are exceptions. If you do not live in the home yourself, or if the room has its own kitchen, it may instead be considered a separate flat with a longer notice period and more rights for the tenant. If in doubt, get advice before giving notice. If you want to agree on a fixed period, such as a semester, you can make a fixed-term agreement.

Tax on renting out a room

Rental income is taxable, but the Danish Tax Agency (Skat) gives a bundfradrag (basic tax-free allowance), so a large part of the income is often tax-free. Which allowance you get depends on whether you own or rent and on how long the same tenant lives with you. The rates below are taken from skat.dk.

Long-term letting: 4 months or more to the same tenant

• Owner: The basic allowance is 1⅓ percent of the property value, but at least DKK 24,000 a year. This is the property value used to calculate property value tax (ejendomsværdiskat).
• Tenant or andelshaver (co-operative member): The basic allowance is 2/3 of your annual rent or co-operative housing charge (boligafgift).

Short-term letting: Under 4 months to the same tenant

Here the basic allowance in 2026 is DKK 13,800 if you handle the letting yourself, and DKK 35,100 if you let through a platform that reports to Skat. Only 60 percent of the amount above the basic allowance is taxed.

The accounting method

Instead of the basic allowance, you can deduct your documented expenses, for example a proportionate share of electricity, water and heating, furniture and advertising. If you choose this method, you cannot switch back to the basic allowance later. For most people renting out a single room, the basic allowance is the simplest option.

Worked examples

Owner, long-term letting: Hanne owns a flat in Aarhus with a property value of DKK 3,000,000. She rents out a room to a student all year for DKK 4,500 a month including utilities, DKK 54,000 in total.

• Basic allowance: 1⅓ percent of DKK 3,000,000 = DKK 40,000
• Taxable rental income: 54,000 – 40,000 = DKK 14,000 (capital income)

Owner with a low property value: If the property value is DKK 1,500,000, 1⅓ percent only gives DKK 20,000. In that case, the minimum allowance of DKK 24,000 applies instead.

Tenant, long-term letting: Jonas pays DKK 10,500 a month in rent for his flat, which is DKK 126,000 a year. His basic allowance is 2/3 of that: DKK 84,000. He rents out a room for DKK 5,000 a month all year, DKK 60,000 in total. The income is lower than the basic allowance, so in principle he doesn’t have to pay tax on it.

Short-term letting: Line rents out her guest room for two summer months to an intern for DKK 12,000 in total and handles the letting herself. The amount is lower than the basic allowance of DKK 13,800.

Where do you report it?

According to skat.dk:

• Owner: Capital income in box 37 (rubrik 37) of the årsopgørelse (annual tax assessment), field 218 of the forskudsopgørelse (preliminary income assessment).
• Tenant or andelshaver, under 4 months: Capital income, box 37.
• Tenant or andelshaver, 4 to 12 months: You choose between capital income (box 37) and personal income (box 20).
• Tenant or andelshaver, 12 months or more: Personal income, box 20.

Remember to update your forskudsopgørelse when you start renting out, so you don’t end up with a restskat (back tax). Skat has a housing calculator on skat.dk (in Danish) where you can work through your own situation.

Boligstøtte and the folkeregister

Do you receive boligstøtte (housing benefit)? You can rent out a room and still receive boligstøtte, but you must inform Udbetaling Danmark (the public authority that pays out benefits) that you are renting out, how many rooms are involved and how much rent you receive. According to borger.dk, the room’s floor area and the rent you receive are taken out of the calculation, so your boligstøtte will typically change. You must also notify them when a lodger moves in or out. Read more on our page about housing benefits.

Folkeregister (the national population register): Your lodger must register the change of address with the folkeregister no later than 5 days after moving in. This is done on borger.dk.

Common mistakes when renting out a room

1. There is no written contract. Then it is your word against theirs when you disagree about rent, deposit or house rules.
2. The tenant doesn’t send a copy of the agreement to their landlord. If you rent your home, this is a requirement before the subletting starts.
3. Too many people live there. The number of residents must not exceed the number of living rooms.
4. The rent is set at “what the market will pay”. If it is significantly above the value of the rented property, the tenant can have it reduced and get money back for up to a year.
5. Utilities are charged based on an estimate. Agree on a fixed all-inclusive rent instead, or use suitable meters.
6. The landlord forgets about tax and the forskudsopgørelse. This can lead to a restskat.
7. Boligstøtte is received without reporting the letting. This can lead to a demand for repayment.
8. Notice is given verbally. Give it in writing with a date so you don’t disagree about the notice period.

Tips if you are renting out the room

• Clarify your limits first: Tenancy agreement, articles of the owners’ association or co-operative, house rules and number of living rooms.
• Set a realistic rent: Look at what comparable rooms in your area cost, and consider access to the kitchen and bathroom.
• Meet the tenant before you sign: Talk about everyday life, such as cleaning, guests, working hours and noise.
• Use an authorised contract, and send a copy to your landlord if you rent your home yourself.
• Check your insurance: Ask your insurance company whether your indboforsikring (contents insurance) still covers you when you have a lodger, and ask the tenant to have their own contents insurance.
• Write a good listing with honest photos and a clear description of what is included. See our tips on making a great listing ad for your rental property.

Tips if you are going to rent a room

Renting a room is flexible and often cheap, but you usually don’t have the same protection against termination as in an ordinary flat. Watch out for the following:

• 1 month’s notice: If the landlord lives in the home, you can be given notice at short notice and without a reason. Have a plan B.
• Get a written agreement describing the room, what the rent covers and which rooms you may use.
• The rent can’t be set freely: If you think it is significantly above the value of the rented property, you can bring the case before Huslejenævnet, and this must be done within 1 year.
• Depositum of no more than 3 months: If more is demanded, be on your guard. If you are subletting from a tenant, you can choose to provide a bank guarantee or use an escrow account instead of paying a deposit.
• Never pay before you have seen the room and know who the landlord is. Read our advice on searching for a rental safely.
• Ask whether you can register at the address in the folkeregister. You are required to, and a landlord who says no is a red flag.
• Boligstøtte: If you rent a room in someone else’s home, you generally can’t get boligstøtte, because your own kitchen is normally required.

If you are looking for a room, you can browse current rooms for rent or set up a search agent that notifies you when new rooms are listed.

When should you get help?

• Disagreement about the amount of rent, the deposit or maintenance: Huslejenævnet in your municipality.
• Disagreement about subletting or a tenant’s right to use the home: Huslejenævnet can’t decide this. Such cases belong to the boligret (housing court), so get legal advice, for example from a tenants’ association, a landlords’ association or a lawyer.
• Tax: Use Skat’s housing calculator, or contact Skat if you have both short-term and long-term lettings, or if you own the home together with others.
• Boligstøtte: Udbetaling Danmark via borger.dk.

In short

• If you rent your home, you may sublet up to half of the living rooms. No more people may live there than the number of living rooms, and the agreement must be in writing and a copy sent to your landlord before the subletting starts.
• If you own your home, you are in principle free to rent out, but check the association’s articles. Lejeloven applies to the agreement.
• The rent must match the value of the rented property. The tenant can have a significantly excessive rent reduced within 1 year.
• Depositum and forudbetalt leje can each be no more than 3 months’ rent.
• Notice on a room in the landlord’s own home is 1 month for both parties.
• Tax: When renting out for 4 months or more, owners get a basic allowance of 1⅓ percent of the property value (at least DKK 24,000), and tenants get 2/3 of their annual rent. Remember the forskudsopgørelse.
• Next steps: Check your limits, find an authorised contract, set a realistic rent, and notify Skat and, if relevant, Udbetaling Danmark.

FAQ

Can I rent out a room if I rent my home?

Yes. As a tenant, you have the right to sublet up to half of the flat’s living rooms without asking your landlord for permission. However, the total number of residents must not exceed the number of living rooms. The agreement must be in writing, and your landlord must receive a copy before the subletting starts.

How much rent can I charge for a room?

There is no fixed price. The rent must match the value of the rented property, meaning what comparable rooms in the area normally cost. If the rent is significantly higher, the tenant can, within 1 year, ask Huslejenævnet to reduce it and get back what they have overpaid.

How much can I earn tax-free from renting out a room?

It depends on whether you own or rent. If you rent out for 4 months or more to the same person, the basic allowance is 1⅓ percent of the property value (at least DKK 24,000) for owners and 2/3 of the annual rent for tenants. For lettings of less than 4 months, the basic allowance in 2026 is DKK 13,800, or DKK 35,100 through a platform that reports to Skat.

What is the notice period for a room?

If the room is part of the home the landlord lives in, the notice period is 1 month, ending on the first working day of a month that is not the day before a public holiday. This applies to both tenant and landlord, and the landlord doesn’t have to give a reason.

Can I lose my boligstøtte if I rent out a room?

Not necessarily. You can rent out and still receive boligstøtte, but you must inform Udbetaling Danmark. The room’s floor area and the rent you receive are taken out of the calculation, so the benefit will typically be lower.

Does my lodger have to register their move with the folkeregister?

Yes. Everyone must register a change of address no later than 5 days after moving to a new address. This also applies when renting a room.

Sources and further reading

• Lov om leje (lejeloven) on Retsinformation (in Danish), in particular sections 11, 14, 45, 59, 157, 159, 170 and 175
• Skattestyrelsen: Du udlejer et værelse eller en bolig, du selv bor i (in Danish)
• Borger.dk: Boligstøtte, giv besked om ændringer (in Danish)
• Borger.dk: Beboerklagenævn og huslejenævn (in Danish)
• Borger.dk: Flytning i Danmark (in Danish)
• Københavns Kommune: Regler om huslejens størrelse (in Danish)
• Social- og Boligministeriet: Udlejning af enkeltværelser and Typeformular A, 10th edition (sm.dk)
• Bolighub’s own rent figures for rooms, calculated on 20 October 2026

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