Borettslag

A borettslag (Norwegian housing cooperative) is a co-operative enterprise that owns one or more residential buildings, where the members (the share owners) each own a share in the cooperative and hold an exclusive right of occupancy to a specific home. You therefore do not buy the home directly; you buy a share in the borettslag plus the right to live in a specific flat. This ownership form is governed by burettslagslova from 2003 and is used for almost 400,000 homes in Norway.

Each home is called an andelsleilighet (co-op share flat), and the documents that give you control are the adkomstdokumenter: the share certificate (proof of membership) and the occupancy deposit combined with a tenancy contract. The share owner pays felleskostnader (shared monthly costs) each month, covering operations, maintenance, insurance, and interest and principal on the cooperative's fellesgjeld. The fellesgjeld is the borettslag's joint loan, normally secured by a pant (charge) on the cooperative's eiendom; your part of this debt follows the flat and must be serviced through the shared monthly costs. Two homes with the same price tag can have very different total costs, depending on how much fellesgjeld sits on the individual share.

A borettslag is not recorded in the ordinary Grunnboken, but in Borettsregisteret at Kartverket. The share is registered there, and any pant on the share is recorded in the same place. A share is transferred by registering the sale document; no dokumentavgift (document duty) is payable on transfers in a borettslag, only the tinglysingsgebyr (registration fee). That is one of the most important practical differences between buying an andelsleilighet and a selveierleilighet (freehold flat): you typically save 2.5% of the purchase price in duty.

The internal life of the borettslag is governed by the vedtekter (articles of association), the house rules and the general meeting, where each share as a rule has one vote. The board is elected by the general meeting and is responsible for day-to-day operations, maintenance and finances. Burettslagslova gives the share owner a strong right of occupancy: the cooperative can only demand eviction in special cases, typically on material default of felleskostnader or of the house rules. Selling a share is free, but most borettslag give a pre-emption right to other share owners or to members of an affiliated boligbyggelag (housing cooperative association) such as OBOS or USBL, as set out in the cooperative's vedtekter.

A borettslag is typically held in connection with a boligbyggelag (BBL) that built and manages it; several large BBLs administer hundreds of borettslag and provide accounting, board services and technical management under contract. For tax purposes the share owner is a resident owner (home) or a landlord; the share is included in the wealth tax basis using the Skatteetaten standardised value for a primærbolig (primary home) or sekundærbolig (secondary home). A jointly owned sectioned property (eierseksjoner) is a completely different model: there you actually own the section as real property, you have your own hjemmel (legal title) in Grunnboken, and you pay dokumentavgift on transfer. The difference matters in practice and financially when buying; a borettslag home often looks cheaper in the listing than an equivalent freehold flat, but the totalpris (total price) with the share of fellesgjeld paid off can be at the same level.

In Placepoint, the owner of an andelsleilighet is shown in the property panel as the hjemmelshaver (registered title holder) for the share in Borettsregisteret, together with shared land and building details from the matrikkel.

How it looks in Placepoint

In Placepoint you find this in the property panel:

From Placepoint's dictionary: Borettslag

More information: Lovdata: Burettslagslova, Kartverket: Borettsregisteret, Store norske leksikon: borettslag

English: Housing cooperative (Norwegian-specific, share-and-occupancy model).

Common questions

What is a borettslag?

A borettslag is a co-operative enterprise that owns one or more residential buildings. The share owner owns a share in the cooperative and holds an exclusive right of occupancy to a specific home. This ownership form is governed by burettslagslova from 2003.

What is the difference between a borettslag and freehold?

A freehold owner owns the home directly, with registered hjemmel in Grunnboken. A share owner owns a share in a borettslag and holds a right of occupancy to a specific home. Shares are recorded in Borettsregisteret, not in Grunnboken.

What is fellesgjeld?

Fellesgjeld is the borettslag's joint loan, secured by a pant on the cooperative's eiendom. The share owner pays their part of the interest and principal through the felleskostnader. High fellesgjeld gives a lower purchase price, but a higher monthly cost.

Do I have to pay dokumentavgift when I buy an andelsleilighet?

No. Transfer of a share in a borettslag is exempt from dokumentavgift, you pay only a tinglysingsgebyr. That is one of the practical differences from buying a freehold home.

Can the board refuse to let me sell?

As a rule, no. Selling a share is free, but the borettslag or members of an affiliated boligbyggelag may hold a pre-emption right under the vedtekter. A pre-emption right must be exercised within 20 days after the cooperative received notice of the transfer, see burettslagslova section 4-15.