Borettsregisteret
Borettsregisteret is the public register of shares in borettslag (housing cooperatives). For cooperative shares it works much as Grunnboken does for real property: it shows who owns which share, and which encumbrances, such as mortgages and the right of occupancy, rest on it. When you buy an andelsleilighet (a cooperative flat), Borettsregisteret is where the change of ownership and your mortgage are registered.
The background is that a cooperative flat is not legally real property. What you own is a share in the borettslag, which in turn owns the building and the grunneiendom (land property), combined with a right of occupancy to a specific home. The purchase of a cooperative flat is therefore not registered in Grunnboken, but in Borettsregisteret. The register is kept by Kartverket and has legal protection effects: a registered right takes priority over an unregistered one, just as with registration in Grunnboken. This makes it safe to buy and mortgage cooperative shares, because a buyer can rely on what the register says.
The register has its legal basis in burettslagslova chapter 6, which provides that shares in a borettslag are to be registered in Grunnboken under the rules of the land registration act, with the special rules that burettslagslova itself sets out. In practice this part of Grunnboken is known as Borettsregisteret. The register was introduced to give cooperative shares the same degree of documentary reliability and legal protection as registered rights in real property. Before Borettsregisteret, mortgages over shares were handled through less secure arrangements, which made financing a cooperative home more cumbersome. Today a bank can take a registered mortgage over the share as security for a home loan, on a par with a mortgage over a freehold home. The register thus made cooperative homes a more liquid and financeable form of housing, and is one of the reasons why cooperative flats are now traded almost as easily as freehold homes.
For a buyer or a lender, Borettsregisteret is the source for confirming ownership and encumbrances before a transaction. It shows whether the seller actually owns the share, whether a mortgage rests on it, and whether a pre-emption right or other restrictions have been registered. An extract from the register documents this at a given point in time, in the same way that a land register extract does for real property, and is the natural proof of ownership and encumbrances in a transaction. On top of this come the cooperative's own circumstances, such as common debt and articles of association, which do not appear in the register but in the cooperative's documents. Borettsregisteret should therefore be read together with information about the borettslag itself.
Borettsregisteret must not be confused with Grunnboken. The building itself and the grunneiendom that the borettslag owns are recorded in Grunnboken, while the individual shares are recorded in Borettsregisteret. A mortgagee holding security over a share therefore looks to Borettsregisteret, while a mortgage over the property itself, for example the cooperative's common debt, is a matter for Grunnboken.
In Placepoint you can look up the borettslag as a legal entity and see the grunneiendom it owns, as a starting point for understanding the structure behind an andelsleilighet.
From Placepoint's glossary: Borettsregisteret
More information: Burettslagslova, Kartverket: borettslag and Borettsregisteret
English: The housing cooperative share register (borettsregisteret; the public register of shares in housing cooperatives, the cooperative-share counterpart to the land register).
Frequently asked questions
What is Borettsregisteret?
It is the public register of shares in borettslag, kept by Kartverket. It shows who owns each share and which encumbrances rest on it, just as Grunnboken does for real property.
Why are cooperative flats not registered in Grunnboken?
Because an andelsleilighet is not real property. You own a share in the borettslag with a right of occupancy to a home, not the property itself. Such shares are therefore registered in Borettsregisteret, not in Grunnboken.
Can I take out a mortgage over a cooperative share?
Yes. Since Borettsregisteret was introduced, the bank can take a registered mortgage over the share as security for a home loan, on a par with a mortgage over a freehold home.
What does Borettsregisteret show before a purchase?
That the seller owns the share, whether a mortgage rests on it, and whether a pre-emption right or other restrictions have been registered. Common debt and articles of association do not appear in the register, but in the cooperative's own documents.
Which act governs Borettsregisteret?
Burettslagslova chapter 6, which provides that shares are to be registered in Grunnboken with the special rules the act itself sets out. This gives cooperative shares the same legal protection as registered rights in real property.