Festegrunn

Festegrunn is a part of a property that is leased out on a long-term contract, and that is registered as a separate unit in the matrikkel with its own festenummer. It arises when a landowner (the bortfester, the party leasing the land out) leases out a defined area to another party (the fester, or leaseholder), typically so that the leaseholder can keep or build a house or cabin on the land without owning the plot itself. Festegrunn is therefore the cadastral side of a tomtefeste, a ground lease: where the festeavtale, the lease contract, is the agreement, the festegrunn is the registered unit the agreement relates to.

In the matrikkel, festegrunn is identified by the matrikkel number of the underlying grunneiendom, the land property, plus its own festenummer (the format is gårdsnummer/bruksnummer/festenummer). The festegrunn is not an independent grunneiendom; it sits as a separate unit on an existing property, and the land is still owned by the bortfester. Even so, the lease right can in practice be sold, registered and mortgaged almost like a freehold property, and the buildings the leaseholder owns stand on the festegrunn. This split between ownership of the land and the leaseholder's right to use it is the core of the whole arrangement.

A festegrunn is created through a separate procedure that enters the unit into the matrikkel, in the same way as an oppmålingsforretning, a cadastral survey, for a new plot. When a lease relationship ends, for example through redemption where the leaseholder buys the land, the festegrunn can be merged with the grunneiendom or become an independent grunneiendom. The relationship between fester and bortfester, including ground rent, duration, redemption and extension, is governed by tomtefesteloven, the Ground Lease Act, while the festegrunn as a matrikkelenhet follows the rules in matrikkellova, the Cadastre Act.

For a buyer, it is important to see the difference between buying a property and taking over a lease right on festegrunn. With festegrunn there is an ongoing ground rent and a contract with terms on duration and redemption, which affect both cost and value. A low ground rent with a long remaining lease period and favourable redemption terms is worth more than a short agreement with a high rent and uncertain extension. Festegrunn is easily confused with festetomt, which describes the leased plot seen from the use side; festegrunn is the matching unit as it is registered in the matrikkel.

One factor that is often overlooked is how strongly the lease terms affect the value. Tomtefesteloven gives the leaseholder the right to both extension and redemption of the lease on certain conditions, but the size of the ground rent and the scope for adjusting it can vary a great deal between old and new agreements. A festegrunn with a low rent that can barely be adjusted, and a right to redemption at a favourable price, is close in value to a freehold plot, while a high and adjustable rent clearly reduces the value.

In Placepoint, you can see whether a unit is a festegrunn through the matrikkel information, with festenummer and bruksnummer and the relationship to the underlying grunneiendom, as a starting point for understanding the ownership and lease situation.

How the dataset appears on the map

The dataset is part of the map layer Property as Leasehold land:

From Placepoint's dictionary: Festegrunn

More information: Tomtefesteloven, Matrikkellova, Kartverket: property boundaries and matrikkel data

English: Leasehold parcel (festegrunn; a leased-out part of a property registered as its own cadastral unit, the registry counterpart to a ground lease).

Frequently asked questions

What is festegrunn?

Festegrunn is a leased-out part of a property, registered as a separate unit in the matrikkel with its own festenummer. The leaseholder rents the right to use the land, while the bortfester still owns it.

What is the difference between festegrunn and festetomt?

Festegrunn is the unit as it is registered in the matrikkel. Festetomt describes the leased plot seen from the use side. They describe the same situation from different angles, and both relate to tomtefeste.

How is festegrunn identified?

By the matrikkel number of the underlying grunneiendom plus a festenummer (gårdsnummer/bruksnummer/festenummer). The festegrunn is not an independent grunneiendom.

Can festegrunn be bought and mortgaged?

The lease right can be sold, registered and mortgaged almost like a freehold property, and the leaseholder owns the buildings. The land itself is still owned by the bortfester.

What governs festegrunn?

The relationship between fester and bortfester follows tomtefesteloven, while the festegrunn as a matrikkelenhet follows matrikkellova.