Registered owner
The registered owner (hjemmelshaver) is the party registered as the legal owner of a property in Grunnboken, the Norwegian land register. Hjemmel is the formal ownership right in Norway: whoever holds legal title can sell, mortgage, let out and transfer the property, and it is the registered owner's name that appears on a land register extract. For property analysis and due diligence, the registered owner is the first name you need to look up before you send an offer.
Legal title is established when a title document is registered in Grunnboken. The most common title document is a skjøte (deed) on a purchase and sale, but inheritance documents, deeds of gift, ground lease contracts (festeavtaler) and merger documents are title documents too. Kartverket is the registration authority and keeps Grunnboken centrally for the whole country under the Land Registration Act. When a transfer of title is registered, a document duty (dokumentavgift) of 2.5% of the sale price is paid to Skatteetaten, the Norwegian Tax Administration.
The registered owner can be a private individual, a company (AS, ANS, limited partnership), a foundation, a municipality or the state. When a property sits on leased land, the legal title is split in two: the ground lessor holds title to the land itself, while the ground lessee holds title to the right of use and the buildings. In a borettslag, a housing co-operative, the share owner does not hold title to a section of the building but a share in the borettslag with an associated right of use. The shares are recorded in Borettsregisteret, the register of housing co-operative shares, under Kartverket.
Legal title has positive credibility under section 35 of the Land Registration Act: a purchaser acting in good faith can rely on what Grunnboken says, and the state carries strict liability for compensation if the registered owner is not the true right holder. This means a buyer who acts in good faith and buys from the registered owner gains legal protection even if an unregistered "real" owner turns up later, the classic extinctive effect.
There is an important distinction between formal legal title and beneficial owner. When a company owns a property, the company is the registered owner. The actual shareholders who control the company are not recorded in Grunnboken. Their ownership appears in the share register and in Brønnøysundregistrene. When a property company is bought (a share deal instead of a property deal), the registered owner does not change: the company itself keeps the legal title, while the shares change hands. This is a common structure for avoiding document duty, since a share deal does not trigger it.
The registered owner is listed in the title section of the land register page together with the ownership share (typically 1/1 for sole ownership, or fractions for co-ownership). Changing the registered owner requires a new registered title document. The opening of bankruptcy proceedings is registered as an encumbrance on the legal title and blocks any further disposal without the consent of the bankruptcy estate.
In Placepoint, the registered owner is shown in the Property panel together with the other land register details. For an up to date certified extract, order a land register extract or a certificate of encumbrances directly from Kartverket.
How it looks in Placepoint
In Placepoint you find this in the Property panel:
From Placepoint's glossary: Hjemmelshaver
More information: Lovdata: the Land Registration Act, Kartverket: what is Grunnboken?, Brønnøysundregistrene, Store norske leksikon: hjemmel
English: Registered title holder.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hjemmelshaver?
The registered owner is the party registered as the legal owner of a property in Grunnboken at Kartverket. Legal title is established when a title document is registered, usually a skjøte, a deed, on a purchase or sale.
How do I find the registered owner of a property?
The registered owner appears in Grunnboken and can be looked up at seeiendom.kartverket.no. A full land register extract or certificate of encumbrances from Kartverket shows the current registered owner with the ownership share.
Is the registered owner the same as the beneficial owner?
Not always. When a property is owned by a company, the company is the registered owner. The actual shareholders appear in Brønnøysundregistrene (BRREG) and in the share register, not in Grunnboken. In a share deal for a property company, the registered owner does not change.
What happens to the legal title in a bankruptcy?
If the registered owner goes bankrupt, the opening of bankruptcy proceedings is registered as an encumbrance on the legal title. Any further disposal of the property requires the consent of the bankruptcy estate, and the legal title may be transferred to a buyer that the estate enters into an agreement with.
Why does legal title matter when you buy a property?
The registered owner is the counterparty you have to deal with when you buy. If you do not get the legal title registered in your name, you have no legal protection against the seller's creditors or against a later good faith buyer who registers before you.