Selvkost
Selvkost (the cost-recovery principle) is the principle that a municipal fee must not exceed the municipality's actual cost of delivering the service. The municipality may recover its expenses, but it must not make a profit on statutory fee-based services. The principle matters to everyone who pays fees to the municipality in a property case: building applications, oppmålingsforretning (cadastral survey), seksjonering (division into sections) and municipal charges for water, wastewater and waste collection.
The legal basis varies with the service. For building application fees, selvkost follows from plan- og bygningsloven § 33-1, which states that the fee cannot exceed the municipality's necessary costs in that sector. The municipality adopts a fee schedule, often with fixed rates per case type or graded by area, but the total of the fees in one area cannot generate a surplus over time. The costs that may be included are both direct (case officers' time) and a share of indirect costs (management, IT, rent). It is not permitted to subsidise fee-based services with tax revenue, and it is not permitted to use a fee surplus to fund other municipal operations.
For a tiltakshaver (the party responsible for the works) or a developer, the selvkost principle means that fees vary a great deal between municipalities, because cost levels and fee schedules differ, but that they must be verifiable. An unexpectedly high building application fee or survey fee can in principle be documented against the municipality's selvkost calculation. The municipality may build up a selvkost fund in years with a surplus and draw on it in years with a deficit, but the fund should broadly balance over a period of a few years.
Selvkost must be kept separate from two neighbouring terms. Utbyggingsbidrag (developer contribution) and refusjon (reimbursement) concern the developer's payment for technical infrastructure, not case-processing fees, and are governed by separate rules in plan- og bygningsloven. An utbyggingsavtale (development agreement) is a voluntary agreement about who builds and pays for shared measures, and is not a selvkost fee either. Selvkost is solely about the cost ceiling for the municipality's own fee-based services.
From Placepoint's dictionary: Selvkost
More information: Store norske leksikon: selvkost, Lovdata: plan- og bygningsloven § 33-1, Lovdata: kommuneloven § 15-1
English: Cost-recovery principle (municipal fees capped at actual cost).
Frequently asked questions
What does selvkost mean?
Selvkost means that a municipal fee must not exceed the municipality's actual cost of delivering the service. The municipality may cover its expenses, but it must not make a profit on statutory fee-based services such as building applications, oppmålingsforretning and municipal charges.
Why does the building application fee vary between municipalities?
Because each municipality has a different cost level and adopts its own fee schedule. Plan- og bygningsloven § 33-1 only requires that the fee does not exceed the municipality's necessary costs, not that the rates are the same everywhere.
Can I ask to see how the fee was calculated?
Yes. Because the fee is bound by selvkost, it must be verifiable against the municipality's selvkost calculation. An unexpectedly high building application fee or survey fee can in principle be documented.
Is utbyggingsbidrag the same as selvkost?
No. Utbyggingsbidrag and refusjon concern the developer's payment for technical infrastructure, not case-processing fees. Selvkost is only about the cost ceiling for the municipality's own fee-based services.