Yes, foreigners can buy property in Denmark. But depending on where you live, how long you have lived here and where you are a citizen, you may need permission before you can buy. This guide explains when you need permission, what the rules are for EU and EEA citizens, why holiday homes are a special case, and what to budget for.
In this guide, you can read about:
- The general rule: permission unless you live here or have lived here
- What counts as living in Denmark
- EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
- Year-round homes and holiday homes
- How to apply for permission
- Financing and costs
- How Bomae can help
The general rule: permission unless you live here or have lived here
The rules are set out in the Danish Acquisition of Real Property Act (erhvervelsesloven). Under the act, you need permission from the Danish Civil Affairs Agency (Civilstyrelsen) to buy property in Denmark, unless one of two things is true:
- You have your domicile in Denmark, meaning that Denmark is your fixed and lasting home, or
- You have previously lived in Denmark for a total of at least five years, at any point in your life.
Your citizenship does not matter for this rule. A Danish citizen who has never lived in Denmark is in the same position as anyone else, and a non-EU citizen who has their domicile here can buy without permission. The five years do not have to be consecutive, and they do not have to be recent.
The rule covers all kinds of real property: houses, owner-occupied flats, co-operative housing, building plots, holiday homes and allotment houses.
What counts as living in Denmark?
Having an address and a CPR number in Denmark is not automatically the same as having your domicile here in the sense of the act. Whether you do is a specific assessment of whether Denmark can be considered your fixed and lasting home. The Civil Affairs Agency looks at, among other things:
- How long you have lived in Denmark
- Whether you work or study in Denmark
- Whether your family lives here, and whether your children go to school or daycare here
- Whether you speak Danish or have taken Danish lessons
If you have only just moved to Denmark, you may therefore still need permission, even though you live here. The Land Registration Court (Tinglysningsretten) has the final say on whether you have your domicile in Denmark, but the Civil Affairs Agency makes a preliminary assessment when it receives an application.
If you are moving here, our guide on how to move to Denmark covers the steps before buying, from residence permits to your CPR number.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you can, as a starting point, buy a year-round home in Denmark without permission. Instead, you make a declaration to the Land Registration Court when the purchase is registered. You must be able to declare that you meet one of these conditions:
- You are an employee in Denmark or in another EU or EEA country
- You have sufficient means to support yourself
- You hold an EU or EEA residence document
- You will run a business as a self-employed person
- You will set up a branch or agency, or provide services, in Denmark
You must also declare that you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, that the property will be your year-round home, and that it is not a holiday home.
British citizens are no longer covered by the EU rules after the UK left the EU. As a British citizen, you therefore need permission, unless you have your domicile in Denmark or have previously lived here for a total of five years.
Year-round homes and holiday homes
The rules distinguish between two kinds of home:
- A year-round home (helårsbolig) is a property you will actually live in and have your address registered at.
- A secondary home (sekundærbolig) is everything else, for example a holiday home (sommerhus) or a holiday flat. A year-round home where you do not register your address also counts as a secondary home.
Holiday homes are where the rules are strictest. If you need permission, it is generally only granted if you have a particular connection to Denmark, and the application must describe that connection, for example with a list of your previous holidays in Denmark. The EU rules do not cover holiday homes, so EU citizens without domicile in Denmark need permission for a holiday home too. You can apply for advance approval before you have found a specific holiday home. Read more about buying a holiday home in Denmark.
Note that a property you buy with permission to use as your year-round home has to be used that way. If you later move abroad, you may, as a starting point, have to sell it. If you are posted abroad temporarily, you can apply for permission to keep the property while you are away. Once you have lived in Denmark for more than five years, you are no longer under that obligation.
Do not confuse these rules with residency obligation (bopælspligt), which is about whether someone has to live in a home, not about who may buy it. Read more in our guide on homes without residency obligation.
How to apply for permission
Permission is given for a specific property. You cannot get a general permission to buy, so you need to have found the home before you apply. If you are buying a year-round home, the application must include:
- Documentation that you are lawfully resident in Denmark, for example a valid residence permit
- A declaration that you will use the property as your year-round home
- The purchase agreement or the sales prospectus, and the expected takeover date
- Information about whether you already own property in Denmark
You will also be asked about your work, Danish lessons, marital status and children, because they are part of the assessment of your ties to Denmark. Applications can be made in Danish or English. For a year-round home, you can usually apply through the agency's online self-service.
The Civil Affairs Agency states that it processes applications for a year-round home in about four weeks from the time it has all the information it needs. Send everything at once, because the agency does not fast-track individual cases.
Because permission depends on the specific property, make sure the purchase agreement is conditional on you getting it. That way you are not bound to buy a home you are not allowed to own. Read more about contingencies in the purchase agreement.
A few special cases are worth knowing about. You can get permission for a parental purchase, where you buy a flat for your child to live in, on the condition that your child uses it as their year-round home. Renting out a property you own requires separate permission. And if you inherit property, or receive it as a gift from your parents, grandparents or children, you do not need permission.
Financing and costs
Mortgage options for foreign buyers
Foreign buyers can get Danish mortgage loans (realkreditlån) and bank loans, but the bank will look closely at your income in Denmark, your residence status and your financial history. A stable job in Denmark makes the application considerably stronger.
As a rule, you must pay at least 5% of the price yourself as a down payment. A mortgage credit institution can lend up to 80% of the value of an owner-occupied home, and a bank loan covers the rest. You will need a Danish bank account before you can borrow: our guide on choosing a bank compares the largest Danish banks, and our guide to choosing a home loan explains the loan types.
The costs on top of the price
Budget for more than the purchase price. The main costs are:
- Registration fee on the deed (tinglysningsafgift), paid to the state when the deed is registered: a fixed fee plus 0.6% of the purchase price
- Registration fee on the mortgage deeds when you borrow: a fixed fee plus a percentage of the loan
- Fees for legal advice, for reviewing the purchase agreement and for drafting and registering the deed
- Fees for the loan, such as establishment fees and price deductions on the mortgage
- Ongoing property taxes: land tax (grundskyld) and property value tax (ejendomsværdiskat)
You can read how the registration fees are calculated in our guide to the land registration fee, and the full list in costs of buying a house.
Tax
If you live in Denmark, you pay Danish property taxes like anyone else who owns a home here. If you own property in Denmark without living here, other tax rules may apply, both in Denmark and in the country where you live. Get advice on your own tax position before you buy.
Do you need a lawyer?
No. In Denmark, you are not required to use a lawyer (advokat) to buy a home. What you do need is someone on your side who reviews the purchase agreement before you sign it and handles the deed and the registration. That can be a lawyer or a legal adviser. Read more about the difference in legal adviser or property lawyer.
How Bomae can help
The estate agent on a Danish property sale is paid by the seller and represents the seller. As a foreign buyer, you are dealing with Danish documents, Danish deadlines and, possibly, an application to the authorities on top. Bomae is an independent buyer's advisor and works only for you:
- Our legal advisers check whether you need permission, review the purchase agreement so the right conditions are in it, and handle the deed and the registration.
- We collect and negotiate financing offers from several banks.
- We negotiate the price with the seller's agent.
Everything is in English. Read more about buyer agency in Denmark and our legal advice, or book a free meeting.
