Do you know your housing types?

Do you know your housing types? If not, we have put together a short overview of the 5 types of housing.

What is a single-family house?

Single-family houses are the most common type of home in Denmark. When you buy a single-family house, you are in principle buying a piece of land, and everything on that land comes with it: the house itself, the trees, the plants and so on. You are responsible for maintaining the house yourself, and special provisions often apply to the property. For example, this can mean that the property may not be used in a particular way, perhaps for business, or that the owner is required to be a member of a homeowners’ association (grundejerforening). Holiday homes also count as single-family houses, as do semi-detached houses, terraced houses and detached houses, for example.

What is an owner-occupied flat? 

Owner-occupied flats are flats that can be bought and sold. As with single-family houses, you get a title deed (skøde) to an owner-occupied flat, and you can borrow against it with a mortgage loan (realkreditlån). When you buy an owner-occupied flat, you also buy a share of the main property itself, i.e. the land and the building. You must also be a member of the owners’ association (ejerforening), which is a community of all the flat owners in a particular building. There are often a number of tasks that the flat owners have to handle together; these can be anything from refuse collection to maintenance of the main property itself.

What are undivided shares?

Undivided shares (ideelle anparter) are usually set up in two-family houses, so that the house is divided into two flats. Like owner-occupied flats, undivided shares are independent properties that can be bought, sold and borrowed against separately. However, properties with undivided shares have no owners’ association or bylaws. Instead, there is a co-ownership agreement (samejeoverenskomst) registered against the property, which states who has the right to use which part of the house, along with other matters such as shared rules for maintaining the property.

What is cooperative housing?

Cooperative homes (andelsboliger) have a lot in common with owner-occupied flats: the members can buy and sell the flats, and they decide on the shared property themselves through the cooperative housing association. When you buy a cooperative home, all you are buying is a share in the association’s assets. This share comes with the right to live in a particular flat. You cannot take out a mortgage loan on a cooperative home, so buying one is normally financed with a bank loan.

What is a rented home?

Rented homes – the name says it all: they are homes that you rent. Renting can be a good, sensible alternative to buying if you know you will only need the home for a short period. However, you often have to put your name down on long waiting lists to get a rented flat, and if you already live in a rented flat, you often have to join yet another waiting list if you want to upgrade to a better one.