Financing a home purchase with the 80-15-5 rule

Once you have read this guide, you will be able to work out for yourself how much you need for the down payment and roughly what the monthly payment will be on a home costing 3 million kr. and one costing 5 million kr. You will also know where to get the advice that suits your situation.

Financing a home purchase is built up in three layers. First, you pay at least 5 % of the home’s price yourself as a down payment. On top of that comes the mortgage loan (realkreditlån), which can cover up to 80 % of the home’s value and is secured on the home. Finally, a bank loan can cover up to 15 %, which is the part that goes beyond the mortgage loan.

Put the mortgage loan and the bank loan together, and you can typically borrow up to 95 %. As a rule, you have to cover the last 5 % yourself. This follows from the good practice rules for housing credit set by Finanstilsynet (the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority), and the bank can only depart from it in special cases. This split is called the 80-15-5 rule, and it is the standard financing when you buy a year-round home.

The down payment rules are the same in 2026 as they were in 2025. You must put down at least 5 % of the home’s price. For a home costing 3.000.000 kr., that comes to 150.000 kr., which you need to have ready yourself. Although the model is standard, in practice the bank may require a larger down payment, depending on your finances, your debt and your disposable income.

Mortgage loan for 80 per cent of the home’s value

The mortgage loan is the largest part of your financing. For a year-round home, old and new mortgage loans together may not exceed 80 % of the home’s value. If you borrow up to the limit, the remaining 20 % must be covered by your own down payment and possibly a bank loan.

You decide how quickly to pay back the loan. A mortgage loan can be taken out with a term of 10 – 30 years, and 30 years is the most common, because it keeps the monthly payment down.

Another lever you can pull is an interest-only period (afdragsfrihed). You can have an interest-only period of up to 10 years, and if you split it up, several periods can add up to the same 10 years in total. An interest-only loan typically has a higher contribution rate (bidragssats) than a loan with repayments, so you pay for the pause in repayments through the contribution.

The interest rate depends on which type of loan you choose. In 2026 the picture looks like this:

• Fixed-rate 30-year loans are typically at 3,5 – 5,0 % in 2026, and in return you know your payment for the whole term.

• Adjustable-rate loans (F1, F3 and F5) are at around 2,5 – 3,5 % in 2026, but the rate is adjusted at fixed intervals.

Mortgage loans for holiday homes and other property types

The lending limits depend on the type of property you buy. Here are the three types you will come across most often.

• For a year-round home, the mortgage loan can cover up to 80 % of the home’s value.

• For a holiday home or other leisure property, the limit is 75 % of the property’s value, which is 5 percentage points lower than for a year-round home.

• For cooperative housing (andelsbolig), the 80-15-5 model does not apply. You cannot get a mortgage loan on a cooperative share, so it is financed with a cooperative housing loan from the bank. The bank assesses your finances and the association’s circumstances, and your own contribution is calculated differently.

The 5 percentage point difference means that with a holiday home you have to cover more of the price with a bank loan or your own money. For a property costing 3 million kr., the mortgage loan can cover 2.250.000 kr. on a holiday home, compared with 2.400.000 kr. on a year-round home. You will need to find the missing 150.000 kr. elsewhere in your financing.

For cooperative housing, the 5 % is generally calculated on the price of the share plus your share of the association’s debt, known as the technical price (teknisk pris). So find out the technical price and ask the bank before you go any further with working out your own down payment.

Interest-only periods of up to 10 years also apply to mortgage loans for holiday homes. An interest-only loan typically has a higher contribution rate, so you pay for it through the contribution.

The bank loan covers the next 15 per cent

Once the mortgage loan has covered up to 80 %, there is still up to 15 % missing to reach the 95 % you can typically borrow in total. The bank loan covers that part, which is also called top-up financing. The bank loan does not have the same security in the home as the mortgage loan, which is why its interest rate is higher.

A bank home loan typically costs 5 – 10 % in interest, clearly more than the mortgage loan. You can get the bank loan with a term of up to 25 years, but for home purchases 20 – 25 years is the most common, because it keeps the payment at a level that fits with the rest of your finances.

An example shows what this can mean in practice. A loan paying out 500.210 kr. has a term of 20 years and a variable borrowing rate of 5,75 %. The monthly payment comes to 3.671 kr., and the APR (ÅOP) is 6,46 %. The APR covers both the interest and the loan’s other costs. Your own price depends on your finances and on the lender.

Because the bank loan is more expensive than the mortgage loan, it is typically the part you will want to pay off first if you have money to spare. Alternatively, you can put more into the down payment from the start, so you do not need the expensive top-up financing at all.

Down payment on a home purchase: at least 5 per cent plus other costs

The down payment on a home purchase starts with a fixed requirement. You must put down at least 5 % of the home’s price yourself. For a home costing 3.000.000 kr., that means 150.000 kr. ready in your account, and for a home costing 5.000.000 kr. the amount is 250.000 kr. As a rule, the lender may not lend you the money for the down payment, either with or without security in the home. This is the part you have to cover yourself.

The 5 % is only the floor, though. In practice, banks may require 10 %, 20 % or more depending on your finances, your debt and your disposable income. If your finances are tight or you have other debt in the picture, the bank may ask for a much larger down payment than the minimum before it is willing to go ahead at all.

On top of the 5 % come a number of costs that are not part of the price of the home itself but that you still have to pay. Many people therefore need more than 5 % to make it work:

• Costs of tinglysning (registration of title), which must be paid when the deed and the mortgage deed are registered.

• Costs of advice, if you use an adviser to go through your financing.

• Costs to the bank, which typically charges fees for processing and setting up the loan.

• Costs of setting up the loans, i.e. the costs that come with arranging the mortgage loan and the bank loan.

The registration fee paid to the state is one of the items that often comes as a surprise. For the deed, it is 1.850 kr. plus 0,6 % of the purchase price. For a home costing 3.000.000 kr., the 0,6 % comes to 18.000 kr., so the fee for the deed is 19.850 kr. For a home costing 5.000.000 kr., the 0,6 % is 30.000 kr., so the fee for the deed is 31.850 kr. On top of that comes the fee for registering the mortgage deeds for your loans, which in 2026 is 1.825 kr. plus 1,25 % of the amount stated in the mortgage deed.

Allow for it from the start, because the fee comes on top of your down payment and the other costs. If you base your budget on the 5 % alone, you could end up short of an amount that is hard to find at short notice.

Monthly payment with worked examples for 3 and 5 million kr.

Below you can see roughly what the monthly payment will be when you buy a home for 3 million kr. or 5 million kr. using the 80-15-5 model.

Both examples are based on a 4,0 % fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage loan and 7,0 % interest on a bank loan over 25 years, before contribution fees and tax. The actual figure depends on the bond price, the contribution rate and the loan type, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact answer.

A rule of thumb for fixed rates makes it easy to do the maths in your head. At 4,0 % over 30 years, 1 million kr. in mortgage loans costs about 4.800 kr. a month. 3 million kr. in mortgage loans then comes to about 14.300 kr. a month before contribution fees and tax, and you can scale the figure up or down according to how much you borrow.

Because the payment is affected by the contribution rate, the bond price and any interest-only period, you should always use the specific mortgage lender’s home loan calculator before you commit to a loan. The calculator gives you a figure that fits your particular loan type and terms rather than a general average.

What happens if you have more savings?

If you have more than the minimum 5 % you must put down yourself, the whole calculation shifts in your favour. The extra savings can first and foremost be used to reduce or completely avoid the expensive bank loan, which in 2026 typically costs 5 – 10 % in interest. It is the most expensive part of your home financing, so this is where the money makes the biggest difference.

If you bring your borrowing down to 80 % or below, you may be able to avoid the bank loan altogether. As soon as the mortgage loan can cover the whole amount within the limit, the need for top-up financing disappears, and that lowers the total monthly payment considerably, because the mortgage loan is cheaper. You swap an expensive rate for a low one.

A lower loan-to-value ratio also gives you access to lower contribution rates. At 80 % loan-to-value, the contribution rate for a fixed-rate loan with repayments in 2026 is around 0,55 – 0,75 % a year depending on the lender, so it pays to compare before you choose. If you drop into a lower loan-to-value band, the rate can be even lower.

The extra savings can also cover set-up costs, registration and advice. These are costs that come on top of the 5 % and have to be paid regardless. If you set money aside for them from the start, you avoid finding yourself short of money at short notice when the deal is due to close.

How much do you need to put down, and where can you get advice?

You must put down at least 5 % of the home’s price yourself before the mortgage loan and bank loan even come into play. For a home costing 3 million kr., that is 150.000 kr., and at 5 million kr. it is 250.000 kr.

But the bank can require more than the 5 %. If your finances are tight, you have other debt or your disposable income is low, it is not unusual to be asked for 10 % or more before the bank will go ahead. So the starting point is 5 % under Finanstilsynet’s rules, while the amount you actually have to put down depends on your situation.

Once the amount is more or less in place, the next step is to get the offers and the advice that make the figure as low and as safe as possible. Here are four routes you can take:

• Get offers from at least 2 – 3 lenders, so you have something to compare. Brikk can also put you in touch with a lender through our home loan service.

• An independent property lawyer or financial adviser typically costs 3.000 – 8.000 kr. and will go through your financing without being tied to a single bank.

• Compare the APR rather than just the interest rate. The APR includes interest, the contribution rate and all fees, and it is the only accurate figure when you are weighing two offers against each other.

• You can negotiate fees and terms with the bank and the mortgage lender. If you have several offers in hand, you have something to negotiate with.

Your action plan for financing your home

The basic 80-15-5 model applies to a year-round home, where you put down at least 5 % yourself, the mortgage loan covers up to 80 % and the bank loan can fill the next 15 %, up to total borrowing of 95 %. Holiday homes are the exception at 75 %, and cooperative housing is financed with a bank loan, where the 5 % is generally calculated on the price of the share plus your share of the association’s debt.

But remember that the figures in this article are worked examples, not a promise of your interest rate. Your actual down payment and monthly payment depend on the bank’s credit assessment, on the bond price and contribution rate of the loan you choose, and on whether you go for a fixed or a variable rate. Use them as a guide when you draw up your budget, not as a definitive answer.

Here is how to go about it before you make an offer on anything:

1. Start by getting a pre-approval (købebevis) before you go house hunting.

2. Never sign a purchase agreement without a written bank reservation (bankforbehold).

3. Make sure you can document where the money comes from if the bank asks.

80-15-5 is the model to base your calculations on, and the next step is to get concrete offers and have your own finances assessed.