Housing Benefit in Denmark: Can You Get It, and How Much?

Published September 21, 2026

Short answer: You can get housing benefit (boligstøtte) if you rent a home with its own kitchen and live there permanently. The amount depends on income, assets, rent, the home's size and the number of children. In 2026, a tenant without children can get at most 1,194 kr. a month, and a household with 1-3 children at most 4,201 kr.

Emma has just got her first flat: 48 m² for 7,200 kr. a month plus a conto heating. She's a student with a part-time job. Can she get help with the rent? Maybe – but the answer depends on more than her wages.

Who can get housing benefit?

Housing benefit is in principle open to anyone who rents their home – students included. It requires that you:

rent the home and are named on the lease
live in the home permanently and have your registered address (folkeregisteradresse) there
have your own kitchen with running water and drainage (section 9 of the Danish Housing Benefit Act, boligstøtteloven)

If you own part of the home yourself, or someone you live with does, you don't count as a tenant. If your parents bought the flat and you rent it from them, you can still apply. This guide covers boligsikring – housing benefit for tenants who aren't pensioners.

Can I get housing benefit for a room or a shared flat?

A room in someone else's home: If you rent a room in another person's home, you normally can't get housing benefit, because as a rule you need access to your own kitchen.

A shared flat: If several of you live together, only one of you can get housing benefit, and everyone who lives there permanently counts as part of the household – including their income (sections 7-8). The applicant must be a tenant named on the lease, and the other adults must sign a declaration that they are jointly liable if too much is paid out (section 41).

You rent out a room yourself: That's allowed, but you must tell Udbetaling Danmark (Payment Denmark, which administers the benefit). The room's floor area and the rent you receive are deducted in the calculation.

Subletting: You can apply for a home you sublet. If the person you sublet from doesn't live there, they should register their move – otherwise their income may be counted.

How much can I get in 2026?

Household (tenant, not a pensioner)	Maximum per month (2026)
No children	1,194 kr.
1-3 children	4,201 kr.
4 or more children	5,251 kr.

That's the ceiling, and most people get less. Roughly speaking, boligsikring is calculated as 60% of the annual rent minus 18% of the part of the household's income above 170,300 kr. (2026) (section 22). The threshold rises by 44,900 kr. for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th child. In addition, among other things:

You must always pay at least 28,700 kr. a year of the rent yourself (2026).
Without children, the benefit can as a rule be no more than 15% of the rent.
The rent counts for at most 95,500 kr. a year (2026), a little more if there are children.
If the amount comes to less than 3,696 kr. a year (2026), nothing is paid out.

All amounts are adjusted annually. Use the calculator on borger.dk's housing benefit page (opens in a new tab) – with or without MitID – to get a realistic figure.

What counts: income, assets and the size of the home?

Income: The household's total income – yours and that of every other adult living there permanently. Children's income doesn't count. If your pay varies, for example from a student job, the benefit is adjusted continuously based on the national income register.

Assets: You can get housing benefit even if you have savings. But 10% of the household's assets between 896,400 and 1,793,000 kr. (2026) is counted as income, and 20% of assets above that.

Size of the home: The rent only counts for 65 m² for the first person and 20 m² for each additional person in the household (section 12). If you live alone in 80 m², part of the rent isn't counted.

The rent: It's the rent excluding utilities that counts. You must deduct things like a conto heating, electricity, internet, prepaid rent, a garage and furniture rental. If the rent is more than half the household's income, Udbetaling Danmark assesses your case individually (section 15).

How do I apply, and when is it paid?

Register your move with the Civil Registration Office (folkeregistret). You can do this at the earliest 4 weeks before you move and no later than 5 days after. Udbetaling Danmark only processes the application once the move is registered.
Apply online at borger.dk with MitID. If you rent privately, have your lease ready as a file.
Apply within 30 days of moving in. Then you get housing benefit from your move-in date. If you apply later, you only get it from the 1st of the month after the application is received.
The processing deadline is 7 weeks. Over the past year, Udbetaling Danmark took 5 weeks on average (according to borger.dk, September 2026).
Housing benefit is paid in advance, on the first working day of the month, to your NemKonto (the bank account registered for public payments).

A late benefit payment doesn't excuse you from paying your rent on time (section 42(4)). If you disagree with the decision, your complaint must reach Udbetaling Danmark within 4 weeks of receiving it.

Which changes must I report?

You must tell Udbetaling Danmark straight away if your situation changes, for example if:

your rent goes down
you move, or someone moves in or out
you start renting out a room
you stay somewhere else, for example abroad, for more than 6 months within a year
your income from self-employment or from abroad changes

Housing benefit is settled once a year, and if you've received too much, you must pay it back.

How to check a home on LejLet.nu before you apply

LejLet.nu doesn't check whether a home qualifies for housing benefit, but the listing tells you a lot:

Type of home: If it's a room, ask the landlord whether it has its own kitchen. If not, you normally can't get benefit.
Rent and a conto: The listing shows the rent and a conto heating and water separately. It's the rent excluding utilities that you enter in the calculator.
Size: The floor area in m² is in the listing and is part of the calculation.
Lease and address: Ask through the messaging feature whether you'll be named on the lease and whether you can register your address there. Both are essential.

Also read about the money you pay when you move in and who pays for heating, water and electricity.