Is Your Rent Too High? How to Check in Denmark

Published September 21, 2026

Short answer: Whether your rent is too high depends on which rules your home falls under: free rent, cost-based rent or "the value of the tenancy". If you think it's too high, you must often go to huslejenævnet (the local rent tribunal) within 1 year of the rent first falling due (section 45(4) of the Danish Rent Act).

Mikkel pays 11,500 kr. a month for 62 m² in a building from the 1930s. At a residents' meeting he hears that his neighbour on the first floor pays 7,900 kr. for an almost identical flat. Is Mikkel's rent illegal? Maybe. It depends on which rules his home falls under – and on whether he acts in time.

A word of honesty first: LejLet.nu is a listings platform for both landlords and tenants. So use this guide as a starting point, and get the final answer from the rent tribunal or a tenants' association.

Three ways your rent can be set

Free rent (fri leje): In buildings first used after 31 December 1991, and in certain converted business premises and new attic flats, the rent can be freely agreed (section 54). It can only be reduced if the agreement is unreasonable under section 36 of the Danish Contracts Act, which is rare.
Cost-based rent (omkostningsbestemt leje): In older buildings with 7 or more flats in regulated municipalities, the rent may only cover the building's necessary operating costs and a limited return (section 19).
The value of the tenancy (det lejedes værdi): In unregulated municipalities and in smaller buildings in regulated municipalities, the rent is compared with the rent for similar homes in the area (sections 42-45). In the smaller buildings, the rent also may not be substantially higher than comparable cost-based rent (section 32).

If an older flat has been thoroughly modernised, the landlord can, under a number of conditions, set the rent according to the value of the tenancy instead of the costs (section 19(2)). The conditions are strict, so it's worth having them checked.

How do I find out which rules apply to my home?

Ask three questions:

When was the building first used? After 1991 usually means free rent. The construction year is in the BBR register, which you can look up at boligejer.dk.
Is the municipality regulated? The municipality can tell you.
How many flats did the building have on 1 January 1995? Seven or more means cost-based rent; six or fewer means the small-building rule.

If you rent a co-op flat (andelslejlighed) from its co-op owner, the City of Copenhagen says the rules for smaller buildings apply. If you rent a condominium apartment (ejerlejlighed), it depends on how many flats the building had on 1 January 1995.

Which deadlines must I meet?

Situation	Deadline
The rent is set by the value of the tenancy – e.g. in smaller buildings and unregulated municipalities	The case must be brought within 1 year of when the rent – or an increased rent – first had to be paid (section 45(4))
Thoroughly modernised flat (section 19(2))	To get overpaid rent back, the claim must be brought within 1 year of when the rent first had to be paid (section 40(2))
Cost-based rent	As a rule, not the same 1-year deadline while you live there – but don't wait (sections 38 and 40)
You have moved out	The claim must be brought before the rent tribunal within 1 year of moving out (section 40(1))

If you miss the 1-year deadline, you generally can't get money back – and in smaller buildings and unregulated municipalities you also can't get the rent reduced. If you're unsure which deadline applies, assume it's 1 year from your first rent payment.

What does it cost, and what can I get back?

Bringing the case before the rent tribunal costs 367 kr. (2026). If you win in full, the landlord pays a fee of 7,027 kr. (2026) to the tribunal – not to you. The amounts are adjusted annually. If the tribunal lowers the rent, you can:

have the rent reduced going forward
get back what you've overpaid, with interest (section 40)
get back a corresponding part of your deposit and prepaid rent (section 60)

How big must the difference be? For smaller buildings, the Copenhagen rent tribunals say the rent must be more than 10% too high before the tribunal can reduce it. The tribunal also doesn't compare with prices in rental ads – including those on LejLet.nu.

If you have an ordinary, open-ended lease, the landlord can as a rule only terminate it for the reasons the law lists – and complaining to the rent tribunal isn't one of them. If you rent a room in the landlord's own home, however, the landlord can give you 1 month's notice without giving a reason (sections 170 and 175).

Where can I get help?

Lejernes LO (LLO), the national tenants' union, and other tenants' associations advise their members and can assess whether it's worth taking further. Membership starts at 700 kr. per half-year at LLO Hovedstaden.
The rent tribunal in your municipality decides the case but doesn't give advice. Read the guide on the rent tribunal to see how to complain.
The municipality can tell you whether it is regulated.

What does LejLet.nu check – and what don't we?

When a landlord creates a listing on LejLet.nu, we check that neither the deposit nor the prepaid rent exceeds 3 months' rent. We don't check whether the prepaid rent exceeds the rent for your notice period (e.g. 1 month for a room in the landlord's own home), and we don't assess whether the rent itself is lawful. If you've found a home through us, ask the landlord through the messaging feature when the building was first used and how the rent is set. It's a perfectly reasonable question to ask before you sign. And once you've moved in, you can read about what your rent can increase by.