Renting a Home in Denmark as a Foreigner

Last updated October 10, 2026

Short answer: You can sign a Danish lease before you have a CPR number – that's the usual order, since you need a permanent address to get one. Ask for a written lease, ideally the authorised Typeformular A, which has had an official English version since 1 February 2025. Never pay anything for a home you haven't seen in person.

You've landed a job in Aarhus, you start in six weeks, and every form seems to ask for a CPR number you can't get until you have an address. It's the classic newcomer loop in Denmark. Here's how it actually works, what you can safely sign, and which scams to look out for.

The CPR catch-22 – and the way out

In Denmark almost everything runs on your CPR number (civil registration number): your salary, a bank account, a family doctor and MitID, the digital ID that replaced the old NemID. But you can only get a CPR number once you have a permanent address and actually live there. What counts as a permanent address varies between municipalities, but you usually need to be staying there for at least 1 to 3 months.

So the order is:

Find a home and sign a lease. A rental contract is accepted as proof of your address.
Move in.
Go in person to a Citizen Service centre or an International Citizen Service (ICS) centre with your passport, your lease and, depending on your nationality, your residence permit or EU residence document. You get your CPR number when your address is registered.
With a CPR number you can get MitID and your yellow health insurance card.

If you're staying 3 months or more (6 months for EU/EEA and Nordic citizens), you must register. Later, report any change of address no later than 5 days after you move.

Before you sign, ask the landlord directly whether you can register your address there. A sublet where you "can't register" leaves you without a CPR number.

Use the authorised lease – it now comes in English

In Denmark, landlords may only use standard contract forms that have been authorised (section 14 of the Danish Rent Act, lejeloven). The standard form for private rentals is Typeformular A, 10th edition, and since 1 February 2025 there has also been an authorised English version (Executive Order no. 77 of 2025). Whoever drafts the lease chooses Danish or English, and in the English version every field must be filled in in English. Both versions can be downloaded free from the website of the Ministry of Children, Senior Citizens and Housing (baebm.dk).

If a landlord uses a standard contract that isn't authorised, the lease is still valid, but any terms that give you fewer rights than the law are void. Either party can demand that the lease be put in writing (section 11).

What can you be asked to pay?

Deposit (depositum): at most 3 months' rent (section 59). Life in Denmark, the official guide for newcomers, notes that 1 month for a room and 3 months for a flat is normal.
Prepaid rent (forudbetalt leje): at most 3 months' rent, and never more than the rent for your notice period.
Utilities: heating and water are usually paid a conto – a fixed monthly amount on top of the rent, settled once a year.
Nothing for the privilege of getting the lease. Demanding a fee, or making the lease conditional on buying the landlord's furniture, is illegal (section 15), and you can claim the money back.

Scams that target newcomers

Rental scammers know that people moving from abroad are short on time and can't easily view homes. The Danish police advise you to:

check who owns the home at tinglysning.dk or boligejer.dk, and ask a private landlord for proof of ownership
run a reverse image search on the photos – stolen photos are a classic sign
never pay a deposit, prepaid rent or rent for a home you haven't been inside yourself; a video call isn't enough
pay only by transfer to a Danish bank account, never in cash, and be wary of foreign accounts, Western Union or PayPal
never send photos of your passport or other ID
not let yourself be rushed into signing

The classic story: the "landlord" is abroad, can't show you the home, and will post the keys as soon as you've transferred the deposit. If you've already paid, contact your bank straight away and report it to the police. Read more in How to avoid rental scams in Denmark.

You have the same rights as any other tenant

Danish rental law protects you exactly as it protects Danish tenants. A few points matter most in your first months:

Tell the landlord about any defects you want to rely on within 2 weeks of the start of the tenancy – in writing, so you can prove it (section 91).
As a tenant you can normally end the lease with 3 months' notice, or 1 month for a room in the landlord's own home (sections 169 and 175). A fixed-term lease, however, can't be ended early unless the contract allows it (section 173).
Disputes can be taken to huslejenævnet (the local rent tribunal) for 367 kr. (2026).
If you rent a home with its own kitchen and live there permanently, you may be entitled to housing benefit (boligstøtte).

For the full overview, see Your rights as a tenant in Denmark.

How LejLet.nu can help – and what we don't do

LejLet.nu is available in English. Every listing shows the rent, the deposit, any prepaid rent and a conto payments, and the total move-in price, and you can message landlords directly on the site. In our listing form, the address is chosen from the official Danish address register, and 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). Companies can get the "Verified landlord" badge (a green tick next to the landlord's name) once their CVR number (Danish company registration number) is active and we've manually approved that the account represents the company. Private landlords are not identity-checked, and LejLet.nu doesn't handle payments – so all the advice above still applies. If a listing looks wrong, use "Report listing".