How to Write a Listing People Will Actually Read
Short answer: A listing gets read when it answers the tenant's questions before they're asked: a concrete title, all 12 photos plus a floor plan, an honest description and a realistic price. Also remember that the energy label must appear in the listing whenever the building is required to have one – no matter how big the apartment is.
A good listing isn't about exaggerating – it's about giving a prospective tenant enough concrete information to picture themselves living there, fast. Most tenants browse homes on their phone and sort ruthlessly: if the key details are missing, they move on to the next listing.
How Do You Write a Title That Gets Clicked?
"Apartment for rent" catches nobody's eye. Instead, write something that actually describes the home: number of rooms, neighbourhood, and ideally one thing that makes it stand out. "3-room apartment with balcony near Nørrebro Station" tells a prospective tenant far more than a generic title.
The address already works in your favour: when you create the listing on LejLet.nu, you choose the address from Denmark's official address register, so tenants see a precise address from the start. Make sure the floor and door number are correct, if relevant.
What Should the Description Include?
Use the space for what a tenant actually wants to know, and write more than the bare minimum:
- How the light falls in the living room, and whether there's traffic noise
- How far it is to the nearest station and shops
- When the home is available, and whether the lease is fixed-term – and if so, why
- Whether pets are allowed, and what the house rules say
- What the on-account (a conto) payments for heating and water cover, and how electricity is billed
Be honest about drawbacks. A tenant who discovers a surprise on move-in day is a worse tenant to have – and an honest listing means fewer inquiries from people the home wouldn't suit anyway.
Photos and Amenities: What Do Tenants Expect?
You can upload up to 12 photos plus a floor plan, so use them. Show every room, not just the living room – including the kitchen and bathroom. Take the photos in daylight, and tidy up before you shoot. If you have a floor plan, upload it: it's often the first thing a serious tenant looks for.
Fill in all the amenities, too, not just the good ones. Pets allowed, balcony, garden, elevator, parking, washer – tenants filter by these fields. If you forget to tick "Elevator", your listing gets filtered out for everyone specifically searching for that.
How Do You Set the Price – and What's the Cap?
A price that's unrealistically high scares off serious tenants, while one that's unrealistically low can look suspicious. Compare with a few similar homes in the same area. If the home is in an older building, the rent may be regulated by law – see Landlord Checklist.
Also know the cap on what you can charge at move-in (section 59 of the Danish Rent Act, lejeloven):
- Deposit: at most 3 months' rent.
- Prepaid rent: at most 3 months' rent – and no more than the rent the tenant has to pay during their notice period. If you rent out a room in your own home, where the notice period is 1 month, the limit is therefore 1 month's rent.
The listing wizard rejects a deposit or prepaid rent of more than 3 months' rent each, but it doesn't check the notice period – you need to keep an eye on that yourself. The listing automatically shows the total move-in price, so tenants can see what it costs to move in.
Does the Energy Label Have to Be in the Listing?
Yes, as a rule. When you advertise a home for rent – including online – the energy label (energimærke) from a valid energy label report (energimærkning) must appear in the listing (section 8 a of the Danish act on energy savings in buildings, lov om fremme af energibesparelser i bygninger). The requirement doesn't depend on the size of the apartment, because the energy label belongs to the building. Exemptions include detached buildings under 60 m², summer houses, and lets of no more than 4 weeks at a time.
On LejLet.nu, the listing wizard currently requires the energy label for homes of 60 m² or more, but the law requires it for every home in a building that must be energy-labelled – so always fill it in. Read more in Energy Labels in Rental Listings.
What Happens Once the Listing Is Published?
Check the preview on your own phone before you click "Publish listing". As soon as the listing goes live, tenants with a matching search agent get an email – so the first inquiries can come in quickly. Reply quickly and concretely, including to the people you turn down.
The listing is active for 30 days. If you still haven't found a tenant, you can renew it for free with "Renew" under "My listings". And once the home is rented out, click "Hide" next to the listing there and choose "Rented out", so you stop getting inquiries.