Can You Rent Out Your Andelsbolig?

Last updated September 21, 2026

Short answer: Only if your cooperative's bylaws allow it and the board has approved the sublet in advance. Under ABF's standard bylaws, you can sublet when you're temporarily away – for study, work or illness, for example – normally for no more than 2 years, and when you've normally lived in the home for at least six months.

A cooperative member with an andelsbolig (housing cooperative unit) in Frederiksberg is offered an 18-month project in Aarhus. Can she simply rent the home out while she's away – or does it have to sit empty? The answer doesn't come down to any nationwide law. It comes down to something far more local: your own cooperative's bylaws (vedtægter).

The starting point: the bylaws decide, not the law

There's no general statutory rule giving you the right to sublet your andelsbolig. The andelsboligforeningsloven (the Danish Act on Housing Cooperatives) regulates the cooperative as a legal entity, but it doesn't set out when an individual member may rent out their home. That's in the cooperative's own bylaws – and most closely follow the standard bylaws of Andelsboligforeningernes Fællesrepræsentation (ABF, the national association of housing cooperatives). So the first step is always the same: find the bylaws and read the section on subletting.

When is subletting typically allowed?

Under ABF's standard bylaws (section 11), the board can allow you to sublet the whole andelsbolig when:

you've normally lived in the home for at least six months,
your absence is temporary and due to, for example, illness, a business trip, studies or a temporary transfer,
the period is limited – normally no more than 2 years.

Subletting can't be allowed once you've moved out for good, not even if the sale of your share is dragging on. If you've had the home sublet, you must live there yourself for at least 1 year before the board can approve another sublet. The board can allow individual rooms to be sublet on the conditions it sets.

Board approval isn't a formality

The board must give permission before the sublet starts – not afterwards. Under the standard bylaws, it must approve both the subtenant and the terms, and you'll typically need to hand in a copy of the sublease. The board is not, however, responsible for making sure the rental legislation is followed, including the rules on how much rent you can charge. That responsibility is yours, and you remain liable to the cooperative – it's you, not your tenant, who is the member.

What can you charge in rent?

The sublet is covered by the Danish Rent Act (lejeloven), so as a rule the rent can't be set freely – unless the building was taken into use after 31 December 1991 (section 54). According to Copenhagen Municipality, when a cooperative member rents out their unit, the rent is set in the same way as in buildings that had six or fewer flats on 1 January 1995. In a regulated municipality, that means the rent must not significantly exceed the rent for comparable leases with cost-based rent (lejeloven section 32) – and the tenant can have an excessive rent reviewed by huslejenævnet (the local rent tribunal).

The deposit may be at most 3 months' rent, but in a sublet the tenant can choose instead to provide security with a bank guarantee or an amount in a separate escrow account (section 59(2)).

How to get your home back

Make the sublease fixed-term, so it expires when you come home, and write the reason – your studies, for example – in section 11 of the lease. A valid fixed-term lease ends without notice when the period expires (lejeloven section 173). Read more in Rent Out Your Home Temporarily – and Get It Back.

Tax on the sublet

If you sublet the whole home for less than 12 months, you can use the 13,800 kr. (2026) allowance and pay tax on only 60% of the rest, or – when the tenant stays at least 4 months – deduct ⅔ of your annual housing charge (section 15 P of the Danish Tax Assessment Act, ligningsloven), in which case the surplus is personal income. If you sublet for 12 months or more, it's normally not business letting: the surplus is personal income after deducting the housing charge you pay yourself, and a loss can't be deducted. See Tax on Renting Out Your Home.

The risk of subletting without permission

Subletting without the board's approval breaches the bylaws, and in the worst case it can lead to your expulsion from the cooperative – with the serious consequences that has for your share. It's not a theoretical risk: boards do, in practice, keep an eye on who actually lives in the cooperative's homes.

How to do it in practice

Find the bylaws' section on subletting, and read it carefully.
Contact the board in writing before you do anything else – not once you already have a tenant lined up.
Get the approval and any conditions in writing.
Draw up a written, fixed-term sublease, and send the board a copy.
Reapply in good time if your absence runs beyond the approved period.

If you want to advertise your andelsbolig, you can list it as an ordinary apartment on LejLet.nu. LejLet.nu doesn't check whether the sublet is approved – that's your responsibility before you sign with a tenant.