Glossary
Understand every term you meet from the agent and in the listing, explained short and straight.
A
- Akseptfrist (bid acceptance deadline) The akseptfrist is the moment your bid is binding until; in Norway a broker may not convey a bid expiring before 12:00 the first business day after the last advertised viewing.
- Aksjeleilighet (housing-company share flat) An aksjeleilighet is a flat where you own a share in a housing company (boligaksjeselskap) with a right to live there; it is an older ownership form (mostly pre-1960) with no dokumentavgift.
- Andelsleilighet (cooperative flat) An andelsleilighet is a flat in a borettslag: you own a share with a right to live there, not real property, and you are exempt from dokumentavgift.
- Arealsvik (area shortfall) Arealsvik is when a home has less area than stated; it is a defect when the deviation is more than 2 percent and at least 1 square metre.
- Avhendingslova (Norway's Sale of Property Act) The Norwegian Sale of Property Act protects you as a consumer buyer: blanket "as is" clauses have no effect, and you can complain about defects for up to 5 years.
B
- Belåningsgrad (loan-to-value, LTV) Belåningsgrad is your loan divided by the home's value; in Norway an ordinary mortgage tops out at 90 percent.
- Betjeningsevne (ability to service the loan) Betjeningsevne is the bank's assessment of whether you can keep paying the loan when rates rise; it is tested at a rate of at least 7 percent and a debt ratio capped at 5 times income.
- Bindende bud (binding bid) In Norway a property bid is legally binding the moment the agent receives it, and you cannot withdraw it before the acceptance deadline runs out (Contracts Act section 7).
- Boligkjøperforsikring (home buyer's legal-expenses insurance) Boligkjøperforsikring covers lawyer and expert costs if you pursue a claim against the seller in Norway, but not the cost of the defect itself.
- Boligselgerforsikring (seller's hidden-defect insurance) Boligselgerforsikring covers the seller's liability for hidden defects after the sale, while boligkjøperforsikring is the buyer's own cover and mainly pays legal costs.
- Borettslag (Norwegian housing cooperative) In a borettslag you own a share with a right to live in the flat, and you are not liable for the cooperative's joint debt.
- Bruksareal (BRA, usable floor area) Bruksareal (BRA) is the home's internal floor area; from 1 January 2024 it is split into BRA-i, BRA-e and BRA-b, while open terraces are reported as TBA.
- BSU (boligsparing for ungdom, young people's housing savings) BSU is a Norwegian savings account giving 10 % tax deduction on up to NOK 27,500 saved per year, NOK 300,000 in total, through the year you turn 33.
- Budjournal (bid log) The budjournal is the agent's record of every bid in a bidding round, and the buyer and seller have the right to full access.
- Budrunde (bidding round) In a Norwegian budrunde the agent may not pass on a bid whose acceptance deadline falls before 12:00 on the first working day after the last advertised showing (consumer purchase).
E
- Egenerklæring (seller's self-declaration) The egenerklæring form is the seller's written answers about the home's faults and history; withholding or misstating something can be a defect.
- Egenkapital (equity / down payment) Egenkapital is the cash you put in yourself; in Norway you need at least 10 percent because a mortgage may cover at most 90 percent of the home's value.
- Eiendomsskatt (property tax) Eiendomsskatt is a municipal tax each council chooses whether to levy; for homes it can be at most 4 per mille of the assessed value.
- Eierbrøk (ownership share / sameiebrøk) Your eierbrøk is your ownership share of the property; in a Norwegian sameie, common costs are split by it by default.
- Eierseksjon (freehold condominium unit) An eierseksjon is a freehold flat in a sameie: you have the exclusive right to use your own unit and own a share of the property, and you pay 2.5 percent dokumentavgift.
- Eierskiftegebyr (ownership transfer fee) The eierskiftegebyr is a small fee to the cooperative's business manager when a borettslag share changes owner, replacing the dokumentavgift you would otherwise pay on a selveier.
- Energiattest (energy performance certificate) The energiattest gives the home an energy label from A to G and is mandatory when selling or renting; it tells you how energy-efficient the home is.
F
- Fellesgjeld (joint debt of the housing co-op) Fellesgjeld is the co-op's shared loan in Norway; your share is added to the asking price and is paid through the monthly felleskostnader.
- Felleskostnader (monthly shared costs / common charges) Felleskostnader is the monthly bill in a Norwegian borettslag that covers operations, maintenance, and interest and instalments on the building's shared debt (fellesgjeld).
- Ferdigattest (completion certificate) A ferdigattest confirms that a permit-required building work is lawfully completed; if it is missing, find out why (works applied for before 1998 get no ferdigattest).
- Finansieringsbevis (mortgage pre-approval / financing certificate) A finansieringsbevis is your bank's written confirmation of how much you can borrow, typically up to 90 % of the home's value.
- Forbehold (conditional term on a bid) A forbehold is a condition attached to your bid, such as getting financing; a clean bid with no conditions stands stronger.
- Forkjøpsrett (right of first refusal in a borettslag) Forkjøpsrett lets existing members of a Norwegian borettslag step into your accepted purchase at the same price, within a 20-day deadline.
- Formuesverdi (assessed wealth value) Formuesverdi is the value your home is set to in the tax return; a primary home is valued at 25 percent of market value up to 10 million, a secondary home at 100 percent.
G
- Gjeldsgrad (debt-to-income ratio) Gjeldsgrad is your total debt divided by gross annual income, and under Norway's utlånsforskriften (section 6) it may not exceed 5.
- Grunnbok (the land register) The grunnbok is the public register at Kartverket that shows who owns a property and which encumbrances rest on it.
K
- Kausjonist (guarantor) A kausjonist pledges their own home (often a parent) as security for your loan and can replace missing equity; the bank must still stress-test that you yourself can handle a rate rise.
- Kommunale avgifter (municipal fees) Kommunale avgifter cover water, sewage, waste collection and chimney sweeping, and average around 17,000 kr a year for a home.
O
- Omkostninger (purchase costs) Omkostninger are the buying fees on top of the purchase price, mainly the 2.5 percent dokumentavgift on a selveier home and the 545 kr registration fee.
- Oppgjør (settlement) The oppgjør is the financial side of the purchase: the price is paid into the agent's client account and released to the seller only once the skjøte is registered.
- Overtakelse (handover / completion) Overtakelse is the day you take over the home: you walk through it together, read the meters and get the keys, while the purchase price is settled through the oppgjør.
P
- P-rom (primary rooms) P-rom were the primary rooms in a home, such as the living room and bedrooms; the term has been phased out in favour of BRA-i, which listings now use.
- Prisantydning (asking price / guide price) The prisantydning is the asking price the seller states in the listing. It is not binding, and the bidding round sets the final price.
R
- Radon Radon is an invisible radioactive gas in indoor air; it should be remedied above the action level of 100 Bq/m³ and must in any case stay below 200 Bq/m³.
- Rammelån (home equity line of credit) A rammelån is a flexible credit line secured on the home that you can draw down and repay within a limit; the limit can be up to 60 percent of the home's value.
- Reklamasjon (complaint about a defect) A reklamasjon is the formal complaint you send the seller about a defect; in Norway you have up to 5 years, but must complain within reasonable time of noticing it.
S
- Samboeravtale (cohabitation agreement) A samboeravtale is a private agreement between two cohabitants that sets the ownership split of the home; cohabitants have no statutory 50/50 split and do not inherit from each other without a will.
- Sameie (co-ownership) A sameie is when two or more people own something together, each with their own share; equal shares apply only when nothing else can be shown (sameigelova).
- Selveier (freehold / direct ownership) As a selveier in Norway you own the home (and your share of the land) outright, pay 2.5 % dokumentavgift on the price, and register your own deed.
- Sikringsordning (default-protection scheme) A sikringsordning is an insurance product a cooperative can buy that covers the felleskostnader if a resident stops paying, usually for up to 24 months; it is a product, not a statutory right.
- Skjøte (title deed) The skjøte is the document that transfers legal title (hjemmel) of a selveier home from the seller to you, and is registered at Kartverket for a 545 kr fee.
- Skjult feil og mangel (hidden defect) A defect you could not have spotted before buying; in Norway you can claim against the seller for up to 5 years after takeover.
- Startlån (municipal start-up loan) Startlån is a loan from Husbanken applied for through your municipality, for people who cannot borrow enough at an ordinary bank; there is no equity requirement, but you must be able to service the loan.
- Stressrente (stress-test interest rate) The stressrente is the higher rate the bank applies when checking that you can handle a rate rise: today's rate plus 3 percentage points, and at least 7 percent regardless.
T
- Tilstandsgrad (TG, condition grade) The condition grade ranks each building part from TG0 to TG3: TG2 means a significant defect, TG3 a large or serious one (with cause, consequence, and cost estimate).
- Tilstandsrapport (condition report) A tilstandsrapport is a surveyor's walkthrough of a Norwegian home that gives each part a condition grade from TG0 to TG3.
- Tinglysingsgebyr (land registration fee) The tinglysing (land registration) fee is NOK 545 to register the deed and NOK 545 per mortgage document with Kartverket, Norway's mapping authority (2026).
- Tomtefeste (ground lease) Tomtefeste means you own the home but lease the plot it stands on, paying an annual ground rent that can be index-linked; you can demand to buy out the plot after 30 years of the lease.
- Totalpris (total price = asking price + your share of the joint debt) In Norway, the totalpris is the asking price plus your share of the borettslag's joint debt (fellesgjeld), which is the real number to compare homes on.