contact information

Excerpted from Housing (Bolig) brochure from the Directorate of Immigration (Utlendingsdirektoratet) [UDI], July 1994

Norwegians spend a good deal of time at home.  Friends and relations usually meet socially in each other’s homes.  Most people in Norway spend a large proportion of their income on housing, particularly those who own their own home.

It is important to be on good terms with your neighbors.  It is normal to greet your neighbors when you meet, and perhaps visit each other occasionally.  However, Norwegians may seem rather reserved towards new neighbors and it may take a while to become acquainted. 

Table of Contents

Should you own or rent your home?

Major types of housing

• Rented accommodations

• Cooperative housing societies

• Shareholding apartments

• Bonded apartments

• Privately owned housing

Finding somewhere to live

• Cooperative building and housing associations

• Obtaining housing through the municipal authority

• Estate agents

Financing a place to live

Housing Benefit

• Living Expenses
• Responsibilities associated with taking a loan
• Loans for housing purposes (mortgages)

When you find a place to live

• Leases

• Obligations and responsibilities of the tenant and landlord

• Obligations and responsibilities in a cooperative housing society

Moving house

Should you own or rent your home?  (Eie eller leie bolig?)

• You must decide whether it is best for you to own or rent a place to live. In Norway, most people own their own home, but there are also many who rent.
• Apart from those who inherit money or a house or apartment from their family, most people need to save money and work hard for many years before they can afford to buy somewhere nice to live.
• Housing prices have fluctuated considerably during the 1980s and 1990s and will probably continue to do so. If you decide to buy a house or apartment, there is always a chance that you may lose money if prices drop, so you should consider carefully whether you are willing to take such a risk.
• Most people who are setting up home for the first time begin by renting. There are also other groups of people who prefer to rent their home rather than to own it.
• If you opt for rented accommodations, you may find that certain landlords (utleiere) have reservations about renting accommodations to a tenant of a different race or color. For this reason it may take you some time to find a suitable place to rent.

Major types of housing (Hovedtyper av boliger)

Rented accommodation (Utleieboliger)

• Flats/apartments (leiligheter) for rent are usually in blocks of flats or apartment houses but sometimes also in private houses.  Rented flats may be furnished or unfurnished.

• Some municipal authorities (kommuner) have accommodation for rent (boliger for utleie).  In some places, this may be available for a limited period of time only.  Sometimes, such accommodations are reserved for young people who need a home for the first time, in which case the authorities have specific requirements concerning the age, income etc. of the tenants.  Further information is available form the municipal housing office, refugee officer, or social welfare office.

• A bed-sitter (hybel) is a single room, usually with access to a kitchen and bathroom.  Whole blocks of bed-sitters do exist, buy most are to be found in private houses.  A bed-sitter is nearly always fully furnished (fult møblert); that is to say that you only need your personal belongings in order to live there.  In this type of accommodation, you must move out if the house owner (landlord) asks you to.  A bed-sitter is often a good solution for young people who live alone, for example while studying.

• Special student accommodation (studentboliger) is found at all universities and at most colleges (høyskoler), but there is not usually enough accommodations for everyone.  Student accommodation usually involves communal living, where each student has his or her own room, and shares a kitchen and bathroom with others.  There are also apartments for married students and couples living together, whether or not they have children.  You should contact the student welfare associations (studentsamskipnaden) or another welfare organization at your place of study for further information. 

• Shared accommodation and communal living (kollektiv or bofelleskap) are other alternatives.  For example, several people may rent a house or apartment together.  This is often a good alternative, particularly for young people.

• Hostels and boarding houses (pensjonat/hospits) have rooms for rent, usually on a nightly basis.  It may be necessary to stay at a hostel for a short period of time, but this can be expensive and the standard of the rooms may be low.

Cooperative Housing Societies (Borettslag)  
Many people in urban areas live in cooperative housing societies (borettslag).  A cooperative housing society often consists of a number of blocks of flats/apartments or small houses.  You must first pay a deposit or buy a share (innskudd) in the cooperative housing society and thereafter pay rent each month. 

You must be a shareholder (andelseier), i.e. have purchased a share in the cooperative housing society, before you are allowed to live there.  As a shareholder in the cooperative housing society, you are also liable for part of the cooperative housing society’s joint mortgage (fellesgjeld).  The price of the apartment or house is therefore the sum of the share you own and your share of the joint mortgage.

Part of the rent you pay is interest or repayment of the joint mortgage taken out by the cooperative housing society when the apartments or houses were built.  The rest of the rent is for maintenance, insurance on the buildings, the communal laundry, etc.  Precisely what is included in the rent varies from one cooperative housing society to another.  You cannot be given notice to vacate the apartment as long as you pay the rent regularly, and follow the house rules/bylaws of the cooperative housing society.

If you wish to move out, you can sell your share.  Cooperative housing societies usually have rules regarding the right of first refusal (pre-emption) (forkjøpsrett).  Normally, people already living in the cooperative, or members of the cooperative building and housing association will be given first priority to buy the housing unit.

You may sub-let (framleie) your home or one or more rooms in it.  The board of the cooperative housing society must approve any lease concerning sub-letting or sale of the apartment/house.

Shareholding apartments (Aksjeleilighet)
Alternatively, you may purchase a share (andel or aksje) in a shareholding apartment building (owner-tenant flat).  In practice, there is little difference between a shareholding apartment and an apartment in a cooperative housing society.  However, as this form of apartment is usually found in older buildings, the joint mortgage may be lower, whereas the price of the share which you must purchase in order to live there is correspondingly higher.  You can sell your share freely on the open market.

Bonded apartments (Obligasjonsleiligjeter)  
In order to live in a bonded apartment, you must purchase a bond entitling you to do so.  The law relating to this type of apartment is complicated and you should always consult a lawyer or the Office for Free Legal Aid (Kontoret for fri rettshjelp) before signing a lease for a bonded apartment.

Privately-owned housing (Selveieboliger)
A privately owned housing unit, as the name suggests, is an apartment of house you own yourself.  You need a loan in order to purchase the property, and you must pay interest and installments to repay it.  You may also have to pay your share of joint expenses to the ownership association (sameie).  Such expenses may include maintenance and insurance costs, and municipal rates.  There are many types of privately owned accommodations: detached, semi-detached, terrace houses and flats/apartments.  Prices vary considerably, but are highest in town and built-up areas.

Finding somewhere to live (Hvordan skaffe bolig)  

• Advertisements (Annonser)

Houses and apartments for rent or for sale are advertised in the newspapers daily.  You may also place an advertisement yourself.  An advertisement of four or five lines concerning renting or purchasing housing costs about NOK 250.

• Notice boards and acquaintances (Oppslagstavler og bekjente)

Another method is to use notice boards to announce that you are looking for a place to live.  These are frequently found at local shops, the library doctors’ surgeries, the post office and other public places.  A notice may be pinned up free of charge.  You may also find it helpful to put up a notice at your place of work.

Do not hesitate to ask friends and acquaintances if they know of any vacant accommodation.  You can also ask your employer and colleagues at work.  

Cooperative Building and Housing Associations (Boligbyggelag) 
You can enroll as a member of a Cooperative Building and Housing Association (boligbyggelag).  These organizations build accommodation for their own members and are to be found in most of the larger municipalities in Norway.  

When new housing is to be built, a cooperative housing society (borettslag) is founded jointly by those who live there. The cooperative building and housing association usually functions as the business manager (forretningsfører) for the cooperative housing societies.

The members’ magazine, the cooperative building and housing association’s office, and newspaper advertisements will supply you with information about new and older housing for sale.

Contact Address

Norske Boligbyggelags landsforbund (NBBL)
Trondheimsveien 84/86
Postboks 6517 Rodeløkka
0501 Oslo. 
Tel. 22 35 75 20

Obtaining housing through the municipal authority
(Bolig gjennom kommunen)  
The local municipal authority can help you to obtain housing, buy only if you satisfy very specific requirements (regler for tildeling: housing allocation regulations).  Normally you must be in a very difficult situation in order to receive such help.  In some municipalities, you may only apply for housing help if you have been living in the municipality for a specific period of time.  Some municipal authorities can assist in providing a site on which to build a house.

Refugees coming from a state reception center may be given housing by the municipal authority receiving them.  The type of housing you are allocated will vary from place to place.  If you have not found employment or do not earn enough to cover your basic living expenses, you may apply for assistance from the social welfare office.

Estate agents (Eiendomsmegler)
You can purchase a house through a private estate agent/firm (eiendomsmegler/firma) or through a lawyer’s office (advokatkontor), or a bank.  Remember that this will involve certain fees.  You may also buy or sell a house without using an estate agent, but you must have the property valued (takst) by an authorized assessor.  When you buy a property, you should always investigate whether there are any liens or encumbrances (heftelser) in connection with the property.  For example, you must be sure that the previous owner has not used the property as security for a loan elsewhere.  The district/city recorder’s office (sorenskriver) has a register of such liens.

The price of housing is largely decided by supply and demand; two quite similar properties may be sold for completely different prices depending on their location.

Financing a place to live (Finansiering av bolig)

Living expenses (Boutgifter)
Living expenses are usually high in Norway.  There are many reasons why housing in Norway is expensive both to buy and to live in.  Firstly, the building has to be well insulated and have heating in all the rooms on account of the climate.  Secondly, people have high standards for their housing, so that very few simple, cheap houses are built.  Finally, wages are high so labor is expensive and construction costs are high.  On a housing loan, you may expect to pay between 8 and 10 percent interest (1994), although this is constantly fluctuating.

When you have found somewhere to live, it is important to calculate how much your living expenses will be each month.  

Expenses for those living in a cooperative housing society may include:

• rent (joint expenses)
• interest and repayments on the loan for your deposit/share
• insurance premium for house contents
• electricity and heating expenses, possibly a garage

In addition, you may have to pay for a telephone, maintenance of the apartment and repair and renewal of furnishings and appliances.

If you own your home you must also calculate the following expenses:

• municipal charges for water, refuse collection, chimney sweeping (feieavgift), etc.
• maintenance and running costs
• possible leasehold charges from the land (festeavgift)
• property taxes (in some municipalities)

Please make special note of the following:  
Repayment of mortgages from the State Housing Bank (Husbanken/Den Norske Stats Husbank) is often cheaper when the housing is new but becomes more expensive with time.  This is because you pay only interest on State Housing Bank mortgages during the first eight years after the housing was built, and because the rate of interest is adjusted annually.  The business manager of the Cooperative Hosing Society is obliged to inform you of the repayment schedule for the joint loan (plan for nedbetaling av fellesgjeld), and how much rent you may expect to have to pay in the future.

Banks do not always give information about extra fees and charges (gebyrer and provisjon) to you when stating the cost of a loan.  Make sure you are informed of the real rate of interest.

When you fill in your income-tax return (selvangivelse) form, you will be able to deduct interest and charges (renteutgiftene) from your taxes according to a specific scale so that you pay less tax.  This applies to personal loans as well as loans taken up by the Cooperative Housing Society.

If a building is poorly insulated (isolert), you may find you have large heating bills.  Remember that if the cooperative housing society has not spent much money on maintenance during recent years, this can result in considerable expenses later.

Responsibilities associated with taking a loan
(Konsekvenser av å ta opp lån) 
During recent years, many people in Norway have had difficulty in repaying loans and mortgages.  The reason for this has often been that they have borrowed more money than they can afford to repay.  For example, many people bought housing during a period when prices were very high, and later found they were unable to maintain the mortgage payments for a variety of reasons, for example because they became unemployed.

Taking a loan involves binding legal commitments in the form of a contract.  In borrowing money, you must keep your part in the contract by paying interest and repayment installments on time.

If you do not make your mortgage payments (misligholde), as you should, this may result in the following:

• You will be penalized by having to pay extra interest (strafferenter) and charges.
• The property may be sold by order i.e. a forced sale (tvangsauksjon).
• You will not be allowed to borrow money in the future.
• You may lose control of your financial situation because payments may be deducted directly from your income
• You may experience a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety, as do most people who have financial problems.

In order to reduce the likelihood of having problems with your mortgage payments, you should consider the following:

• Do not borrow so much that you may find yourself having too little money to cope with unforeseen expenses. It is usually unadvisable for a family to borrow more than 1 - 1.5 times their net pre-tax income.  
• If you take out a mortgage when interest rates are low, you should be prepared for a rise in interest rates in the future. 
• Make sure the correct amount of tax is being deducted from your monthly income at all times.  
• Think carefully through your priorities and decide whether you want to be in a situation where most of your income goes on mortgage payments, or whether you want greater financial flexibility.

Loans for housing purposes (mortgages) (Lån til bolig)
The normal way of obtaining a mortgage is to borrow through a bank.  Some Norwegian banks have special saving schemes, which entitle you to a loan.  Normally you must be an established client of the bank in order to obtain a loan.  It is therefore an advantage to establish a house savings account (bosparekonto) and/or have your wags paid into a special account at the bank (lønnskonto) well before the time you need to think of applying for a loan.  You should inquire at several banks before selecting the one that suits you best.  You should also investigate the possibility of obtaining a loan through your pension fund, your employer, insurance companies, or other credit institutions (kredittinstitusjon).

Before you make an offer for the purchase of an apartment or house, you should investigate your chances of obtaining a mortgage.  You should also be aware that when making an offer for an apartment or house, a spoken agreement is as binding as a written agreement.

The Norwegian State Housing Bank (Husbanken/Den Norske Stats Husbank) is a state bank established solely to finance housing development.  Anyone may apply for a loan to build a house, but the State Housing Bank sets limits regarding the size and standard of the property to be financed as well as construction costs (anleggskostnader).  A development loan (oppføringslan) through the State Housing Bank is installment-free during the first eight years.  This loan will normally cover between 60 and 70 percent of the combined site and construction costs.  Most cooperative housing societies are financed by loans from the State Housing Bank.

This bank also has an arrangement for supplementary loans (etableringslån) which may be granted under certain conditions for the construction of new housing, purchase of a house or apartment, or in connection with improvements to older property.  Supplementary loans may also be used for refinancing loans from private credit institutions.  Supplementary loans are subject to a means test (behovsprøvet), which means that only those experiencing difficulty in obtaining an additional loan elsewhere are entitled to a state supplementary loan.  The municipal authorities have rules for granting supplementary loans; eligibility is not dependent on how long you have lived in the municipality.  You cannot apply directly to the State Housing Bank, but must apply through the municipal authorities where you live.

You may also apply to your municipal authority to act as guarantor for a normal bank loan.

Further details of these schemes may be obtained from the municipal housing office (kommunens boligkontor), or the State Housing Bank (Husbanken/Den Norske Stats Husbank).  They will also help you to fill in the loan applications forms.

Housing benefit (Bostøtte)  
You may apply for housing benefit from the State Housing Bank (Husbanken/Den Norske Stats Husbank) through your local municipal authority if you are not able to meet your housing expenses.  Housing benefit is granted on the basis of a means test (behovsprøvet) and is essentially intended for families whose income is very low in relation to the number of people in the family and their living expenses.  In addition to means testing, there are certain requirements concerning the standard of housing and who is going to live there.

• The accommodation must be financed by the State Housing Bank or the State Bank for Agriculture (Landbruksbanken). This requirement does not apply if you live in a cooperative housing society. You may apply for housing benefit whether you own or rent your home.

• The household must include either children under 18 years of age or persons aged 65 years or more. Persons receiving certain national insurance pensions or allowances may also be eligible, and under certain circumstances, payment granted on the basis of the Act relating to social services etc. may also be taken into consideration

You must apply for housing benefit on a special form that is available from the municipal authorities of from the State Housing Bank.  The application deadlines are February 10^th, June 10^th, and October 10^th.  If you live in a cooperative housing society, you should send your application to the business manager at least eight days before the deadline.  You may have to wait a long time for the outcome of your application, but you may receive back pay if you are granted benefit.

Elderly people or pensioners who have poor housing conditions or particularly high housing costs may apply for a special type of housing benefit.  Please contact the local social welfare office for further information.

Addresses  
The municipal or local housing benefit office where you live.

Den Norske Stats Husbank (The Norwegian State Housing Bank)
Fridtjof Nansens vei 17
Postboks 5130 Majorstua,

0302 Oslo. 
Tel 22 96 16 00.

When you find a place to live (Når du får bolig)

Leases (Kontrakter)
When you have found somewhere to live, it is important to understand the regulations relating to renting and purchasing accommodation.  You may lose money if you do not know these rules.  The local city or district recorder’s office (sorenskriveren) can inform you whether the person from whom you will rent or purchase the property has the right to sell or rent it.  At this office, you will find a register of real estate properties (fast eiendom). If you purchase a house or apartment without using an estate agent, you should apply to a lawyer to draw up a lease (contract).  Contact a lawyer, the Office for Free Legal Aid (Kontoret for fri rettshjelp) or Juss-Buss.

If you are moving into rented accommodation, you should make sure that there is a written contract (lease) that is binding on both landlord (utleier) and tenant (leieboer).  The Norwegian Tennants’ Association (Norges Leieboerforbund), Juss-Buss and the Office for Free Legal Aid (Kontoret for fri rettshejelp) can all assist in advising you whether the lease is legal or not.  The Norwegian Federation of Cooperative Housing and Building Associations (NBBL) can supply a standard lease (normalkontrakt for husleie) in several languages.  This is available in Norwegian in bookshops and at stationers.

If your Norwegian is not particularly good, you should never sign a lease without getting help with the language.  You will not be allowed to add anything to the lease after it has been signed.  For this reason, you should never sign a lease that is incomplete.

Juss-Buss is an office where lay students give legal advice.  Free Legal Aid is a service given by most lawyers.  You may also obtain information on mortgages, buying, selling, and renting at the municipal housing office and social welfare office.

Addressses

Kontoret for fri rettshjelp (Office for Free Legal Aid)
Storgaten 19
Postboks 8809 Youngstorget
0028 Oslo. 
Tel. 22 42 52 60.

Juss-Buss
St. Olavs gate 29
0166 Oslo. 
Tel. 22 85 18 50.

Jussformidlingen i Bergen
Jonas Reins gate 20
5008 Bergen
Tel. 55 90 01 50

Jusshjelpa i Nord-Norge
Universitetet i Tromsø
Breivika senter
9037 Tromsø 
Tel. 77 64 45 61 / 77 64 45 62 / 77 64 45 63

Norges Leieboerforbund (The Norwegian Tenants’ Association)
Lilletorget 1
0184 Oslo
Tel. 22 17 62 00.

Obligations and responsibilities as a tenant or landlord
(Plikter og ansvar i et leieforhold) 
When you rent accommodation, you are known as the tenant or lessee (leietaker, leieboer).  The person or organization that is letting or renting out the apartment is called the landlord or lessor (utleier, husvert).  The landlord must ensure that the apartment is in good condition when you move in.  It must be clean and there must be keys to all external doors.  If the apartment is not in satisfactory condition, you must inform the landlord of this within 14 days.  The landlord is also responsible for seeing that the cellar, the stairways and the loft or attic are clean and adequately lit, unless the lease specifically mentions that this is the responsibility of the tenant.  The tenant is responsible for making good any damage caused by his or her own negligence. 

Normal wear and tear is covered by the rent.  You are not required to cover larger expenses, for example the cost of a new hot water tank or electrical installations.  If you wish to undertake major improvements to the apartment yourself, you should contact the landlord first.  A written agreement may then be made so that you can recover some of these expenses when you move out.

There are rules in Norway concerning the number of persons who may live in an apartment.  Normally, the number of persons living in an apartment must not exceed two per bedroom.  A tenant has no right to rent out (sub-let) the apartment or any part of it.  Your spouse, parents, brothers, sisters, and children may live with you providing that the rules for the maximum number of persons are not broken.  In the event of your death, your spouse, children, and grandchildren have the right to take over the lease if they were living there at the time of your death.  A caretaker’s apartment or other service apartment (tjenestebolig) cannot normally be taken over by the spouse or children.  The Population Registry (Folkeregisteret) must be notified of who is living permanently in the apartments.

If nothing else has been agreed, the rent is due on the first day of the month.  If you are in arrears with your payments, you may be given notice.  As a tenant, you have the right to demand a receipt for the rent paid and it is sensible to keep these.  If you have reason to believe that the rent is too high, you may contact the rent tribunal (husleienemnd), if there is one in your municipality.  The tribunal will determine the maximum rent that may be charged for a specific apartment.  If there is no local rent tribunal, then you may contact the Norwegian Competition Authority (Konkurransetilsynet), which has regional offices throughout the country.  (Please look in the telephone directory.)

A deposit (depositum) is often required when you rent an apartment.  This should not exceed the equivalent of six months’ rent.  This money is placed in a closed bank account.  This means that it may only be taken out in accordance with certain rules, for example, when both parties agree to this.  The deposit is a security for the person letting the apartment as a precaution against non-payment of the rent, or for costs incurred if the apartment is vacated without being cleaned.  If the landlord has no expenses s/he may legally deduct when the tenant moves out, the deposit must be repaid in full with interest.

If you are given notice from the landlord to vacate the apartment (oppsigelse), this must be in writing.  Notice must be validated and should not be unreasonable.  For bed-sitters and small apartments not exceeding two rooms, with or without a kitchen, the normal notice required is one month.  For larger apartments, notice is usually four months.  If you do not accept the reasons for being given notice, or this has not been done according to the regulations, you should appeal immediately, preferably within one week.  If you wish to take the matter to the city or district court (byrette, herredsretten), you should first contact a lawyer or the Office for Free Legal Aid (Kontoret for fri rettshjelp).  The standard lease contains provisions relating to all these conditions.

When you rent accommodation, it is a good idea to enter a mutually terminable lease (oppsigelig leiekontrakt) in which either tenant or landlord may give notice.  The length of notice required before the lease may be terminated is usually agreed between the parties.  If nothing has been agreed, the notice periods mentioned above apply.  The rules concerning the period of notice apply to both parties—tenant and landlord.  This means that if you as tenant terminate the lease, you must continue to pay rent during the period of notice.  The lease should be terminated in writing.

There are also other types of lease for other types of renting.  A lease may relate to a specific period, i.e. it applies only up to a specified date.

If, for example, you sign a lease to rent a flat for two years without the right to give notice, and you move before the two years have passed, you are required to pay rent for the rest of the agreed period.  You may manage to find a new tenant who is willing to take over your lease, buy this must be approved by the landlord.

Service accommodation (tjenestebolig) is rented out by the employer to an employee as part of an employment contract.  This has to be vacated when you leave the job.

A furnished flat (møblert leilighet) should contain enough furniture and appliances to enable you to live there.  Normally, you will only require your personal belongings.

Sub-letting (framleie) means that you rent accommodation from a person who has already rented it.  If the person from whom you rented the accommodation is given notice, this applies automatically to you as well.  Normally, sub-letting is for a fixed period only.

Obligations and responsibilities in a cooperative housing society
(Plikter og ansvar i et borttslag)  
The residents of a cooperative housing society are joint owners.  The cooperative housing society may be independent or it may be associated with a cooperative building and housing association.  It may comprise several blocks of flats/apartments or small houses.  Older apartment buildings are often converted to a cooperative housing society when they have been renovated.

All members of a cooperative housing society are shareholders with equal rights and responsibilities.  Each shareholder is a joint| owner of the cooperative housing society from which s/he rents a flat or house.  A member is not allowed to own more than one share.  The Annual General Meeting, the AGM, (Generalforsamlingen) is the cooperative housing society’s highest authority.  The AGM is usually held once a year.  All members i.e. shareholders in the cooperative housing society have the right to attend and vote.  If you wish to raise a matter at the AGM, you must inform the board well in advance, usually at least eight weeks before the AGM is to be held.

You have the right to exchange apartments (bytte bolig) with others.  The regulations for exchanging apartments are found in the brochure «Å bytte bolig».  You can obtain this from the Ministry of Local Government and Labor, or from the municipal housing office.

If you wish to sell or transfer your share to another person, you must check the rules of first refusal (preemption) that apply.  These may vary from one cooperative housing society to another.

In shareholder apartment buildings (owner-tenant flat) (aksjeleiegård) rules of first refusal do not normally apply.  Apart form this; most other rules are similar to those of cooperative hosing societies.

Address  
Kommunal- og arbeidsdepartementet (The Ministry of Local Government and Labor)
Bolig- og bygningsavdelingen
Posboks 8112 Dep
0032 Oslo
Tel. 22 34 90 90.

Moving house (Flytting)
When you move, you must inform the Population Registry (Folkeregisteret).  There is one of these in every municipality throughout the country.  You must inform the registry within eight days after moving house.  This applies even if you move within the same municipality or even to another flat in the same cooperative hosing society.  When moving to another municipality you need only inform the registry of the municipality you are move in to.  You must also inform the police authorities in both the municipality you are moving from and the municipality to which you are moving.

If you move to another country, you should inform the population registry in the municipality where you live, and you will be registered as temporarily absent or as having emigrated permanently.  Temporary absence normally applies if you are abroad for less than six months, if you study aboard, or if your spouse or children remain in Norway.  Before moving abroad for a specific period of time, you should check the regulations concerning tax, transfer of currency, work permits, social security and insurance, car export etc.

If you own a car, the Motor Vehicle and Driving License Inspectorate (Statens Biltilsynet) should be informed of your new address (flyttemelding).  Furthermore, it is always advisable to inform all public and private offices, associations and so forth, with whom you have dealings.  At the post office, you can obtain special cards for informing people of your change of address.  These may be posted free of charge.  The post office must also be informed if they are to forward mail to your new address.

If you move on account of your work, you should inquire whether your employer covers some or all of the costs.  The local employment service division (job center) (arbeidsformidling) may cover moving expenses in some cases.  You should contact a removal firm (flyttebyrå) for an estimate of moving costs.  In special cases, you may be able to deduct.