housing and utilities

• Housing 
• General Housing Information 
• Housing Definitions 

 

• Utilities
  • Electricity
  • Telephone
  • Television
  • Cable TV
  • Water
  • Garbage Removal

Housing

• Housing 
  Information from Directorate of Immigration (Utlendingsdirektoratet) [UDI] July 1994 

• Housing Definitions 
  Here are some common terms you may come across in your search for housing.
  
  

andel	share
anleggskostnader	construction costs
depositum	security, deposit
eiendomsmeglerfirma	(real) estate agent, i.e. firm which handles the buying and selling of property
fast eiendom	real estate, i.e. land, forest, buildings (not objects)
feieavgift	charge for chimney sweeping
fellesgjeld	joint mortgage; a loan which the housing cooperative members share
festeavgift	leasehold charges if the land is leased
forretningsfører	business manager/business management firm responsible for administration  and accounts
gebyrer	fees and charges
isolert	insulted i.e. built-in material to eliminate draughts, keep out the cold etc.
kredittinstitusjon	lending institution or firm
misligholde	breach of an agreement
oppslagstavle	notice board
provisjon	commission, i.e. percentage fee you must pay to the agent
regler for tildeling	housing allocation regulations
sameie	joint ownership/ownership association
selvangivelse	income-tax returns.  You must fill in a form each year giving details of your income  during the last financial year to be used as a basis for calculating how much tax  you must pay.
strafferenter	extra interest you must pay as a penalty
tvangsauksjon	forced sale/enforced auction
velferdsorganisasjon	student-welfare organization/an organization which assists students

• Electricity
  Generally speaking, the electricity is not turned off in Norway--you simply need to have the account transferred to your name. Charges are based on complicated tariff rates applicable to different periods of the year.  Payment is made giro.  Bills must be paid before the stipulated date noted on the account. 

  Oslo - Oslo Energi
  You can call them or use the web site to have electricity turned on at your residence.
  Oslo Energi AS, 0202 Oslo, tel. 22 92 50 00, fax. 22 92 50 10, www.oslo-energi.no.

  Asker and Bærum - EAB Energiselskapet Asker og Bærum
  Brynsveien 88A, Postboks 13, 1306 Bærum postterminal, tel. 67 80 60 00, fax 67 56 57 80, www.eabas.no

• Telephone
  Expect to wait to have your telephone 'installed'. Waiting periods of up to three months are not uncommon. Telenor offers many of the same extras you are used to in the US such as call waiting, caller ID, and unlisted phone number.

Telenor
Kundeservice, PB 6701 St. Olavs Plass, 0130 Oslo, tel. 140, www.telenor.no
The process is simple - call 140 Telenor's Kundeservice (Customer Service). You will hear an automated message. Simply wait until the message is finished and a customer service representative will come on the line. Along with your telephone subscription, you will receive a set of telephone catalogues for your area and written instructions on telephone usage

Telephones may be purchased at retail electronic stores or at Telehuset, the Telenor retail store.

For standard telephone service, you will be charged an installation fee and a flat fee for 3 months of service plus a per-minute rate on all calls you make, including local calls.  Rates vary according to where you are calling and when.  Check the white pages telephone catalog for detailed information.

For long distance service, check into Callback rates for international telecommunications companies.

Telephone bills are issued every three months and are payable by giro about 20 days later.  Bills are not itemized by call unless you make a special request to the Telenor customer service department (tel. 140).

• Television

• Cable TV

• Water

• Garbage Removal

We wish to thank the Fulbright Foundation, Norway, for allowing us to use information from their Orientation Handbook.