-finding a place to rent in Oslo

Transcription

1 -finding a place to rent in Oslo

2 IN General: ICONS: It can be difficult to find a place to rent in Norway, especially if you want to live in the Oslo area or close to other big cities. The prices are usually quite high and the competition for cheap and nice places is extreme. It may take some time to find a good place to rent. Looking for places outside Oslo, in the Akershus-area may bee a good choice. Houses and flats for rent are usually advertised in newspapers. "Aftenposten" (in the evening edition "Aften") is the newspaper with the most ads for Oslo. You will also find a lot of adverts at different internet sites (see page 4 and 7 for more information). Be aware that when an advertisement lists up the number of rooms in the flat or house for rent, the kitchen and bathroom are not included (for example: "a two-room apartment" has two rooms in addition to the bathroom and the kitchen). It is strongly recommended to sign a tenancy agreement with the landlord. The tenancy agreement sets out the conditions of the lease. However, anything in the agreement which is different from the law has no effect. A landlord cannot enforce what is outside the law and tenants cannot give away their legal rights. BROCHURE CONTENT: Finding a place to rent in Oslo 2 Decoding the Housing Ads 3 Where to look for Housing Ads 4 Legal Guidance 6 Useful links and phone numbers 7 2

3 Glossary to help you decode housing ads: til leie ledig ledig fra / omgående leil./leilighet kjellerleil./sokkelleil. 1-roms / 2-roms bof./bofellesskap/kollektiv hybel dele rom/r. sov./soverom stue kjk./kjøkken tekjk/te-kjøkken kvm (hus-)leie mnd./måned dep. fullt /delvis møblert inkl. strøm v.v. hvitevarer/hvitev./hv.v. hems alkove/sovealkove tlf. visning balk./balkong ikke røyk dyr nær off. komm. gangavstand jente/gutt voksen for rent vacant vacant from / immediately apartment basement apartment number of rooms besides bathroom and kitchen common / shared apartment rented room / small apartment /self contained / studio share room bedroom living room kitchen cooking facilities square metres rent month deposit fully / partly furnished included electricity hot water stove, refrigerator etc. elevated sleeping area / bedroom loft separate sleeping area, does not count as bedroom telephone number display of the apartment balcony non smoking pets near public transportation walking distance girl/boy adult 3

4 Internet: Advertisements can be found various places on the Internet. Unfortunately many of the sites are in Norwegian. The most popular site at the moment is: (choose Eiendom - Leiemarkedet - til leie). Proceed like this: Choose Oslo in the menu, and specify your search by choosing either all of Oslo (Alle områder) or a specific area if you have any preferences. Click Søk (=search). If you choose Avansert søk at the tab on the top, you can specify what kind of housing you are looking for; flat (leilighet), room/studio apartment/selfcontained (hybel) or a commune/shared flat (bofellesskap). Click Søk. You will now have a list of ads, all of them clickable for specific information. Newspaper: Real estate agencies: A lot of newspapers have housing ads. The one with the most ads is Norwegian newspaper "Aftenposten" (in the evening edition "Aften"). Look for the hus/leligheter til leie or the hybel/leiligheter til leie in the Bolig-section of the paper. In the ads you will find the phone number of the landlord. Call as soon as possible. Most landlords speak English. Another way to find a place to stay is to make use of real estate agencies. Be cautious of agents demanding fees BEFORE they help you. Look for agencies in the Yellow Pages: (write Eiendomsmegling Boligmegling + the name of the city, i.e. Oslo in the search box). These agencies operate with long term contracts (one year or more). 4

5 Rent during summer: Anker Studentboliger (+47) Nordnorsken (+47) Private accommodation: For long term rent during summer, check out these student houses: Anker Studentboliger, leases student flats for one month or more between May and middle of August. Centrally located. Private bath and kitchen. Bring your own bed linen (or rent at Anker) and kitchen utensils. One month deposit. Nordnorsken leases rooms all summer. Common living room, shared kitchen and bathroom. For information about vacancies and prices, call or send an to: Some people rent out their house for a small amount of money for short-tme rent. This may be a good solution while you are looking for a more permanent place to live, or if you are just here on vacation. Check out these sites: Hasleveien 8. Bed & Breakfast next to Vigeland Sculpture Park. A list over Bed & Breakfasts in Norway and Oslo. Aker Service Apartments, several locations. Anker Hostel, city centre. Oslo Vandrerhjem Haraldsheim, Grefsen. 5

6 Housing Tenancy Act According to the housing act, Tenancy Act No. 17 of March 26 th 1999, house tenants have rights and responsibilities. It is advisable to understand some of the relevant rights and duties stipulated in the Tenancy Act in order secure ones rights and good neighborhood. Go to: choose "acts and regulations" and type in "the tenancy act" in the search window to see the whole act in English. Rental contract or tenancy agreements It is strongly recommended to sign a tenancy agreement/ contract with the owner of the house/ flat. The agreement should be clear and easy to understand, and a tenant should never sign anything he or she does not understand. These agreements are usually valid for an initial year and subsequent for the whole rental period with a mutual right to terminate. Download the tenancy agreement in English here: filearchive/husleiekontrakt%20engelsk-1..pdf. Termination notice is normally three months but some landlords usually accept one calendar month. Tenants are generally required to pay a deposit from two to six months rent before moving in. Both the tenants and landlord sign the agreement and keep a copy. The deposit amount shall be deposited in an separate deposit-account in the tenant's name. The deposit-account serves as a grantee/bond account where placed money can only be withdrawn after the fulfilment of the conditions specified by the contract between two parties. The tenant has, however, right of interest. For the duration of the tenancy, neither of the parties may dispose the amount alone, i.e. both the tenant and the landlord must sign for disbursement of the amount. 6

7 DO NOT trust agents wanting money in advance! READ THIS! The list below contains agents with websites in Norwegian Call them; they all speak English! When searching for a place to live one can get desperate, and often be tempted by real estate dealers who promise a house within few days. These people often ask for money BEFORE starting their search for houses. Be aware that in most cases they are not able to give any offer, and getting your money back can be a real headache. Following is a non-exhaustive list of some of the biggest landlords in Oslo and real estates who are specialised in housing rental. Their websites are in Norwegian but remember that most Norwegians understand and speak English; therefore one can use the telephone number to call and ask for house vacancies. Ole Borge Eiendomsavdelingen Phone: Stiftelsen Kaare Berg A/S Phone: Olav Thon Gruppen Phone: OBOS utleieboliger Phone: USBL Phone : Bolignorge Phone : Tinde eiendom Phone : Eie bolig Phone : Selvaag Eiendom AS Phone: Utleiemegleren (English!) Phone: Fredensborg AS Phone: Leiemarkedet AS Phone: KLP Eiendom Phone: Dypro Eiendom Phone:

8 CORRECT INFORMATION HERE! EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT HOUSING TRAVEL ABROAD HEALTH LAW & ECONOMICS LEISURE ENTREPRENEURSHIP NEW IN OSLO Brochures in English can be found under BROCHURES (website) or NEW IN OSLO (shelves, UngInfo centre). Møllergata 3 (the street behind Glasmagasinet) If you are between the age of 13 and 26 visit our centre! At UngInfo we give you information in a way that is informal and easy to understand. We will always try our best to answer any possible question. Our sevices are free of charge. This is our website. It is in Norwegian, but a concentrated version in English is easily available. mail@ung.info us if you have a question. We will respond! This number takes you directly to our information counter. Opening hours: Monday Friday July August: Monday Friday Tuesday Oslo Youth Information Centre, Møllergata 3, 0179 Oslo Phone: Fax: Web: mail@ung.info UngInfo is run by Barne- og Ungdomsrådet i Oslo, and is a service for youth between the ages of 13 and 26. Brochure update: 10th November 2008