Housing allowance in Denmark

If you live in rented accommodation with its own kitchen, you may have the right to housing allowance. The housing allowance is calculated on the basis of the cost of the accommodation and the income of the household. If you receive a pension and live in a housing co-operative, you may have the right to housing allowance in the form of a loan.

Housing allowance for rented accommodation

If you live in rented accommodation with its own kitchen, you may have the right to housing allowance.

If several people live together, only one person can receive the allowance. Housing allowance is paid either to the person who submits the application, or to the housing association, which then deducts the amount from the rent.

The same rules apply if you sub-let. However, you should make sure that your landlord has informed the National Register that he or she no longer lives there.

Whether you have the right to housing allowance, and how much you can receive, will depend on things like your rent, your income, your assets, the size of your home and how many people live in it.

You can read more and apply for housing allowance at borger.dk if you have a Danish NemID.

Remember to inform Udbetaling Danmark if your circumstances change, e.g. your income, rent or assets, or if someone moves in or out of your accommodation.

Special rules mean that you may have the right to a larger allowance if you have been housed by the local authority, receive 24-hour care or have severely reduced mobility. See under “Særligt for dig" on the borger.dk page on housing allowance.

Housing allowance for pensioners in housing co-operatives and private housing

If you receive invalidity pension or old age pension and live in a housing cooperative or private housing you can apply for housing allowance in the form of a loan. The same applies if you receive a comparable non-Danish pension covered by the EEA regulations on the coordination of social security systems.

You can read more about the loan and the terms under "Særligt for dig” on the borger.dk page on housing allowance.

Loans for housing deposits

If you move into certain types of social housing built and occupied after 1 April 1964, you can apply to your local authority for a loan to cover your deposit. Loans can be paid out for apartments or for single rooms, but you cannot apply for a loan for social youth housing that does not have a self-contained kitchen. You can read more at borger.dk (in Danish).

Further information