– I am shocked that this is happening in Norway. That’s what Zainab Abbas Amirali says after a year of fighting against her old landlord. After being thrown out of her rented accommodation while on holiday, she is still without her possessions. – I have borrowed clothes from my mother and patched up old jeans, she says. It all started with two colleagues who became friends and chose to live together in Bergen. The dispute began in this apartment building at Gyldenpris in Bergen. Photo: Skjermbilete / Finn.no In autumn 2021, the friend, who was the owner of the house, moved out, and Zainab was living with three new roommates. A lease was never signed. Then things went crazy between the former girlfriends. news has spoken to the landlord’s friend, who does not want to be named. At the end of May 2022, the landlord-friend wanted to sell the house while the market was good, and she asked Zainab to find a new place to live. news has seen text messages which show that this request came on 25 May. – I would not agree to that. I was thinking of moving out in August, says Zainab to news. Three days later (28 May) she and her boyfriend were going on holiday to Greece. Zainab was still only given one week to move out. – I just wanted to get rid of her, says the landlord to news. 30 per cent of those who live in Bergen rent a house, figures from Statistics Norway show. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Evicting a tenant within seven days is not within the scope of the Home Owners Act. – This is an example of how it should not be done, says lawyer Anders Leisner in Huseierne. Regardless of whether a contract exists, tenants have at least one month to move out. – Even if landlords have a factual reason for termination, such as selling a house, this does not mean that you can evict a tenant with one week’s notice, says consumer lawyer Nora Wennberg Gløersen. Rights as landlord and tenant There is no requirement that a lease agreement must be in writing. Oral agreements are also valid and binding for both parties. The Consumer Council will nevertheless always advise you to enter into a written lease. Then you can easily find out what has been agreed if problems or disagreements arise in the tenancy. If you do not have a written tenancy agreement with the landlord, the rules in the Rent Act still apply. The landlord can only terminate the lease where there is a factual reason. Normally, the sale of a home will be a factual reason for dismissal. Even if the landlord has a valid reason for termination, this does not mean that you can be evicted with one week’s notice. First, the landlord must send a written, well-reasoned notice of termination. In the notice of termination, you must receive information that you have the opportunity to object to the termination, and the consequences if this is not done. If you have not agreed on a notice period, it must be three months. This means that you should have relatively plenty of time to find a new place to live and move out of the apartment. The landlord is absolutely not allowed to lock himself in the apartment you rent while you are on holiday, pack up your things and take them away with a moving company. The landlord can basically only enter the apartment if supervision or necessary maintenance is to be carried out, and in those cases you must be notified in advance. A landlord can never physically evict a tenant from the home. If the tenant does not move out after the lease has expired or been terminated, the landlord must ask the bailiff for help with the job. This is a long and complicated process, and even in these cases the tenant is given 4 weeks to pack up and collect their belongings. Source: Consumer lawyer Nora Wennberg Gløersen, Consumer Council Couldn’t pick up the belongings When Zainab came home from holiday (June 4), her key card to the apartment building was deactivated. – I was standing there with only hand luggage, she says. In the meantime, a moving agency had collected her belongings and placed them in a warehouse. The owner’s shares are still there – one year later. The background is a dispute about who should pay the moving agency. After rounds in the Tenancy Dispute Committee and later in the Hordaland District Court, it is clear that the landlord must pay back the rent for June, as well as expenses for moving and warehouse rent until August 2022. In addition, the former girlfriend must pay a compensation sum of NOK 2,300 for property that Zainab bought in when she was without her possessions. The accumulated warehouse rent since September 2022 must be paid for by Zainab herself. – Why didn’t you get your things out sooner? – It cost me NOK 7,500, which is a lot for a student. Zainab has now taken the moving agency to court to get her things out. Not allowed to move the belongings Consumer lawyer Nora Wennberg Gløersen in the Consumer Council believes that the landlord could not take Zainab’s belongings out of the apartment. – Landlords are not allowed to lock themselves in the flat you rent while you are on holiday, pack up your things and take them away, she says. Rights as landlord and tenant There is no requirement that a lease agreement must be in writing. Oral agreements are also valid and binding for both parties. The Consumer Council will nevertheless always advise you to enter into a written lease. Then you can easily find out what has been agreed if problems or disagreements arise in the tenancy. If you do not have a written tenancy agreement with the landlord, the rules in the Rent Act still apply. The landlord can only terminate the lease where there is a factual reason. Normally, the sale of a home will be a factual reason for dismissal. Even if the landlord has a valid reason for termination, this does not mean that you can be evicted with one week’s notice. First, the landlord must send a written, well-reasoned notice of termination. In the notice of termination, you must receive information that you have the opportunity to object to the termination, and the consequences if this is not done. If you have not agreed on a notice period, it must be three months. This means that you should have relatively plenty of time to find a new place to live and move out of the apartment. The landlord is absolutely not allowed to lock himself in the apartment you rent while you are on holiday, pack up your things and take them away with a moving company. The landlord can basically only enter the apartment if supervision or necessary maintenance is to be carried out, and in those cases you must be notified in advance. A landlord can never physically evict a tenant from the home. If the tenant does not move out after the lease has expired or been terminated, the landlord must ask the bailiff for help with the job. This is a long and complicated process, and even in these cases the tenant is given 4 weeks to pack up and collect their belongings. Source: Consumer lawyer Nora Wennberg Gløersen, Consumer Council She clarifies that landlords can only enter the flat if inspections or necessary maintenance are to be carried out. – And in those cases you must be notified in advance. The landlords will not introduce criminal sanctions against landlords who do not comply with the Housing Rent Act. – The consequences for landlords are already there in the form of liability, as was the result in this case, says lawyer Anders Leisner. On Friday, the Ministry of Local Government announced that they had set up a committee to propose changes to the Tenancy Act. – The Housing Act is an important law for around one million tenants, and for those who rent out. We are now preparing for a good and thorough review of the law, says Municipal and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) Gjelsvik underlines that much works well in the rental market, but that there are some challenges. – The committee must go through the Tenancy Act and, among other things, assess and propose changes that strengthen tenants’ rights, ensure basic property security and ensure that the law is adapted to the situation in the rental market. The committee must submit an interim report by 31 January 2024 and a final report by 15 October 2024. The Ministry of Local Government responds to State Secretary Nancy Charlotte Porsanger Anti – It must be predictable and safe to rent. It is then important that tenants and landlords know the rules of the game for tenancies and follow them. We know that both tenants and landlords often make a disability offer when they enter into a tenancy agreement. They do not know well enough what rights and duties they have. KDD does not prepare a strategy document, but we are now working together with actors on the tenant and landlord side to make people better acquainted with the rules of the game for tenancies and to find concrete solutions. We will follow up on this work going forward. We also set up a committee to go through the Tenancy Act itself and, among other things, make it easier to read even for anyone who is not a lawyer. The Norwegian Tenancy Dispute Committee (HTU) also has a lot of information on rights and obligations in a tenancy on its website, and deals with matters relating to the rental of housing. Both tenants and landlords can submit a complaint to HTU. The newest initiative for better information about letting is boligdugnaden.no. There you will find information on what you should do before renting out, during the tenancy and how to go about finding a tenancy. We need good rental housing in Norway, in a well-functioning rental housing market where both landlords and those who rent know the rules. – The law is often the first encounter with legal terms for many, such as young tenants and home owners who are going to rent out part of their home. That is why it is extra important that the rules are easy to understand, says Gjelsvik. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news
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Zainab was thrown out of the rental apartment while she was on holiday – news Vestland
