Resident deposit loans

You can apply to the municipality for a resident deposit loan if you are moving into subsidised housing. It is a requirement that the residence was built and first put into use after 1 April 1964.

Loans are available for both flats and single rooms. You cannot apply for a loan if you are moving into subsidised young person’s housing without an independent kitchen.

As a general rule, the municipality must grant a loan – known as a ‘compulsory loan’ – if your household income is below a certain threshold:

• If you are moving into a flat: your total household income on moving in must not exceed DKK 268,556 (2024) per year. If there are children in your household, this amount is increased by DKK 47,100 (2024) for each child up to and including 4 children.
• If you are moving into a single room: your total household income on moving in must not exceed DKK 181,931 (2024) per year. If there are children in your household, this amount is increased by DKK 47,100 (2024) for each child up to and including 4 children.

In addition to subsidised housing, loans can be granted for certain specific types of housing for elderly and disabled people. There are also a number of special rules for refugees and for young people studying and living in subsidised housing in a shared flat. 

If you move to another municipality, you can apply for a resident deposit loan in the new municipality.

Contact the municipality if you want to know more about resident deposit loans.

The loan covers the entire deposit of the resident.

The municipality may refuse your application for a resident loan even if your household income is below the threshold. This can happen in various scenarios, listed below:

• According to the municipality’s overall assessment, you do not need the loan. This will typically be the case if you have sufficient assets to pay the deposit or if your income is only temporarily below the income threshold. Another example is if you already live in satisfactory accommodation in the same municipality or urban area.
• The rent exceeds half your household income.
• You have not settled an outstanding balance on a previous resident deposit loan. However, there are special cases where you should not be refused even if you have not settled the outstanding balance. Thus, the municipality is generally obliged to provide a new resident deposit loan even if you have not settled an outstanding balance on a previous resident deposit loan, if you have been evicted due to defaulting on payment or if you are threatened with eviction and your landlord has applied to the bailiff’s court.

Contact the municipality if you want to know more about being refused a loan.

Even if your household income is higher than the stipulated threshold, the municipality can still grant resident deposit loans or guarantee loans. These are called ‘voluntary loans’.

Voluntary loans can be granted regardless of when the home was first put into use.

The municipality decides in which cases it will grant a voluntary loan.

Resident deposit loans are paid directly to the housing organisation.

As a general rule, you do not have to pay interest or make repayments on the loan for the first 5 years of the term of the loan.

Once the first 5 years have passed, the interest on the loan begins and you need to start paying back the loan over a period of time. The interest rate is currently 4.5 per cent of the outstanding balance at any time. The repayment period depends on the type of accommodation in which you live:

• If you live in a flat, you must repay the loan within 10 years.
• If you live in a single room, you must repay the loan within 5 years.

When you move out of your home, the housing association must repay the resident deposit to the municipality, which will then settle the resident deposit loan with you.

Contact the municipality if you want to know more about repaying resident deposit loans.

If you do not agree with the municipality’s decision, you must make a complaint to the municipality within 4 weeks. The municipality must then re-assess its decision within 4 weeks of the complaint being received.

If the municipality upholds its decision, it will forward your complaint to the Board of Appeal, which will rule on the decision.

• Housing Support Act (in Danish)
• Housing support guide – Guide to individual housing support (in Danish)
• Guidance on the adjustment of rates in the Ministry of Employment as of 1 January 2021 (in Danish)
• Guidance on rates in the area of the Ministry of Employment 2022 (in Danish)

• Renting a home