Purchase of real estate
Download PDF version 
By law, foreigners’ access to purchase real estate in Denmark is quite restricted. It is, however, easier for citizens and companies from the EU and EEA than for citizens and companies from outside the EU and EEA.
Is there easy access to purchase real estate in Denmark?
The purchase of Danish real estate by foreigners is subject to a number of restrictions.
Foreigners who are not EU-citizens, EEA-citizens or EU-companies are only allowed to purchase Danish real estate if the appropriate authorisation to do so has been obtained from the Danish authorities.
EU-citizens, EEA-citizens and EU-companies have a somewhat easier access to purchase real estate, although certain requirements must still be complied with. Accordingly, EU-citizens, EEA-citizens may only purchase real estate for the purpose of serving as the purchaser’s all-year residence or company. For EU-companies, the purchase must be necessary in order to perform independent business or to provide public services.
The abovementioned restrictions do not apply to foreign individuals who are resident in Denmark and who have been so for at least five years at the time of purchase – regardless of nationality.
What should you be aware of before purchasing real estate?
Prior to purchasing real estate, a number of issues should be considered including the following:
| a) |
Do any third party rights over the property exist? |
| b) |
Are there any potential disputes regarding the property? |
| c) |
What is the environmental status of the property? If the property is polluted this may have serious economic consequences. |
In order to ensure that these and other relevant issues are properly looked into, it is usually recommended to carry out a due diligence of the property in question prior to entering into a commercial purchase agreement.
How do you secure your right of title?
Transfers of real estate must be registered with the Danish Land Register in order to be valid towards third parties. When purchasing real estate, the parties to the agreement usually sign a purchase agreement and a deed of transfer. The purchase agreement contains the entire agreement and is kept by the parties, while the deed of transfer only contains the material provisions of the transfer agreement and is used for the purpose of registering the transfer with the Danish Land Register.
The Danish Land Register is a register of all real estate in Denmark. Apart from registering ownership to real estate, the rights of third parties over real estate are also registered here. Following such registration, these third parties’ rights must be respected by a purchaser, while the purchaser is generally not obligated to respect rights that have not been duly registered.
Accordingly, the Danish Land Register should always be consulted before purchasing real estate, whether or not an actual due diligence is carried out. However, it is important to be aware that certain rights do not need to be registered. This includes usual rights of use and transference of registered rights.
Is it possible to mortgage real estate?
Mortgaging of up to 80% of the real estate’s value can generally be achieved. Such mortgage must also be registered with the Danish Land Register to be protected against a new purchaser or other mortgage rights.
The above does not constitute legal counselling and Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen does not warrant the accuracy of the information. With the above text, Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen has not assumed responsibility of any kind as a consequence of a reader’s use of the above as a basis of decisions of considerations.