Am I entitled to housing allowance?

Housing allowance is a government grant that is calculated monthly based on your income and housing expenses.


Have you become unemployed or been laid off?

You can also apply for an advance on your unemployment benefit from NAV. You can find the application form on nav.no.

Yes, if you are

  • over 18 and not doing your initial military service.
  • under 18 and don’t have children.

Are you or anyone else in your household a student/pupil?

In addition, your home must have

  • its own entrance
  • its own bathroom and toilet
  • kitchen facilities
  • somewhere for resting

Do you live in shared housing?

You are not entitled to housing allowance if the qualifying income of your household exceeds the income ceiling. This applies however high your housing expenses are.

You are not entitled to housing allowance if the qualifying income of your household exceeds the income ceiling. This applies however high your housing expenses are. 

Many people are suffering financial difficulties because of the coronavirus pandemic. The income ceilings have therefore been raised for the period April-October. 

Our Mortgage Calculator is only available in Norwegian. We hope to be able to publish an English version soon.

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If your household’s total income exceeds this ceiling, you are not entitled to housing allowance. If you live in a specially adapted home, the income ceiling is slightly higher.

What counts as income?

Note: If you have applied for unemployment benefit, sick pay or care benefit due to the coronavirus pandemic, you may be entitled to a payment in arrears from NAV from May onwards. This payment in arrears will not be counted as income when calculating your housing allowance.

The amount of housing allowance you’re entitled to depends on your income and housing expenses. The housing allowance calculator lets you check whether you’re entitled to housing allowance.

Calculate your housing allowance (Norwegian only)

You can learn more about how housing allowance is calculated here.

It is easiest to apply electronically. Log in using BankID or some other form of electronic ID.

Apply for housing allowance

How to obtain an electronic ID (difi.no)

You must submit a paper application if

  • it is impossible for you to apply electronically.
  • you live in private shared housing. In that case you must also complete a separate form for shared housing. See below.
  • you pay tax on a child’s wealth and want a deduction for this. In that case you must also complete a separate form. See below.
  • someone is registered as living at the application address in the National Population Register, but doesn’t actually live there. This may apply to students who live where they study or other people who have not notified the National Population Register that they have moved. In your application, you must state who has moved out and why they haven’t notified the National Population Register. 

Application form for housing allowance – bokmål (PDF)
Application form for housing allowance – nynorsk (PDF)

Application form for shared housing – bokmål (PDF)
Application form for shared housing – nynorsk (PDF)

Form for children’s wealth – bokmål (PDF)
Form for children’s wealth – nynorsk (PDF)

You cannot submit your application by e-mail. You must print it and send a paper copy to your municipality. Many municipalities use secure digital messages. Check on your local municipality’s website whether it offers this service.

  • Your income is too high
  • You haven’t notified the National Population Register that you have moved
  • Your application is missing documentation or other information
  • You or other members of your household are not entitled to support
  • Your home does not satisfy the requirements

The municipality receives your application

If you have applied electronically, the municipality can access the application through the Housing Bank’s housing allowance platform. The municipality will then check the information that you have provided and that you have enclosed the necessary documentation. If you submit a paper application, the person responsible at the municipality uploads your application to our platform. 

The Housing Bank obtains information about you from public records

Each month the Housing Bank decides how much housing allowance you should receive. Before doing so, we obtain information from sources including the National Population Register, NAV, the Norwegian Tax Administration and the State Educational Loan Fund. You can read more about what information we obtain and how we process your personal data here.

Your application is processed – you receive a response

On the 20th of the month after you apply, you will receive a response to your application and, if it is accepted, payment of your housing allowance. If the 20th falls on a weekend or public holiday, you will receive your housing allowance on the previous Friday. 

If your application is successful, you don’t need to apply again

We automatically renew successful applications. The amount of housing allowance you receive each month depends on your income in the application month. If your income varies, your housing allowance will also vary. 

Your housing allowance may be recalculated

If your employer, NAV or other sources correct the income that they have reported to the Norwegian Tax Administration for one or more months, we automatically recalculate your housing allowance for those months. We pay you in arrears if you have received too little, and we ask you to repay us if you have received too much. 

You have a duty to report any changes

You have a duty to look carefully at the decision taken in your case and to report if there are any changes that would affect the calculation of your housing allowance. 

A reassessment is performed each year

When your tax assessment notice for the current year is ready, a reassessment is carried out. If the figures for income from self-employment, income from capital, foreign income or wealth used to calculate your housing allowance are different from the ones in the tax assessment, we recalculate your housing allowance. We pay you in arrears if you have received too little, and we ask you to repay us if you have received too much.

 
Calculate your hosing allowance
Apply for housing allowance

If you receive housing allowance, you must report changes in your circumstances

You must tell us if there are any changes to the information that you have provided in your application. If you move, you must submit a new application.

You must tell us about the following things: 

  • If someone moves out of or into your home
  • Changes in income from self-employment, income from capital or foreign income
  • Changes in your net wealth
  • Changes in your housing expenses
  • If someone in your household becomes a student
  • If someone in your household starts or completes their initial military service
  • Changes to your bank account number

Read more about changes here

Reassessment of housing allowance

Once your tax assessment notice for 2020 is ready, we get information from the Norwegian Tax Administration about your true reportable income and net wealth. We will then check whether you received the right amount of housing allowance in 2020.

If you received too little housing allowance you will get an extra payment in arrears, and if you received too much you will have to repay some of it. We call this a reassessment.

It is therefore important for you to make sure that we have the right information, and for you to immediately report any changes in your circumstances. 

Frequently asked questions

To calculate your housing allowance, we use your actual income in the month for which you are applying. Each month we ask the Norwegian Tax Administration for the gross monthly income of all household members over the age of 18. This is the income that employers, NAV and other sources have reported paying you during the application month. We look at gross income, in other words income before tax. 

Payments in arrears also count as income in the month you receive them; it doesn’t matter when you earned them. There is an exception to this rule for payments in arrears of sick pay and unemployment benefit due to the coronavirus epidemic. These payments are not counted as income. 

If you receive any income from self-employment, income from capital or foreign income during the current year, this income is split over 12 months and added to your monthly income. 

If your net wealth exceeds a specified threshold, 65 percent of the remaining wealth is added to your income as a wealth adjustment. The wealth adjustment is split over 12 months and added to your monthly income. In 2020, the threshold if you live in rental property is NOK 271,049. If you live in your own home, the threshold is the tax value of your home, up to a maximum of NOK 569,202.

The following are not considered income

  •  child support payments
  • child benefits
  • cash-for-care benefits
  • income and wealth of children under the age of 18
  • lump-sum grants for maternity or adoption
  • child care benefit for working single parents
  • basic benefit and attendance benefit
  • social assistance
  • taxes
 

Tenant in a rental property

  • rent

Owner occupier with shared costs – housing cooperative/jointly-owned property/housing company

  • shared costs
  • mortgage repayments on your home

Owner occupier without any shared costs – house

  • mortgage repayments on your home
  • municipal taxes
  • ground rent
  • property taxes
  • set amount for upkeep

If you are receiving a retirement pension, disability pension or survivor’s pension, NOK 6,336 per year is added if heating is not included in the rent/shared costs. 

There is a ceiling on the housing expenses that can be included in the calculation. If your housing expenses are very high, we use the ceiling in our calculation.

 
If you need help with applying, you must contact the municipality where you live. You can find their contact details by logging into Min bostøtte (“My housing allowance”). You can also find information on the municipality’s website.

If you apply for financial assistance from NAV to cover you housing expenses, the municipality will normally require you to apply for housing allowance as well. If you are entitled to housing allowance, the municipality will deduct it when calculating your financial assistance. The municipality can also pay you the full financial assistance, and get the housing allowance paid to the municipality.

Note that even if the housing allowance is paid to the municipality, you are responsible for ensuring that we have the right information.

You may be entitled to housing allowance in months when your income is low. If your application is rejected one month because your income is too high, your application will automatically be renewed the next month. A new decision will be made each month. If you are rejected three months in a row, you must reapply.
It may be difficult to estimate your income from self-employment for 2020, but you must try to do so based on what you have earned so far and your current monthly income. Note that if your income from self-employment turns out to be higher than your estimate, you may have to pay back some of the housing allowance you receive in 2020.

Also remember to inform us immediately if your income rises.
 
Unemployment benefit and work assessment allowance (AAP) is paid every 14 days. In some months, you will therefore receive three payments. In those months you may not receive any housing allowance because your income is too high. Your application will then automatically be renewed the following month.