Loan for home upgrades

When upgrading your home, you may apply for a loan from the Housing Bank for measures that make your home both more energy efficient and easier to live in.

For example, you may be eligible for a loan if you upgrade:

• the external roof, including windproofing
• external walls, including windproofing, new windows and doors

In addition, you must either upgrade shared stairwells or carry out at least two of the following measures:

• Create step-free access to the entrance.
• Replace the entrance door or create a new entrance area, for example with space for a stroller or wheelchair.
• Change the layout of the main floor to improve accessibility.
• Make door openings threshold-free.
• Renovate the bathroom to make it more accessible.

You may also be eligible for a loan if you meet Enova’s requirements for comprehensive upgrades. All approved measures are listed in Chapter 2.5 of the guide.

Whether you can get a loan, and how much you can borrow, depends on your financial situation. You must have enough income to service the loan while still having money left for other expenses.

For upgrades, you may be eligible for a loan covering up to 100 per cent of the upgrade costs approved by the Housing Bank, provided that the loan does not exceed 90 per cent of the property’s value after the upgrade.

Try the loan calculator

Before applying, we recommend trying our loan calculator. It will show you how much you may be able to borrow. You will not know the exact amount until you have applied for a loan and we have processed your application.

Before the Housing Bank can provide a loan for home upgrades, you must assess the property's overall upgrade needs, for example through an energy assessment provided under Enova’s advisory services. This assessment should include, among other things, the choice of materials, energy calculations and ventilation solutions.

Where a project constitutes a major renovation, the same requirements for energy performance, environmental standards and accessibility apply as for new buildings under the Building Technical Regulations (TEK17). It is the municipality that determines whether an upgrade project qualifies as a major renovation.

A project automatically meets the Housing Bank’s energy requirements for upgrade loans if it satisfies Enova’s requirements for comprehensive upgrades at Level 3 or higher for owner-occupied homes. Further details on the requirements can be found in Chapter 2.5 of the guide.

Based on the information you provide in your application, you may be asked to upload documentation relating to your financial circumstances, such as savings and outstanding debt.

You will also need to upload the following documents:

• Planning permission or commencement approval from the municipality
• Elevation, section and floor plans
• Site plan
• Building specification
• Contract or agreement with the contractor
• Ground lease agreement (if the property is built on leasehold land)

The Housing Bank will only provide a loan if the upgrade work has not yet started. You must begin the work within six months of the loan being approved.

The loan cannot be used for refinancing.

We will assess your application as soon as possible. Processing times vary between three and six weeks, depending on the number of applications awaiting review.

If any documentation is missing, processing may take longer.

You can log in to submit additional documents, view documents you have already submitted, or notify us of any changes to your application.

If the Housing Bank approves your application, we will send a loan offer to your digital mailbox. The offer letter will also contain information about the next steps in the process, including signing requirements, deadlines and any additional documents we require from you.

As a condition of the loan offer, you must begin construction work within six months. During the construction period, you may use a construction loan from a private bank.

Once the project has been completed and the municipality has issued either an occupancy permit or a completion certificate, you may apply for the loan to be disbursed. The process is described in the loan offer letter.

After the Housing Bank has processed your request for disbursement, we will send you a promissory note/loan agreement, which must be signed by all borrowers.

The loan will be disbursed once the Housing Bank has received and approved all required documentation. The Housing Bank may carry out an inspection of the property before the funds are released.

If you would like to submit your application on paper, you can download and complete the application form and send it, together with the required supporting documents, to the Housing Bank.

You may submit the application through our digital submission service or send it by post to:

• Husbanken, Postboks 1404, 8002 Bodø

Download the application form

Loan application for private individuals – (PDF in Norwegian)

Download the supplementary form

Information about the building project – Bokmål (PDF in Norwegian)