Tenant Complaint Board (Beboerklagenævnet)

You must pay a fee in the amount of DKK 167 (2024) for the board’s review of a matter.

The fee is to be paid into this account:

• Registration number: 2211
• Account number: 3485942350

Please remember to state your name and address when making the payment.

This fee will not be refunded, even if you should be successful in this action, in whole or in part.

The fee is subject to adjustment every 1 January.

The Tenant Complaint Board reviews matters pertaining to:

• Maintenance and repair in connection with the vacation of a residence
• Repayment of deposit
• The state of repair of the dwelling when taking up residence and during the rental period
• Compliance with formal rules pertaining to the notice of rent increase
• The entitlement to perform installations and improvement pertaining to the tenancy
• Right of disposal
• Accounts of water, heating, and power expenses
• Payment for community antenna and access to telecommunication services
• The entitlement to sublet, continuation or switch of tenancy
• The lawfulness of decisions made by tenants’ participation bodies
• Allocation of residences under the social-housing scheme
• Breach of house rules (in general brought before the board by the landlord/housing association)

The Tenant Complaint Board cannot review matters pertaining to:

• Matters about commercial tenancies
• Disputes between resident and landlord/housing association in respect of private rental properties
• Matters concerning the termination of a tenancy
• Matters pertaining to the size of the rent
• Proportionate rent discount owing to deficiencies in respect of the residence
• Questions as to whether a decision made by the tenants’ participation bodies is expedient
• Matters concerning lost seniority

If the Tenant Complaint Board deems an actual submission of evidence to be necessary, the board can dismiss the case and refer it to the Housing Court (Boligretten).

Such evidence could for instance be the hearing of witnesses, expert appraisals, or the similar.

Cases that are not within the scope of the Tenant Complaint Board’s competence can, instead, be brought before the Housing Court.

In connection with the submission of a case or in your reply to the Tenant Complaint Board, you must send the following supplementary documentation and information.

Disagreement about utilities accounts

• Utilities accounts for the period in question
• Documentation that there has been consumption during the period, for example a copy of a bill from the utility company
• Consumption allocation account for the property
• Any statement from the meter company

Disagreement about the repayment of deposit or tenant's down payment, including disagreement about repairs upon moving

• Any move-in report and list of deficiencies
• Tenant's termination
• Information on when the tenant has handed over keys, and/or when the landlord has become aware of the tenant moving
• Invitation to move-out inspection
• Move-out report
• Price estimate
• Final move-out report
• Documentation of the condition of the tenancy upon moving out (for example, photo material from moving out)
• Documentation that the landlord has suffered a loss (invoice, offer or similar regarding repair costs)

House rules

• House rules of the property
• Warnings/reminders sent to the defendant
• Complaints received from other tenants
• Desired sanction

If in your capacity as a resident, you experience anyone in the property to be exhibiting unacceptable behaviour, you should contact your landlord/housing association.

The general rule in respect of violation of house rules is that it shall be your landlord’s responsibility to bring such cases before the Tenant Complaint Board.

For the board to review the case, the behaviour about which you complain must relate to either a resident, the resident’s household, or others to whom the resident has granted access to the property.

If this is the case, the Tenant Complaint Board may issue a warning to the resident in question or make the tenancy conditional (impose a legal consequence).

Violation of house rules

Violation of house rules may for instance be:

• Violence or threats of committing violence
• Behaviour that endangers others
• Harassment
• Inacceptable noise of substantial inconvenience to others or noisy behaviour in general
• Destruction of property
• Neglect of the rented residence
• When the resident’s pets constitute a source of inconvenience
• The resident’s keeping of pets, contrary to house rules

Four weeks’ notice to proceed with the case

The landlord/housing association shall have a four-week time limit to respond to a resident’s submission of a complaint concerning another resident.

If the landlord/housing association does not wish to proceed further, the resident may himself/herself bring the case before the Tenant Complaint Board. In such cases, the resident shall be able to document that he/she has contacted the landlord/housing association to no avail.

You cannot be anonymous

When you bring a case before the Tenant Complaint Board, you cannot be anonymous.

The resident about whom you bring a complaint will be presented with the complaint and thus be enabled to tell his/her side of the matter.

When the Tenant Complaint Board receives your case, the counterpart will have a two-week time limit to present his/her side of the matter.

The Tenant Complaint Board shall decide whether there is a need for further examination of the matter and may perhaps seek information from the parties to the case, public authorities, or private persons.

The board may moreover perform an inspection of the property or flat. In such cases, the resident and the landlord/housing association will be summoned for the inspection at no less than one week’s notice.

When the case has been satisfactorily examined, the board shall make its decision. This decision will be sent to the resident and the landlord/housing association together with their representatives, if relevant.

The average review time is approximately 3 months. However, this period may be shorter or longer, all depending on the nature of the case. Review periods for matters concerning house rules are typically short.

Both landlord/housing association and resident can make a complaint about board decisions.

If you wish to make a complaint concerning a decision, you must bring it before the Housing Court (Boligretten) within a period of four weeks.

Go to the website of the Housing Court (in Danish)

The Tenant Complaint Board is an impartial body that settles disputes between the landlord/housing association and the resident.

The board has one chair with legal background. The complaints board has two additional members, each representing the landlord/housing association and resident, respectively.

Matters concerning house rules will further be attended to by a social expert.

Members of the Tenant Complaint Board

Chair: Hans Henrik Edlund
Deputy: Michael Bech Jørgensen

Representative for landlords/housing associations: Steffen Espersen
Deputy: Mie Gyldendal Pinsker

Representative for residents: Annie Wittorff Villadsen
Deputy: Niels Danstrup

The Tenant Complaint Board is an impartial authority. Hence, the board is not in a position to offer either party actual help or guidance.

The Tenant Complaint Board solely provides guidance about:

• the type of cases you can bring before the board
• practical matters concerning the board’s case procedures
• information about concrete legislation

If you need additional help and guidance, you can contact a lawyer, a residents’ organization, or a housing association organization.

You can also contact Aarhus Legal Aid (Aarhus Retshjælp).