Boligstøtte (Housing Benefits) – Are You Eligible?

Most expats in Denmark assume boligstøtte doesn’t apply to them. Wrong nationality, wrong visa, haven’t been here long enough. None of that matters. If you’re renting and meet three basic conditions, you can apply, and the benefit is tax-free.

Here’s what the system actually is: boligstøtte is a means-tested monthly subsidy toward your rent, administered by Udbetaling Danmark. The less you earn, the more you get. It’s not automatic. You have to apply for it. And a lot of people who qualify never do.

Boligsikring vs. Boligydelse: Which One Applies to You?

There are two versions of boligstøtte. For almost every working expat, only one of them matters.

Boligsikring is for non-pensioners. If you’re an employee, student, on dagpenge, or on any other benefit that isn’t old-age or disability pension, this is your version. It’s calculated at 60% of your eligible rent, minus a contribution you’re expected to make based on your income.

Boligydelse is for folkepensionists and førtidspensionists on the old scheme (awarded before 2003). It’s calculated differently and can run higher, but has stricter income requirements. This article focuses on boligsikring.

The Basic Eligibility Rules

Four conditions. All four have to be met.

How Much Can You Get?

The honest answer is: it depends, and the only way to know your number is to run it through the calculator on borger.dk with your actual figures.

What the calculation weighs: your rent (excluding utilities), the size of your apartment in square metres, your household income, and how many adults and children live with you.

The annual cap on boligsikring is DKK 50,412. Payments below DKK 3,696 per year are not issued. Somewhere between those two numbers is where most eligible renters land.

Apartment size is factored in through a straightforward reduction: the baseline is 65 square metres for one person, plus 20 square metres for each additional person. Rent above that threshold is penalised proportionally. So if you’re living alone in a 90-square-metre flat, you’ll get less than someone in a 65-square-metre flat at the same rent.

Income for all adults in the household counts, including SU, dagpenge, and foreign income. Udbetaling Danmark pulls most of this directly from SKAT, so you don’t file it manually each month.

If your annual household income is above roughly DKK 170,300 (single person, no children, 2026), don’t assume you won’t qualify, run the calculator anyway. Children raise the threshold. Higher rent raises the benefit. The only way to know is to check.

Your Living Situation and What It Means for the Benefit

Only 1 person per household can receive boligstøtte. If you’re sharing with roommates or a partner, decide who applies. The benefit is calculated on the entire household’s income regardless.

Subletting works. You can receive boligsikring as a subtenant, provided the property has a self-contained kitchen and you’re registered in the folkeregister at the address. One catch: if your landlord is still registered at the same address and hasn’t officially moved out, their income gets folded into the calculation. That can significantly reduce or eliminate your benefit.

Renting out a room in your own apartment? You can still get boligsikring. The room’s square metres drop out of the calculation, and the rent you receive from your tenant is deducted from your eligible rent. The benefit goes down, but it doesn’t disappear.

Your parents bought an apartment and you’re paying them rent under a proper rental contract: you’re a tenant in the eyes of Udbetaling Danmark. You can apply.

How to Apply

Everything is done through borger.dk, logged in with MitID. You’ll need your rental contract (lejekontrakt) with the rent amount and apartment size, a list of who lives with you, and your income details (though Udbetaling Danmark pulls most of this from SKAT automatically).

Register your move with the folkeregister before you apply. Udbetaling Danmark won’t touch your application until your address is confirmed.

Timing matters. Apply within 30 days days of moving in and the benefit is backdated to your move-in date. Apply later and it starts from the 1st of the month after Udbetaling Danmark receives your application.

Processing takes up to 7 weeks (max) weeks. You’ll get a decision in your e-Bøks.

How Payment Works

The Monthly Recalculation and the Year-End Catch

Your benefit isn’t fixed. Udbetaling Danmark adjusts it each month as your income changes, but only when your income shifts by more than DKK 800 in a month and that shift would change your benefit by more than DKK 200.

Below those thresholds, the adjustment is deferred to an annual settlement. At year end, Udbetaling Danmark reconciles every small change and either pays you more or asks for money back. This is standard. Most people get a letter in the new year explaining the outcome.

One specific quirk to know: if you leave a job and your employer transfers your remaining holiday pay to FerieKonto, that transfer is reported to SKAT as income in that month — even though you haven’t received the cash. Your benefit can drop temporarily. When you eventually draw down the FerieKonto balance, it won’t count as income again.

What You Must Report

Failing to report changes that affect your benefit can result in an overpayment, which Udbetaling Danmark will recover — sometimes as a lump sum. The things you must report:

• Rent increases or decreases
• Someone moving in or out
• Changes to your assets
• Foreign income or self-employment income changes
• Getting a tenant in your apartment
• Moving out

Report through borger.dk. Communication from Udbetaling Danmark arrives in Danish via e-Bøks — if Danish isn’t your strong suit, flag it for a Danish-speaking colleague or friend. Udbetaling Danmark does have English-speaking staff you can call.

Pensioners and Special Circumstances

If you receive folkepension or førtidspension (old scheme, awarded before 2003), the relevant benefit is boligydelse rather than boligsikring. You can also receive boligydelse as a homeowner, though it’s structured as a loan registered on the property rather than a grant.

If you have severely reduced mobility and need a larger apartment to accommodate it, Udbetaling Danmark may approve a higher benefit that accounts for the extra square metres. Your municipality verifies the need.