Am I entitled to housing allowance?
Housing allowance is a government grant for you who have a low income and high housing costs. The housing allowance is calculated every month on the basis of your income and housing costs.
You are not entitled to housing allowance if the income base in your household exceeds the upper income limit. This applies regardless of how high your property taxes are.
Find your income ceiling
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More about housing allowance
Yes, if you are
- over 18 and not doing your initial military service.
- under 18 and have children.
Are you or anyone else in your household a student/pupil?
In addition, your home must be approved for residential purposes and have
- its own entrance
- its own bathroom and toilet
- kitchen facilities
- somewhere for resting
What kind of housing can you get housing allowance for?
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.
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
You can learn more about how housing allowance is calculated here.
It is easiest to apply electronically. Then we collect some information from other public registers. You do not have to fill in all the information in the application yourself, and it will be easier for you to apply.
If you are unable to apply electronically, you may submit a paper application.
- 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.
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
Reassessment of housing allowance
Once your tax assessment notice for the previous year 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 the previous year.
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.
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 “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, 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.
Also remember to inform us immediately if your income rises.
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.