Checks on income

If your tax assessment notice shows that your income or wealth was different from the figure used by the Housing Bank to calculate your housing allowance that year, we will recalculate the housing allowance. You will be asked to repay us if you received too much, and we will pay you in arrears if you received too little.

If you received too much housing allowance the previous year, the Housing Bank will ask you to repay the excess amount. First you will receive a notification letter, so you have a chance to explain your point of view before we take a decision. If we don’t hear from you, we will send you a letter with our decision. 

If you think that we have used incorrect information about your income and wealth, you can provide us with new information. The deadline for providing new information is three weeks after receiving a notification or decision letter. If you want to do this, you must complete the form “Housing allowance – new information about income and wealth”.

Form: (in Norwegian only)

Housing allowance – new information about income and net wealth (PDF)

We don’t forgive debts on account of financial difficulties, but you can ask for a repayment plan that reflects your situation. You will receive more information about that in a letter from the Norwegian National Collection Agency.

You can read more about how the claim will be collected on the website of the Norwegian National Collection Agency. 

If you want to pay what you owe before it gets passed on to the Norwegian National Collection Agency, you can make a transfer to the Housing Bank’s bank account number 6345 05 03659. Remember to include your name and your reference number or national identity number. 

If the case has been passed on to the Norwegian National Collection Agency, you must make the payment to them. You can pay what you owe or split it into instalments by logging into their website. 

If you received too little housing allowance, you will be awarded a payment in arrears. The amount due will be paid to you as a lump sum. 

The housing allowance may be paid to the Housing Bank if you have previously been asked to repay some of your housing allowance after it has been recalculated. If you received financial support from your municipality, the housing allowance may be paid to the municipality. 
If you believe that our decision relating to payment in arrears is wrong, you can provide us with new information about your income and wealth. The deadline for providing information is three weeks after receiving a decision letter. If you want to do this, you must complete the form “Housing allowance – new information about income and wealth”.

Form (in Norwegian only):

Housing allowance – new information about income and net wealth (PDF)

 Frequently asked questions

In some cases, we can disregard the information that we have obtained from the Norwegian Tax Administration. Here are some common examples:

Income from self-employment:

Spread over the whole calendar year. If the business was established or closed down during the year, we can split your income from self-employment between the months that the business was active. For us to do that, you must document when in the year the business was established/closed down. You can find the relevant documentation at altinn.no. 

Net wealth:

If your wealth increased during the course of the year, we can disregard the wealth in the months that you didn’t have it. For us to do that, you must document when in the year your wealth increased and by how much. You can do this by sending us your bank statements or other relevant documentation. 

Tax value of your home:

If you have moved in the past few years, the wrong tax value may have been used for your home. We use the tax value of your home to determine the wealth threshold for your net wealth. 

Compensation payments:

If you received a compensation payment during the year, you must document when you received it and how much it was. You can do this by sending us a decision letter, bank statements or other relevant document.

Wealth of dependent children:

If your wealth is high because you pay tax on behalf of a child, you must document how much of your reported wealth belongs to the child. Documentation could include a tax assessment notice or bank statements. 

1. Notification – possible demand for repayment

Notification is sent to anyone who is facing a repayment demand for one or more months. You can present an objection/provide new information before we take a decision. There is a deadline of 3 weeks for providing any new information. New information must be sent to the Housing Bank in the post. 

2. Decision – demand for repayment

If you provide new information, the Housing Bank will review the case and send you its decision. If you don’t send us any new information, the decision will be taken automatically once the deadline for providing new information has passed. 

3. You can appeal against the decision

You have 3 weeks to appeal against the decision. You must send the appeal to the Housing Bank in the post. The Housing Bank will process your appeal and inform you of its decision. 

4. After the final decision, cases are transferred to the Norwegian National Collection Agency

Once the deadline for appealing has passed, the case is sent to the Norwegian National Collection Agency. They then collect the amount you owe on behalf of the Housing Bank. You will receive a letter from the agency once your case has been transferred. You can agree a repayment plan with the agency. 

5. Appealing to the Housing Bank’s appeals board

If you still believe that the Housing Bank’s decision is incorrect, you can ask for your appeal to be reviewed by the Housing Bank’s appeals board. There is a 3-week deadline for appealing the decision to the board. You must notify the Housing Bank of your intention. 

Before the case is passed on to the appeals board, you will be sent the Housing Bank’s assessment of the case. If you have any information or comments to add to our assessment, you can send them to the Housing Bank. The assessment with any annexes will then be sent to the appeals board. 

The appeals board’s decision is final and cannot be appealed further. Nevertheless, if you believe that the board’s decision is wrong, you may contact the Parliamentary Ombudsman. 

The Housing Bank obtains the latest available information about your income and wealth in past years from the Norwegian Tax Administration. We look at all taxable income.

  • We obtain information about monthly income from the State Register of Employers and Employees. The register covers income reported each month by employees, NAV and other sources.
  • Income from self-employment, income from capital, net wealth and the tax value of your home are taken from the tax assessment notice for the year being checked. In addition, we obtain your foreign income from either the tax assessment notice or what you entered in your application.

Find out more about qualifying income

Last update: 11.04.2022