New rules on acquisitions and short-term rentals in owner-section

New Owners Section Act came into force on January 1, 2018 and has importance for, among other things, builders and section owners when an owner-section joint venture shall be established and on subsequent operation of the condominium.

One of the changes is that the sectioning time has become moved from startup permission to frame permission. Furthermore, have The Storting looked at the provisions of the Act on restrictions in short-term rental and acquisition of housing sections. The background has been to prevent that professional players should be able to operate an apartment hotel for changing guests, by leasing a larger proportion of housing sections in individual condominiums.

Except for the prohibition that no one can own more than two sections in the same condominium existed in the former owner section act no explicit rules that restricted the ability to acquire more than two sections in a condominium and short term rental. This caused the ban to be bypassed in that buyers acquired more than two sections through family members and / or via several companies.

To limit development and prevent the co-owner from becoming an apartment hotel on April 10, 2019, new legislative amendments were adopted. These come into force 01.01.2020.

Short term rental, new § 24 seventh paragraphs

By short-term rental is meant rental for up to 30 consecutive day and night. Under the new legal provision, short-term rentals are for more than 90 days a year not allowed, unless otherwise provided in the statutes. initially and the limit can be reduced to 60 days or increased to 120, but such decisions requires at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast at the annual meeting.

Acquisition Limitation, new section 23 second paragraph

From January 1, 2020, the current restriction on buying or otherwise acquire more than two residential sections in a condominium in section 23 second paragraph be clarified to include indirect acquisitions. The ban is adopted in the statutory provision that the same applies “if an acquisition of a housing section or of shares or shares in a company causes more than two of the housing sections are owned by someone who is related to each other ».

Affiliation with each other, including the affiliation criterion, must is specified according to. definitions of the Companies Act in sections 1-3 and 1-5, so that a new owner becomes to identify with eg. a. their close associates and companies that are part of the same group.

Consequences

Any violation of the restriction on acquisition in section 23, second paragraph must be enforced by the board of the condominium. It is the board of the condominium that must follow up and
enforce any violations, and the board has been given a new legal basis in this regard § 38. In accordance with the new statutory provision, the board of directors may, without notice, order to sell a housing section that was acquired in contravention of the restriction on acquisition in section 23, however a petition for forced sale cannot be initiated until the minimum has gone 6 months.

In summary, the new legal rules provide good tools to prevent and reduce the use of residential property as an apartment hotel, but to what extent the statutory rules will change the home owner’s current character, will depend on the boards will and capacity.