Building lease
Building lease is the lease of land for a building that the lessee has or will have on the land. The lessee can, under certain terms and conditions, demand an extension of the leasehold or purchase the leased land (or plot on the land), cf. The Act on Building Lease of 20th December 1996 No. 106 chapter VI.
The right of the lessee to invoke the right to purchase will vary depending on when the leasehold arrangement was entered into and the type of land/plot the lease/leasehold agreement applies to. For lease/leasehold agreements entered into after The Act on Building Lease came into force, there is, unless otherwise expressly agreed, a right of redemption sic: the right to purchase, only for plots leased out for domestic dwellings. Demands for extensions or invocations of redemption (purchase) rights must be lodged within certain stipulated deadlines.
On 01.01.07 the authority of The Ministry of Justice to rule on appeals against rulings by regional commissioners in the following cases concerning building lease was delegated to the Norwegian Civil Affairs Authority:
Cases that are dealt with pursuant to the Act on Building Lease of 20th December 1996 No. 106
The Norwegian Civil Affairs Authority have legal and judicial authority to award compensation for excusable failure to comply with the deadlines for demanding redemption or an extension of the lease/leasehold arrangement, cf. The Act on Building Lease of 20th December 1996 No 106 § 36 second part.
The Norwegian Civil Affairs Authority have legal and judicial authority to rule on what shall accompany a redemption of a single/separated plot leasehold and in areas where the land is leased as plots for leisure/holiday homes as part of a general (development) plan, cf. The Act on Building Lease of 20th December 1996 No. 106. § 37.
Cases to be dealt with pursuant to The Act on Building Lease as it was worded prior to the changes introduced in 2004
It will be necessary to deal with some cases for a certain period in accordance with the rules laid down in The Building Lease Act as it was worded prior to the changes that were introduced in 2004. It follows from the Regulations on intermediate rules on the introduction of laws of the law of 2nd July 2004 No. 63 that the changes to the Building Lease Act § 36 first and second parts shall apply if a demand for redemption or extension is lodged on the basis that the redemption deadline is within, or the lease period expires on, 01.01.06 or later. This means that applications put forward on the basis that the redemption period deadline is within, or the lease period expires before this point in time, shall be dealt with in accordance with The Building Lease Act as it was worded after the changes that were introduced in 2002. This nonetheless only applies to applications that were received by the Regional Commissioner after the Act came into force on 01.01.02. For applications received after that date, the applicable legislation is The Act on Building Lease of 30th May 1975 No. 20.