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Why renters in Norway should attend a house viewing when offered

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Why renters in Norway should attend a house viewing when offered
This is why renters in Norway should always attend a house viewing in Norway when offered the opportunity. Pictured is an apartment block in Norway. Photo by Marius Niveri on Unsplash

Going to house viewings is an important part of getting a feel for a property and picturing whether you could see yourself living there. However, if you decline a property viewing in Norway and then sign on the dotted line later, you could be forfeiting some of your rights.

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Viewings are a big part of the viewing process, but beyond getting your eyes on a place you want to call home in person, there is another important reason why you should go to a viewing.

If you are offered the chance to see the property and decline, you may be forfeiting some of your rights as a tenant.

"The most important thing is to go on tour. If you are offered a viewing, no matter what form it takes, you should say yes to it," Yngve Gran Andersen, a lawyer with the Tenants Association, told Norwegian newswire NTB.

The reason for this is while a landlord has a legal obligation to provide information about the property, there is also a responsibility for tenants to do due diligence.

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Essentially, this means that if you turn down a viewing, you may lose out on the right to ask the landlord to fix any problems you notice with the apartment at a later date, which you may have been able to notice during the viewing.

When one does find fault with the house, then it is imperative that you let your landlord know as soon as possible.

READ ALSO: What renters in Norway should know when they move homes

"Many people make mistakes in this. If something is wrong in the home, you must tell the homeowners within a reasonable time. Ideally, this will be within 14 days. But one should, in any case, report as soon as possible. If you report late, you lose your claim against the landlord," Gran Andersen said.

However, for buyers, there is less pressure to cross-examine the property when at a house viewing. This is because houses can no longer be sold "as is" in Norway.

Before this rule change, buyers could be left stuck with expensive repairs as the house was being sold in the condition it came with. Now, sellers need to be more rigorous when disclosing the condition of the house they are putting on the market.

This rule change, which came into effect at the beginning of the year, means that buyers are more protected against buying properties with issues that the seller didn't disclose by selling it "as is". Although this means house hunters will need to be more rigorous when reading about the home's condition.

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