After purchase: insurance, defects, owning together and selling in Denmark
What to do in the first weeks, how to raise defects, how cohabiting partners protect themselves and when a gain on sale is tax-free.
Applies to: Denmark. Reviewed 2026-09-25.
Key takeaways
- The gain is tax-free under the owner-occupied home rule when it was your home and the plot is under 1,400 m².
- Cohabiting partners do not inherit from each other automatically. A will and a co-ownership agreement are common protections.
- Report defects to the insurer or the seller as soon as you find them.
The first weeks
- Check that insurance applies from handover day.
- Register the move and read the meters.
- Walk through the home and compare with the reports.
- Keep all documents, receipts and reports.
Owning together
Married couples have statutory inheritance and rules on dividing property. Cohabiting partners have no automatic inheritance, so many write an extended cohabitee's will and a co-ownership agreement setting out contributions, loans and what happens on separation.
Selling and tax
A gain on selling a home is tax-free under the owner-occupied home rule when it served as a home for you or your family during ownership and the plot is under 1,400 m². Other cases may be taxable.
- The seller commissions the condition report, electrical report and energy label.
- The agent's fee is negotiated and paid by the seller.
Questions to ask
- What does my change-of-ownership insurance cover and for how long?
Red flags
- You buy together without an agreement on how to split if you separate.
Sources
- Selling a house or flat (Skattestyrelsen)
- Using the home inspection scheme when buying and selling a house (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen)