Highest rents in Oslo

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The Rental market survey (RMS) 2017 shows that tenants living in Oslo pay the most for rented dwellings. Rents in Stavanger show a lower level than the centre of Bergen and Trondheim.

The RMS shows an increase in the rent levels for 16 of the 17 price zones in the country. Stavanger has been characterised by high rent levels, but has shown a decreasing trend since 2016.

Figure 1 shows rent levels for selected cities and districts in the country. Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen show higher rent levels for the most central area of the city.

Figure 1. Monthly rents for urban settlements, dwellings with two rooms. 2016 and 2017

2016 2017
Tromsø 9200 9700
Kristiansand 7700 7900
Stavanger 9500 8900
Trondheim - øvrige bydeler 9600 10000
Trondheim - Midtbyen, Østbyen og Nedre Elvehavn 10100 10500
Bergen - øvrige bydeler 9100 9400
Bergen - Bergenhus 10200 10500
Akershus - nærliggende Oslo kommuner 9700 10000
Oslo - Søndre Nordstrand, Grorud, Stovner og Alna 10300 10800
Oslo - Østensjø, Nordstrand og Bjerke 10400 10900
Oslo - Grunerløkka, Gamle Oslo, Sagene, Nordre Aker og Vestre Aker 11600 12100
Oslo - Sentrum, Frogner, Ullern og St.Hanshaugen 11800 12200

Short tenancies dominate

The RMS shows that most tenants have their tenancy regulated in a written contract. The contract can be based on an agreement for a fixed period or a periodic agreement. The RMS shows that fixed-term agreements are more common in Oslo, including Bærum, compared to the rest of the country.

The RMS also shows that 53 per cent of the tenancy agreements in the RMS started in 2016 or 2017. This needs to be seen in conjunction with the fact that a large share of tenants are below the age of 45 and may choose to buy a dwelling in the longer term.

The length of the tenancy has a considerable effect on rent. The average rent level for tenancies from 2017 and 2016 was 9 per cent higher than the average rent level between 2011 and 2015. This indicates that greater changes in rents are more likely to occur when establishing new tenancy contracts.

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