How do you make an offer on a house in Denmark?
An offer is made in writing, with a purchase agreement (købsaftale). The offer must include:
- the price and what is included in the sale (kitchen appliances, solar panels, shed);
- the handover date (overtagelse);
- the acceptance deadline (acceptfrist): until what time and date the offer stands;
- conditions (forbehold): on which terms you can withdraw for free.
A verbal offer to the agent means nothing legally. But the agent passes the figure to the seller, and it becomes the starting point. So even verbally, do not name a price you are not ready to sign.
The draft purchase agreement is usually prepared by the seller's agent, and the terms are written from the seller's side: handover date, what is included, payment deadlines. The agent must be fair to both parties but works under a contract with the seller. Anything not written in stands as written. Read the contract with a lawyer before you sign, not after.
What conditions can you put in an offer?
| Condition | What it gives you | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Advokatforbehold (lawyer's approval) | Your lawyer can reject the deal without a reason, withdrawal is free | Always |
| Finansieringsforbehold (bank approval) | You can withdraw if the bank does not grant the loan | If you have no written loan approval |
| Inspection by your surveyor | Withdrawal or a new price if the surveyor finds something serious | Old house, "not inspected" areas, damp |
| Sewer TV inspection | Withdrawal or a discount if the pipes are damaged | House from before the 1980s, big trees near the pipes |
| Sale of your own home | Withdrawal if your home does not sell by a date | If the purchase depends on a sale |
| Ministry of Justice permission | Withdrawal if permission is refused | Buyer without bopæl (registered residence) in Denmark |
The advokatforbehold matters most: it is free and gives the lawyer a few working days to check (Dokument24). Without it, getting out costs 1% of the price.
A condition does not only protect you, it is also a bargaining chip. If your surveyor finds damp in the basement, you do not have to walk away; you can propose a new price. It is often better for the seller to accept a discount than to relist the house and explain the same damp to the next buyer.
Can you withdraw an offer on a house in Denmark?
Three situations:
- The seller has not signed yet. You can withdraw the offer. Do it in writing and quickly.
- The seller has signed, and there are conditions. If a condition is not met (the lawyer does not approve, the bank says no), you get out for free.
- The seller has signed, and there are no conditions. The right of withdrawal (fortrydelsesret) applies: 6 working days from the seller's signature. It costs 1% of the price, paid to the seller.
The 6 working days are counted from the day the seller signs the agreement, not you. If the seller signs on a Friday, the weekend does not count, but you have already spent time waiting for his signature. And if you signed "on impulse" at a Sunday viewing, your days start running as soon as the seller signs.
Calculator: until which date does the right of withdrawal run, and what does pulling out cost?
Right of withdrawal: until which date, and what does it cost to pull out?
Indicative: 6 working days, counting the day the seller signs, excluding weekends. Public holidays are not included. Your lawyer confirms the exact date.
How long does an offer on a house stand?
As long as you wrote. After the acceptance deadline the offer no longer binds you. Typical deadlines:
- a few hours: when there are other buyers and you want a fast answer;
- 1-3 days: the normal practice;
- longer: when the seller needs to talk to the bank or family.
If the seller replies with a counter-offer ("yes, but DKK 50,000 more"), your old offer lapses. Now you are the one deciding, and the seller sets your deadline. Do not rush: you have the right to say no again.
How far below the asking price can you offer?
There is no "insulting offer" in the law. There are offers without arguments, and the seller ignores them. What works:
- days on the market: in our data, all 10 houses that were for sale for over 6 months cut their price;
- similar sales nearby: real sale prices, not asking prices;
- repair prices from the reports: red items priced in two scenarios;
- contradictions in the documents: for example the seller writes "no" on asbestos while the report says "fibre cement, possibly with asbestos" (14 of 27 houses with asbestos in our data).
The average discount in Denmark is about 5.5% (Q4 2025). But the difference between "just below" and "below with a repair table" can be tens of thousands of kroner.
The strongest argument in a negotiation is often not a defect but a contradiction. "The bathroom is old" the seller treats as a matter of taste. "The seller's answers say there is no damp, but the surveyor gave a red item for damp in the bathroom" he treats as a risk that the next buyer will ask the same question.
Read more: How much discount can you get on a house →
When does an offer on a house become binding?
When both parties have signed the agreement and the condition deadlines have passed without objection. From that moment you pay the deposit (usually within a few working days, the deadline is in the contract), and the bank guarantees the rest.
What should you check before signing an offer?
- date of the tilstandsrapport: under 6 months old?
- "not inspected" areas: loft, basement, crawl space;
- red items: what they cost in the cheap and the expensive scenario;
- seller's answers: do they match the report?
- BBR: are all buildings on the plot registered?
- your property tax and owner costs (ejerudgift): not the seller's figure;
- the ejerskifteforsikring offer: what is excluded?
- bank approval: in writing, for this amount;
- advokatforbehold: written into the offer.
My view
I would never sign an offer without an advokatforbehold. It is free, and without it every mistake costs 1% of the price. The second rule: put the price in your offer with a repair table next to it. An agent easily brushes off "the house is expensive", but it is harder to answer "the roof costs DKK 400,000, here are DI's prices".
Yurii Khlivnenko, founder of NordIndsigt
On your own or with us?
You can prepare the offer yourself: the agent provides the draft contract and the lawyer adds the conditions. We add the experience of hundreds of sales, which shows which arguments agents take seriously and which go in one ear and out the other. And a cool head: when you like the house, you want to offer more so you "don't lose it", and when you do not, it is easy to offend the seller. With us you will have repair prices, similar sales and negotiation arguments within 24-48 hours, in your language.
In short
Before you sign, give yourself two answers: how do I get out if something goes wrong, and how do I justify my price?
Preparing an offer?
BoligCheck gives you negotiation arguments: repairs with prices, comparable sales and contradictions in the documents.
Order BoligCheck, DKK 299Frequently asked questions
How do you make an offer on a house in Denmark?
An offer is made in writing, with a purchase agreement (købsaftale). The offer must include:
What conditions can you put in an offer?
The advokatforbehold matters most: it is free and gives the lawyer a few working days to check (Dokument24). Without it, getting out costs 1% of the price.
Calculator: until which date does the right of withdrawal run, and what does pulling out cost?
Pulling out without a clause costs 1%: '+f(p*0.01)+'
How long does an offer on a house stand?
As long as you wrote. After the acceptance deadline the offer no longer binds you. Typical deadlines:
How far below the asking price can you offer?
There is no "insulting offer" in the law. There are offers without arguments, and the seller ignores them. What works:
When does an offer on a house become binding?
When both parties have signed the agreement and the condition deadlines have passed without objection. From that moment you pay the deposit (usually within a few working days, the deadline is in the contract), and the bank guarantees the rest.
