A tilstandsrapport is a building surveyor's written assessment of a property, produced as part of Denmark's home-inspection scheme. It describes the building's visible damage using the colour codes RED, YELLOW, GREY and BLACK, enables the seller to take out change-of-ownership insurance, and is normally valid for six months from registration.
What do the colours RED, YELLOW, GREY and BLACK mean?
Since 1 October 2020 the building surveyor marks damage with colours instead of the old K-numbers. The colour tells you how urgent the damage is, and whether you should act before bidding or can afford to wait.
RED, critical damage. Damage that has already caused, or will very soon cause, the building component to fail. Consequential damage is likely.
YELLOW, serious damage. The component will fail in the longer term. YELLOW sounds milder than RED, but the bill can be the same, just later.
GREY, minor damage. Doesn't noticeably affect the component's function.
BLACK, possible damage. Issues that should be investigated further. In practice: "we couldn't see it properly". This is often where the surprises hide.
What do K1, K2, K3 and UN mean in a tilstandsrapport?
Reports from before 1 October 2020 use the old scale, K0 to K3, where K3 is the most serious, plus UN for issues that should be investigated further. The scale still turns up in older listings and old reports, so it's worth knowing how to translate it into the current colours.
| Old code | New colour | Meaning | When to act |
|---|---|---|---|
| K0 | no colour | Cosmetic issues with no effect on function | Not relevant |
| K1 | GREY | Minor damage, doesn't noticeably affect function | Not urgent |
| K2 | YELLOW | Serious damage, function fails in the longer term | Roughly 2-10 years |
| K3 | RED | Critical damage, function has already or will soon fail | Now or within roughly 2 years |
| UN | BLACK | Not investigated or assessed, condition is unknown | Clarify before bidding |
In other words: K3 and RED describe the same severity level. The 2020 change was about readability, not about what's actually being measured.
How long is a tilstandsrapport valid?
A detail many people only discover too late, usually at the point of signing. The tilstandsrapport is valid for six months, and the electrical installation report for twelve. The clock doesn't start on the inspection date, but from the point the building surveyor registers the report in the official database.
| Document | Validity |
|---|---|
| Tilstandsrapport | 6 months from registration |
| Electrical installation report | 12 months from registration |
The report must be valid at the point you, as the buyer, receive the documents, not on the viewing day and not at move-in. If a property has been listed for a long time, check the date. A report nearing expiry can usually be renewed more cheaply than a fresh inspection, because the surveyor only does a short revisit. Once it has expired, the whole inspection has to be redone, and who pays for that typically becomes a point of negotiation.
What mistakes do most people make reading a tilstandsrapport?
- "No red markings means a fine house". Ten YELLOWs can together cost more than one RED. Read the descriptions, not just the colours.
- "BLACK is probably nothing". BLACK means "should be investigated", in other words an unknown bill. Get it investigated, or price the risk into your offer.
- "The report covers the whole house". It doesn't. See the next section.
What does a tilstandsrapport not cover?
- The sewer and pipes in the ground. Rats, cracked clay pipes and old wells sit outside the report. That requires a CCTV inspection.
- The legality of the electrical installations. That's the electrical installation report's domain, a separate document you should also read.
- Whether appliances, the boiler and heating actually work as such. The report assesses building components, not appliances.
- Aesthetics and indoor comfort, draughts, noise, smells.
- The finances: whether the running costs are realistic, the association's loans, upcoming costs. None of that is here.
Why did our test analysis find nothing conclusive about the roof?
In a test analysis we did before launch, we reviewed a property with an ordinary pitched roof, but with sloped ceilings and no loft space. There was no way in to the construction, and nobody was going to tear anything down to look. The report's conclusion was therefore that the roof's condition was, in effect, not assessed.
Things got more interesting once we went through the rest of the documents. There were earlier mentions of roof leaks and of something having been replaced. The listing photos showed patches of newer slate tiles among the old ones. A partial replacement had clearly already been done.
None of the three signals means much on its own. Together, they add up to one concrete question for the seller: when, exactly what, and who did the work. If the old roofing was asbestos cement, that question gets sharper still, because a poorly executed partial replacement of asbestos panels can release fibres, and that deserves a documented answer, not a guess.
→ Read more: Asbestos roofs: when are they a problem?
Anonymised test analysis. Identifying details and some figures have been changed. Not a client case.
What do you do if there is no tilstandsrapport at all?
In another test analysis from the same period, the electrical installation report was missing entirely, and the tilstandsrapport itself contained so many unresolved points that drawing a conclusion was nearly impossible. At the same time, the photos showed old sockets, the documents mentioned earlier electrical work, and there had even been an insurance claim connected to electrics in the property.
The instinctive reaction is often that the seller skipped the report because they know about the problems and are counting on an uncritical buyer. Legally, the picture is more nuanced. Getting a tilstandsrapport or electrical installation report made is not a legal requirement. But without a tilstandsrapport, change-of-ownership insurance can't be taken out, and without that insurance the seller cannot be released from liability for hidden defects.
That means a seller without a report doesn't get off easier, the liability simply stays with the seller instead. For you as a buyer, that changes the picture in a few ways: a missing report isn't automatically a trap, it's a different distribution of risk. But you're left without the document that would otherwise point to where to look. That's usually why the purchase agreement directly recommends ordering your own technical inspection. You can choose to skip it, but the consequences if defects turn up later will be yours.
The point: a missing report means neither "walk away" nor "totally normal". It means "calculate differently": budget for your own inspection, and remember that the seller's liability here is broader than usual.
Anonymised test analysis. Identifying details and some figures have been changed. Not a client case.
Why do Danes talk about "buying the cat in the bag"?
In Danish it's said plainly, "at købe katten i sækken", to buy the cat in the sack: to be cheated in a deal because you trusted too much or never got to inspect the goods properly. The point of the tilstandsrapport isn't that a property has to be flawless. A property with known problems at an honest price is a perfectly normal deal. A property with unknown problems at the price of a flawless one is not.
What should you check before you bid?
- The registration date. If it's over six months old, the report will need renewing before signing.
- All the descriptions, not just the summary. The details reveal the scope of the damage.
- A separate list of YELLOW and BLACK items. Get contractor quotes on the biggest ones before you bid.
- Which specific items are marked BLACK. Roof, foundation and damp weigh more heavily than cosmetics.
- Cross-check with the electrical installation report and the energy label. The three documents together give the full picture, each on its own doesn't.
- Listing photos against the report text. Patches on the roof, old sockets, fresh paint in one spot.
In short
Don't just ask "are there any red markings". Ask "what wasn't inspected, what will it cost to fix the yellow items, and is the report still valid on the day we sign".
Check this before you order a tilstandsrapport
0 of 9 checked
Not legal advice. Use the list as a reminder, not a guarantee.
Frequently asked questions about the tilstandsrapport
What does K3 mean in a tilstandsrapport?
A critical defect: the building component's function has already failed, or will fail very soon. In reports issued after 1 October 2020 this corresponds to the colour red.
What do the colours in the tilstandsrapport mean?
Red means critical damage, yellow means serious damage, grey means minor damage, and black means the condition requires a separate investigation.
What's the difference between K1, K2, K3 and the colours?
There is no real difference. The colours replaced the letters on 1 October 2020: grey corresponds to K1, yellow to K2, red to K3, and black to UN.
What does a black marking mean?
That the building surveyor could not assess that part of the property. It doesn't mean "everything is fine", it means "unknown".
How long is a tilstandsrapport valid?
Six months from the point the report is registered in the official database. It must be valid when the buyer receives the documents.
Is a house with no red markings always fine?
No. The absence of red markings can mean either good condition, or that the problem areas were simply not accessible for inspection.
Is the seller required to get a tilstandsrapport made?
No, it is not a legal requirement. But without it, change-of-ownership insurance can't be taken out, and then the seller is not released from liability for defects.
What do I do if there is no tilstandsrapport at all?
You order your own technical inspection, or price the unknown into your offer. The seller's liability remains broader in this situation.
Does the report state the cost of repairs?
No. The report establishes the condition but does not assess repair costs. That requires a quote from a contractor.
What if the roof was not assessed?
This often happens with constructions with no access to the attic. In that case, look at other sources: renovation history in the documents and what can be seen in the photos.
