What does it cost to look? Nothing
Searching the registration system has been free since 1 July 2013. Before that date, a single lookup typically cost between 30 and 120 kr, and that was enough to put most people off. Today you type an address into tinglysning.dk and you're in.
There's still a paid version: an official, certified land registry extract (tingbogsattest) from the Land Registration Court costs 175 kr and comes with the court's certification. The printout you pull yourself for free contains the same information, just without the certification.
My view, after looking up a great many properties: for a buyer who wants to understand a home, the free printout is more than enough. The 175 kr is relevant when a document has to be used formally, not when you're forming a picture before a viewing.
Why can't you see what he owes?
Because the land register isn't a bank statement. It's a register of what's been registered against the property, and a loan is registered once, at the amount it had on that day.
That means you see two things: which mortgage charges sit against the property, and when they were registered. You don't see how much has been paid off since. There's no outstanding balance shown anywhere, and no button that reveals it.
An example of how big the difference can be. Two houses on the same street both have a registered charge of 2,000,000 kr. On one, the charge was registered fourteen years ago and has been paid down ever since. On the other, it was registered last year as part of a refinancing. The same figure on screen, two completely different financial pictures. The register doesn't distinguish between them, and it can't.
This is the part I see misunderstood most often. People walk away from the screen feeling like they know their neighbour's finances, and what they've actually seen is one figure from one date. The amount is a ceiling that was registered at some point. Not a balance.
So can you at least see who owns the house?
Yes. It's listed under title, that is, who the property is registered to. Previous sales also appear, with prices and dates, which is often more informative than the charge, because it shows what the house has actually sold for over time.
Some of the more detailed information, including scanned documents and the full easement texts, requires login with MitID. The lookup itself doesn't.
The land register is only one of the registers
The registration system consists of several registers, and they get mixed up all the time.
| Register | What it contains | Relevant to you if |
|---|---|---|
| Land register (tingbogen) | Real property: title, charges, easements | You're buying a house, terraced house or flat |
| Co-op register (andelsboligbogen) | Charges against shares in housing co-operatives | You're buying a housing co-operative share |
| Personal register (personbogen) | Matters tied to individuals, for example prenuptial agreements and charges against movable property | Rarely relevant in an ordinary home purchase |
| Vehicle register (bilbogen) | Charges against vehicles | Not relevant when buying a home |
The distinction that most often costs people time: if you're buying a housing co-operative share, the share itself doesn't appear in the land register. The association's property does, but your share is a separate thing, and charges against the share are registered in the co-op register. Look up the address and find a large charge, and it's the association's property you're looking at, not the flat you're considering. What you should be looking at instead for a co-op purchase is covered in the guide to housing co-operatives, technical price and joint debt.
What in the register can actually cost you money
Here we flip it around. Your neighbour's charge is entertainment. The easements on the home you're bidding on are a bill.
The difference is what comes with the house to you:
- Mortgage charges normally don't come with it. In an ordinary sale, the seller's loan is redeemed and cancelled as part of the transaction, and you register your own. The seller's debt doesn't become yours.
- Easements come with it. They're registered against the property, not the person, and they also apply to the next owner. That's you.
An easement might be a right of way for the neighbour across your driveway, a utility line in the ground that a supply company has the right to access, a building line restricting where and how high you can build, or a right of first refusal. None of these show up at the viewing. They sit in the land register, in the section fewest people open, because they were too busy looking at the charge instead.
The point: the figure everyone hunts for in the land register is the one that matters least to them. What ties you down for twenty years sits in the section below it.
How to use the land register before you bid
- Look up the address before the viewing, not after. It takes a minute, and it changes which questions you ask while standing in the house.
- Read the easements section first. It's the only part that still applies once the deal is done.
- Look at the sales history. Previous prices and dates tell you whether the home has changed hands often, and what it last sold for.
- Don't use the charge amount to guess at the seller's situation. You know neither the outstanding balance nor the repayment profile, and a wrong guess is a poor starting point for a negotiation.
- Hold the register up against the BBR register and the sales particulars. If there are buildings in the photos that don't appear in the registers, that's an open question for the agent. Same method as in the review of the electrical installation report.
- Ask the agent specifically about the easements. Not "is there anything registered", but "which easements are there, and what do they mean for what I'm allowed to build here".
In short
Never ask only "what do they owe on the house". That figure doesn't exist in the land register, and it isn't what you need anyway. Ask "what's registered against the property that still applies once I've taken over".
Frequently asked questions
Can you see who owns a house?
Yes. The land register (tingbogen) shows the title, that is, who the property is registered to. The lookup itself on tinglysning.dk is free, and a good deal of the information doesn't require login.
Can you see what your neighbour owes on his house?
No. The land register shows the registered mortgage charges, that is, which loans are registered and for what amount. It doesn't show how much has been paid off since. The outstanding balance doesn't appear in the register.
Is it free to look something up in the land register?
Yes. Searching the registration system has been free since 1 July 2013. Before that, a single lookup typically cost between 30 and 120 kr.
What does a land registry certificate cost?
An official, certified land registry extract (tingbogsattest) from the Land Registration Court costs 175 kr. The unofficial printout you pull yourself on tinglysning.dk is free and contains the same information, just without the court's certification.
Where can you see which loans are registered against a property?
In the charges section of the land register on tinglysning.dk. It lists the registered mortgage charges with the amount and the date they were registered. The amount is what was registered back then, not what's owed today.
Does the seller's loan come with the property when I buy?
Normally not. In an ordinary sale, the seller's loan is redeemed and cancelled as part of the transaction, and you register your own. Easements are a different matter: they're registered against the property and pass to you as the new owner.
What's the difference between the land register, the co-op register and the personal register?
The land register (tingbogen) covers real property. The co-op register (andelsboligbogen) covers charges against shares in housing co-operatives. The personal register (personbogen) covers matters tied to individuals, for example prenuptial agreements and charges against movable property. If you buy a co-op flat, the share itself therefore doesn't appear in the land register.
Is the public property valuation public?
Yes. Public property valuations are publicly available and can be found via vurderingsportalen.dk. Previous sale prices also appear in the land register.
Do you need MitID to look up a property?
Not for the standard lookup. Some of the more detailed information, including scanned documents and full easement texts, requires login with MitID.
This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. Rules and practice can change, and your case may differ from the typical one. If in doubt about your own situation, ask a lawyer or a building professional before acting.
