The figures for 2022 will be updated at 08:00 am on 15 June. The numbers currently published are from the preliminary release on 15 March.
Statistikk innhold
Statistics on
Municipal housing
The statistics cover dwellings that the municipality has at its disposal for rental through a tenancy agreement, for example nursing and care dwellings, dwellings for refugees and dwellings for the financially disadvantaged. They also cover the municipalities’ use of temporary accommodation and night shelters.
Selected figures from these statistics
- Public housing. Figures for the country as a wholeDownload table as ...Public housing. Figures for the country as a whole
2023 2024 2025 Total number of municipal disposed dwellings (number) 115 583 117 598 116 819 Dwellings with municipal right of disposal, per 1000 inhabitants (number) 21 21 21 Share of municipal dwellings accessible for wheelchairs users (per cent) 46 46 47 Gross investment expenditures, public housing and related services, per capita ( 1 658 1 651 1 594 Wages per owned municipal dwelling (NOK) 13 388 14 063 14 749 Explanation of symbolsDownload table as ...
About the statistics
The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 7 September 2026.
A dwelling is one or more rooms built or converted for year-round residential use by one or more persons. There must be access to the room or rooms without having to pass through another dwelling. A dwelling may thus be a detached house, a terraced house, a flat in a semi-detached house, a flat in an apartment building, a flat in a block of flats or a bedsit flat. A bedsit in a private house is a dwelling provided it has its own entrance. In lodging houses or similar with several bedsits or bedrooms, each bedsit or bedroom is normally counted as a separate dwelling, even if the kitchen and bathroom are shared. Whether lodging houses, shared housing and similar are counted as one or several dwellings depends on whether a tenancy agreement is attached to each resident’s room, or whether one agreement applies to the whole house. If each resident in a lodging house, shared housing etc. has entered into a tenancy agreement, each bedsit or bedroom is counted as one dwelling.
A dwelling with municipal right of disposal is a dwelling the municipality has at its disposal for rental through a tenancy agreement, for example nursing and care dwellings, dwellings for refugees, dwellings for the financially disadvantaged etc. In addition, dwellings owned by the resident, where the municipality holds a clause on who may buy the dwelling upon resale, are included; these are counted under the tenure status privately owned with municipal right of disposal. Nursing homes and similar, where no tenancy agreement is concluded, are not included here.
Nursing and care dwellings are dwellings adapted for nursing and care purposes and financed with grants from the Norwegian State Housing Bank (start-up grants from 1994, later investment grants).
Tenure status describes the form of ownership the municipality has to the dwellings. Tenure status is divided into three subgroups:
Municipally owned for rental
defined as the municipality being both owner and landlord. Example: when the municipality owns and rents out a detached house or a dwelling in a housing cooperative. Dwellings owned by municipal enterprises are to be reported under “owned for rental”. For intermunicipal housing companies, the municipality reports its share of available dwellings under “owned for rental”. Dwellings owned by limited companies or foundations established by the municipality are counted as dwellings the municipality rents in for sublease.
Rented by the municipality for sublease
defined as dwellings where the municipality is the sublessor. Here the municipality is the main tenant and sublets to those who are allocated a dwelling. As mentioned, this also includes dwellings owned by limited companies or foundations established by the municipality, in addition to dwellings rented from private landlords.
Privately owned with municipal right of disposal
defined as a dwelling with a clause or agreement stating that the dwelling is at the municipality’s disposal, while the owner is the landlord. The municipality usually decides who is to rent the dwelling. Dwellings owned by private housing foundations or companies and at the municipality’s disposal are to be included. That the municipality has the dwelling at its disposal will often mean that the municipality makes the decision on and allocates the dwelling. We are aware that some municipalities are currently making changes in the organisation of ownership, operation and allocation authority for dwellings at their disposal, for example that private foundations also allocate dwellings, but in consultation with the municipality and within the framework of the municipal housing policy plan. If the municipality has dwellings at its disposal in this broad sense, but which cannot be categorised in the three forms of ownership in the questionnaire, the dwellings are to be included. Dwellings where the user owns the dwelling but the municipality decides who may buy it (this applies particularly to nursing and care dwellings) are also to be counted under privately owned with municipal right of disposal.
Dwellings accessible for wheelchair users
That a dwelling is accessible for wheelchair users means that wheelchair users can on their own reach the dwelling, enter the dwelling and have access to the necessary rooms inside the dwelling.
The number of let dwellings is the total number of tenancy agreements as of 31 December in municipally disposed dwellings.
The term “new” applications is used for applications for a municipal dwelling from households that are not already living in a municipal dwelling at the time of application. This is in contrast to applications to change municipal dwelling or to extend the tenancy agreement in the current municipal dwelling.
A household consists of the persons living in the same dwelling. A household may consist of one or more persons. The decision on and allocation of a municipal dwelling is normally given to the person in the household considered to be the main applicant, although the situation of the whole household is also taken into account in the allocation assessment.
The allocation of a dwelling means that the household has entered into a tenancy agreement or has moved into the dwelling.
Newly moved-in households are households that have been allocated a municipal dwelling and that did not live in a municipal dwelling at the time of application. This is in contrast to households that have moved to another municipal dwelling or that have had the tenancy agreement extended in their current municipal dwelling.
The number of households on the waiting list is the number of households that have received a positive decision on the allocation of a dwelling, but that are still waiting for an available dwelling at the end of the year. Households on the waiting list comprise only “new” households, that is, households that did not live in a municipal dwelling at the time of application.
Short-term contracts
Fixed-term tenancy agreements of one year or less.
Temporary accommodation and night shelters
This is accommodation where no tenancy agreement is concluded. Temporary accommodation comprises accommodation that can be used around the clock (for example boarding houses, hostels or camping cabins), as opposed to night shelters, where residents normally cannot stay during the day. Accommodation with a short-term contract and short-term stays in institutions are not counted as temporary accommodation. Figures are given for households in temporary accommodation during the reporting year, including households with stays of more than 3 months and households with stays of 14 days or less, households with children under 18 and households with young people aged 18-24, as well as households in night shelters.
More about the user groups:
Refugee:
A person is counted as a refugee for as long as the municipality receives integration grants for that person. The integration grant is received for 5 years after first settlement in the municipality.
Persons in need of an adapted dwelling:
For example elderly people, people with intellectual disabilities and people with physical disabilities.
Persons with mental illness
Persons with long-term mental illness, that is, persons with a diagnosis from a doctor or who have been in contact with the treatment system for two years or more.
Substance abuser
Persons who have been in contact with the treatment system for their substance abuse problem, or who have an acknowledged substance abuse problem that makes it difficult to establish or maintain a stable position in the ordinary housing market.
Persons who are both substance abusers and have mental illness
The group comprises persons who are both substance abusers and long-term psychiatric patients.
Persons with other problems
Persons with other problems that qualify for a means-tested dwelling.
Persons without means testing
Persons living in a municipally disposed dwelling where the allocation has not been subject to means testing. For example municipal employees who have been given a service dwelling.
Norway’s 357 municipalities (from 2024) are grouped into 17 KOSTRA groups by population and economic framework conditions; see the code lists for the KOSTRA municipality grouping in Statistics Norway’s classification database (Klass). The grouping is documented in Kringlebotten, M. and Langørgen, A. (2020): Gruppering av kommuner etter folkemengde og økonomiske rammebetingelser 2020. Rapporter 2020/48, Statistics Norway (available in Norwegian only). The grouping is updated approximately every five years, and changes in the municipal structure, most recently from 2024, are maintained through the code lists.
Number (dwellings, households, applications, rejections and contracts). For amounts: NOK 1000 for total and average amounts, and NOK for amounts per inhabitant and per household.
Name: Municipal housing
Topic: Construction, housing and property
Division for Health, Care and Social Statistics
The statistics are published at municipal level and for the city districts of Oslo. Key figures are also published for counties and for the whole country. Estimated national figures are published for most basic figures and key figures.
Frequency: Annual
Timeliness: The statistics have been published annually since 2001.
Preliminary figures are published on 15 March in the year after the reporting year, and final figures on 15 June in the year after the reporting year. The figures are published in KOSTRA: https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank/list/kombolig_kostra
Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.
Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.
The system for assuring the quality of Norwegian official statistics is based on quality requirements in the Statistics Act and in the European Statistics Code of Practice. The annual report on the quality of official statistics assesses compliance with the quality requirements for all official statistics as a whole.
The National programme for official statistics sets the framework for the areas Statistics Norway and other public authorities produce statistics on. The programme defines and outlines official statistics.
Further information about the system for quality in official statistics can be found at ssb.no.
The purpose of the statistics is to give the municipalities, central government and the public an overall picture of the municipalities’ housing instruments: how many dwellings the municipalities have at their disposal for rental, who applies for and is allocated a dwelling, which financial instruments are used, and how many households are provided with temporary accommodation. The data form part of KOSTRA and provide management information on the municipalities’ social housing efforts.
KOSTRA was started as a project in 1995 to coordinate and streamline reporting from the municipalities to central government and to provide relevant management information on municipal activities. All municipalities and county authorities were included from the reporting year 2001. Since 2001, Statistics Norway has collected data on municipal housing and housing instruments from all municipalities and from all city districts of Oslo. Previously, data on municipal housing allowance schemes were collected through the questionnaire “Recipients of financial assistance for housing expenses”.
The statistics are financed through the government assignment to Statistics Norway.
KOSTRA provides management information on municipalities and county authorities for the public and the media, the municipalities themselves, central government bodies and other key users. Key users of the municipal housing statistics are the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Norwegian State Housing Bank, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, and the municipalities and their organisations, such as the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and the National Association of Municipal Housing Administrations (KBL).
No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.
The statistics on Municipal housing are related to two other statistics. The statistics on Care services (Sjukeheimar, heimetenester og andre omsorgstenester) cover the care services linked to nursing and care dwellings. The statistics on Social assistance (Økonomisk sosialhjelp) cover the services provided by the NAV offices under the Social Services Act. The NAV office is responsible for providing temporary accommodation to those who cannot find it themselves (Section 27 of the Social Services Act), and stays may be financed through financial assistance. Households in temporary accommodation are reported in these statistics by the municipal housing administration, while the assistance financing such stays is included in the social assistance statistics. The two statistics thus describe the same field from different sides, and the figures cannot be compared directly.
The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).
Data are collected on behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development pursuant to the Local Government Act of 22 June 2018 No. 83, Section 16-1, cf. the Regulation of 18 October 2019 No. 1412 on reporting from municipalities and county authorities, and Section 10 (1) of the Statistics Act.
The statistics are part of the national programme for official statistics, main area Construction, housing and property, sub-area Housing and living conditions.
Annual series from 2015 onwards. Earlier years are available in discontinued tables in the Statbank, with varying starting years for the individual tables.
All municipalities report data, one form per municipality. Oslo submits one form per city district and one form for dwellings not belonging to any district.
All municipally disposed dwellings are to be reported: dwellings owned by the municipality, dwellings rented by the municipality and privately owned dwellings with municipal right of disposal. Information is given on the total number of municipally disposed dwellings and by tenure status, the number of let dwellings by tenure status, the number of municipally owned dwellings bought and sold during the year, and how many of the municipally disposed dwellings are accessible for wheelchair users.
Information is collected on the number of applications for a dwelling, of which the number of “new” applications, i.e. applications from households not living in a municipal dwelling at the time of application. Corresponding figures are given for rejected applications and rejected new applications.
The statistics give the number of households allocated a municipal dwelling in the statistical year, in total and of which the number of newly moved-in households, i.e. households not living in a municipal dwelling at the time of application. For the newly moved-in households, a distribution is given by the following user groups: refugees, persons in need of an adapted dwelling, persons with mental illness, substance abusers, persons who are both substance abusers and mentally ill, and persons with other problems qualifying for a means-tested dwelling. In addition, the number of newly moved-in households allocated a dwelling without means testing is given (see Definitions for the user groups).
Information is given on the number of households with a positive decision on a municipal dwelling that are waiting for the actual allocation of a specific dwelling. Only new households are counted, i.e. households on the waiting list that do not already live in a municipal dwelling. Households on the waiting list are distributed by the same user groups as above, except the group without means testing.
The statistics include information on the use of short-term contracts and on the extent of municipal financial housing assistance such as guarantees, loans, municipal housing allowance and subsidised rent.
Finally, information is collected on the number of households in temporary accommodation and in night shelters during the reporting year. For temporary accommodation, figures are given for households with stays of more than 3 months and households with stays of 14 days or less, for households with children under 18 (in total and with stays of more than 3 months) and for households with young people aged 18-24 (in total and with stays of more than 3 months). Households in night shelters are reported separately.
Link to the questionnaire completed by the municipalities: https://skjema.ssb.no/
Data are collected from the municipalities through KOSTRA form 13. The information is obtained from various municipal agencies, and the organisation of this varies between municipalities. Data on start-up loans and state housing allowance are obtained from the Norwegian State Housing Bank.
The statistics are a full census covering all municipalities and all city districts of Oslo, see Population. For non-response and the estimation of national figures, see Sources of error and uncertainty.
The statistics are mainly based on an annual dispatch of questionnaires to all municipalities and the city districts of Oslo. The questionnaires are returned electronically through KOSTRA. The reporting deadline is 15 February (25 February for data from the Norwegian State Housing Bank).
Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data. The controls are based on logical and validity controls built into the electronic questionnaires. On receipt, new data are compared with the previous year’s figures and various ratios; large deviations are checked and corrected as far as possible in consultation with the municipalities.
For municipalities that have not reported, national figures are estimated, see Sources of error and uncertainty.
Interviewers and everyone who works at Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality. Statistics Norway has its own data protection officer.
Statistics Norway does not publish figures where there is a risk of identifying individual data about persons or households.
The ‘suppression’ method is used in these statistics to ensure this: absolute figures at municipal and city district level are replaced by the symbol : when fewer than 4 units form the basis of the figure. This mainly applies to the variables on user groups, see Definitions.
More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.
The questionnaire was comprehensively revised from the reporting year 2010. Only a few variables are fully comparable with figures for 2009 and earlier years.
Due to a new estimation model introduced in 2018, national and regional figures for all variables deviate slightly from previously published tables. This is because municipalities that have not reported are estimated into the national and regional figures with a different model than before. All years in the current tables (from 2015 onwards) are calculated with the same method and are therefore comparable.
The questionnaire (form 13) was revised in 2010 to reduce measurement errors caused by different interpretations of the questions and by municipalities not recording the requested information during the processing of housing applications. There is still room for improvement in this area. Another source of measurement error is that the statistics require extensive cooperation between different municipal agencies and private actors in order to collect the data.
The non-response is normally around 3 per cent. Final national figures are therefore generally estimates based on data from the municipalities that have reported, grouped by population size.
A revision is a planned change to figures that have already been published, for example when releasing final figures as a follow-up to published preliminary figures. See also Statistics Norway’s principles for revisions.
Preliminary figures for these statistics are published on 15 March and final figures on 15 June. Before the publication on 15 June, the municipalities have had the opportunity to correct errors and omissions in their data, and Statistics Norway has carried out quality controls and editing of the data.
The statistics are reviewed annually by the KOSTRA working group on municipal housing, with participants from the ministry, directorates, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) and the municipalities. The working group reports its assessments to the KOSTRA Coordination Council.
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Relatert innhold
Analyses, articles and publications
Article / 17 March 2014KOSTRA - Key figures on municipal activitiesThe key figures in KOSTRA (Municipality-State-Reporting) provide information on most of the municipal and county municipal activities, including economy, schools, health, culture, the environment, social services, public housing, technical services and transport and communication.