Borettslag
Encyclopedia
Borettslag or BL is the legal entity for housing cooperative
s in Norway
. The company is owned by those who live in the cooperative, the partholders. Each part gives the right to live in the cooperative, and thus in a particular apartment or house. A partholder is free to sell their part, but the cooperative statute
can give internal first refusal. The borettslag owns the buildings and ground the buildings are on. The highest authority in the cooperative is the Annual general meeting
that elects the board of directors
, who are responsible for daily operations.
Usually a large share of the construction costs
of the property is finance through common debt
, that is issued to the cooperative, and not to the individuals. This debt, along with the costs to cover running the grounds, is charged to the owners as rent
. Some cooperatives are members of a housing association
, which again are members of the Norwegian Federation of Co-operative Housing Associations. Previously only housing associations could create cooperatives, but now this right is also granted to commercial developers, who often create smaller cooperatives.
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
s in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The company is owned by those who live in the cooperative, the partholders. Each part gives the right to live in the cooperative, and thus in a particular apartment or house. A partholder is free to sell their part, but the cooperative statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
can give internal first refusal. The borettslag owns the buildings and ground the buildings are on. The highest authority in the cooperative is the Annual general meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
that elects the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, who are responsible for daily operations.
Usually a large share of the construction costs
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
of the property is finance through common debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
, that is issued to the cooperative, and not to the individuals. This debt, along with the costs to cover running the grounds, is charged to the owners as rent
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
. Some cooperatives are members of a housing association
Housing association
Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...
, which again are members of the Norwegian Federation of Co-operative Housing Associations. Previously only housing associations could create cooperatives, but now this right is also granted to commercial developers, who often create smaller cooperatives.