Rented bedroom 2.6 square meters:

From street level the address looks good and cosy.

The apartment building with a charming brick facade is located opposite the Cathedral School in the center of Bergen, a few hundred meters from Bryggen.

Watching TV 2 helps you episode Muggent Rental Market On TV 2 Play as we uncover horrific living conditions in Bergen.

But behind the facade, some strange choices have been made in the apartment of 70 square meters on the second floor.

The apartment has a kitchen, bathroom, living room and three bedrooms.

One bedroom is literally ‘a bit of a room’. This room has an area of 2.6 square metres.

See the answer from the owner at the bottom of the case.

The room is 206.5 cm long and 126.5 cm wide, according to the Tenants Association of Norway, which has taken pictures of the house. Tipped TV 2 helps you.

Pay 5500 per month

A former tenant who spoke to TV 2, confirms that when she left the apartment in August 2021, the layout was identical to the photos in this case.

The smallest bedroom in Norway?: The room measured 206.5 cm long and 126.5 cm wide. Photo: Frank Uthaug / Leieboerforeningen i Norge

The woman, now 24, does not want to appear in the media, but says she paid 5,500 kroner a month for the tiny room.

She admits that it may seem “inconsiderate” that she voluntarily moved into such a small room.

At the same time, she lists a number of circumstances that came into play, including that she had difficulty finding a place to live.

They were three people who shared an apartment. The 18,800 rent should have been divided between them.

– It was a one-year hold period, so we didn’t get out of the contract, because no one wanted to sublet because of that room, says the 24-year-old.

– Does that mean you lived there for a year?

– Both yes and no. She only paid alone the year because no one wanted to take over, so she then moved to her room, but that was only accidental.

– I slept in that room for five or six months, but it was my room all the way and I paid for it.

The owner pays

The 24-year-old also reports a conflict with the owner over a “thermal break” in two windows.

The former tenant believes she has “nothing at fault” for the violations, and that it was unreasonable for her landlord to pay her NOK 6,800 for the damages.

The bedroom in Bergen: TV2 helps you interview a young woman who has slept in this room for about half a year. Photo: Frank Uthaug / Leieboerforeningen i Norge

Bedroom 1: One of the three bedrooms in the residence. This room is fitted with an elegant geometric solution by the window to make the bed fit. Photo: Frank Uthaug / Leieboerforeningen i Norge — The bedroom in Bergen: TV2 helps you interview a young woman who has slept in this room for about half a year. Photo: Frank Uthaug / Leieboerforeningen i Norge

There is a crack coming in the window due to shade from outside, or heat. This happened on two windows that were on the same wall.

The Bergen man who owns the apartment assures TV 2 helps that he rented the house in Finn, and that the 2.6 square meter room was rented as one of three bedrooms.

We have chosen to anonymize the owner.

The landlord does not agree with the tenant’s claim that thermal breakage in the windows has occurred due to fluctuations in temperature or shade.

“Things are stacked next to both windows which may have caused thermal refraction. We made the same mistake.”

After a series of questions from TV 2 help you, the owner still chose to pay 6800 kr to the lady who rented the small room. He says he’s paying to “end this case.”

I’ve never heard of such a small bedroom

Attorney Ola Fæhn has worked at Forbrukeradvokaten in housing disputes for more than 20 years.

Fæhn tells TV 2 he’s never heard of such a small bedroom.

– If it is rented as a full bedroom, I don’t think it meets the regulations. When advertising a house with such a small room, I mean that it cannot legally be marketed as a bedroom.

Housing expert: Adv. Ola von Forbrukeradvokaten. Photo: Moment Studio

– In my opinion, the municipality here must conclude that this small room does not meet the requirements for permanent residence.

However, there is no legal minimum space for bedrooms.

– In 1997, there were clear requirements that rooms for permanent residence should have a minimum requirement of 15 cubic meters. In 2010, this was changed to one recommendation About 7 square meters at least.

– Requirements have been changed to provide more flexibility, but that doesn’t mean there are no minimum requirements.

When a bedroom is as small as 2.6 square metres, I mean it is no longer suitable for the function of a bedroom, says Fæhn.

– We take note that the future rent of the apartment will not facilitate the use of the room as a bedroom, is the answer from the owner.

The apartment before resuscitation: Kong Oscars Gate 25 B, 2nd floor. The apartment is highlighted in gray. A light wall was later created in the area on the lower right, and in the upper left. The room is 2.6 square meters made in the upper left. Photo: Bergen municipality

“Design adapted to function”

TV 2 helps you submit photos of the bedroom in the Kong Oscars 25 B Gateway to the Planning and Building Agency in Bergen.

Communications advisor Maja Vedå responded that the agency had not received notification of potential illegal conditions on this property.

The bedrooms(s) must be of a design appropriate to their function and of sufficient size (see requirements in TEK 17, Chapter 12). The height of the room must be at least 2.40, according to Vedå standards.

The assessment should be based on a specific assessment of whether the room is suitable for a bedroom.

In any case, the old floor plans reveal that the house is another example of the so-called crossbreeding process.

By comparing the photos of the apartment in Norway with the tenants association with floor plans from 2006, it can be seen that the light walls were installed, which means that the apartment was changed from one bedroom to three bedrooms.

Foreign Minister: – He may be right for some

TV 2 helps you ask the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs if they think there should be a response from the municipality to the homeowner.

– The municipality is the building authority and should consider whether there is reason to proceed, answers Secretary of State Nancy Borsanger Ante (Sp) in an email.

Play the ball to the municipality: Nany Porsanger Anti (Sp) is the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Local Government and County. Pictured: Trond Isaksen

– Should there be a legal requirement for a minimum number of square meters in permanent residence rooms?

Not everyone has the same needs, and it is not the number of square meters alone that determines whether a room is good enough. The size of the individual room must be seen in relation to the rest of the house.

For some, a bedroom with the size of a bed may be appropriate because you have enough space in the other rooms. So the state doesn’t have to say you have to build bigger, writes Nancy Borsanger Antey.

However, she adds, “This is a bad bedroom.”