Existing-home upgrade loan

• The borrower must be the registered property owner; not every personal co-borrower has to be an owner. Husbanken assesses your repayment ability, security and borrowing history. Individuals must afford a three-percentage-point rise in interest on all their debt and an interest rate of at least 7%. A cooperative's accounts, budget and valuation are assessed like those of other companies.
• Normally, improve the energy performance of the roof, or external walls including windows and doors, with associated windproofing. Add an upgraded common staircase or at least two of: a step-free access path; an improved entrance door or entrance area; a covered entrance with space for a pram; changes to the entrance-floor layout; threshold-free doorways; an accessible bathroom. For the combined route, each selected accessibility measure has its own conditions. The step-free path must run from parking to a well-lit entrance that is easy to find and usable by everyone, with contrast for wayfinding. An improved entrance door must be easy to open, contrasting and well lit, with a level area allowing a 1,500 mm turning circle outside the door swing. A covered entrance must leave space for a pram or wheelchair beside the door. Changes to the entrance floor must provide more necessary home functions there. The doorway option requires threshold-free 9 M doors to every necessary entrance-floor room: entrance/hall, living room, kitchen, at least one bathroom/toilet, at least one bedroom and the outdoor area. The bathroom option requires threshold-free access and a 9 M door, a spacious shower, room around the toilet and basin, and reinforced walls throughout the room and shower area for later fitting of grab rails, seats or armrests.

9 M identifies a door's module-width size. Measure the wall opening where the frame will fit. As an example, Swedoor's module-9 single-door table specifies an 825 mm door leaf, an 886 mm outer frame and a 910 mm wall opening. Use the dimensions for the selected door assembly when specifying the work.

• For upgraded parts, maximum U-values (a measure of heat passing through them) are 1.00 on average for windows and doors, 0.22 for external walls, 0.15 for roofs and 0.30 for masonry walls against the ground. The last requirement applies only when work is done on that wall, with at least half the insulation outside. Husbanken can waive simultaneous wall/window replacement where low overall environmental impact or substantial remaining service life is documented. It can allow different U-values where the combined heat-loss figure does not increase, excluding ventilation and air leakage; calculations must follow NS 3031 and cannot count future work.
• Document the accessibility changes against NS 11001-2, the Norwegian standard for accessible buildings, explaining deviations and showing the design before and after the work. For common staircases, the guide requires slip-resistant floors, steps supporting the whole foot, contrasting step edges, visual and tactile warning areas at the top and bottom, good lighting and handrails on both sides. Extension rooms must meet the standard, and new building parts must meet Husbanken's energy and environmental requirements.

Extensive accessibility work can qualify on its own through these alternatives:

• Install or upgrade a lift. The guide's new-lift route must give step-free access to every flat in the block.
• Create an accessible, visible entrance: a well-lit, step-free path from parking, an entrance easy to find with contrast markings, an automatic door opener and a level area allowing a 1,500 mm turning circle outside the door swing. Cover the entrance and leave space for a pram or wheelchair under the roof.
• Put the entrance, living room, kitchen, at least one bedroom, bathroom with toilet and washing-machine space on the entrance floor. Within the existing footprint, full compliance with NS 11001-2 is not required, but you must document that it was considered. New doors must meet the guide's 9 M size requirement and have no thresholds or bevelled thresholds. Extension rooms must meet the accessibility standard and new parts the energy requirements.
• Upgrade an entrance-floor bathroom with threshold-free access and a 9 M door, a spacious shower, room around the toilet and basin, and reinforced walls for later fitting of grab rails, seats or armrests.

Assess the whole building's upgrade needs; the work must not prevent later improvements. Ordinary maintenance or decorating alone is excluded, but can be part of a project where energy and accessibility improvements dominate the budget. Large, expensive projects, your own labour and refinancing are excluded. If the municipality classifies the work as major reconstruction, the new-build loan requirements apply instead. Husbanken can consider exceptions for heritage, difficult construction or terrain conditions; heritage work must follow the responsible authorities' recommendations.

Security is normally a mortgage over the property, but upgrade loans can sit behind an existing mortgage. Municipalities and counties receive loans against a debt instrument; municipal loans can be unsecured. The guide permits regional exceptions to loan-to-value limits where private banks rarely finance new housing because values are below construction costs.

For homes on leased land, the lease must be registered, comply with land-lease law and be approved by Husbanken. It must last at least the remaining loan term plus five years and prevent termination or other ending of the lease without Husbanken's consent.

Enterprises must be legally established and up to date with tax, VAT and employer contributions; the rule exempts individuals applying for one home, including one rental unit. Document a maximum of two subcontractor levels below the main construction contractor, unless Husbanken accepts more to secure necessary expertise and quality. Business borrowers must comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Husbanken can require additional security from borrowers other than individuals.

Status

Öppet löpande

Villkor för ansökningsomgången

• Loan decisions depend on available budget funds.[^c31]

Apply through Husbanken's digital loan application at husbanken.no and obtain the binding loan commitment before starting the upgrade. Businesses and public bodies must use the digital service; individuals can also submit the published paper forms. Show the whole upgrade plan, the energy performance before and after, ventilation arrangements and how the accessibility criteria will be met. The application asks for the relevant drawings, municipal permission, building description and contractor agreement, alongside financial documentation.

Start the work within six months after the loan is granted. For the household route, apply for payment after completion and municipal permission to use the building or a completion certificate. All borrowers sign the loan agreement; Husbanken pays after approving the documentation and may inspect the work first. You may use a private-bank construction loan during the work. Decisions depend on the available loan budget; a qualifying project is not guaranteed funding.