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Reuse radar

Oslo

The City of Oslo keeps a public list of its own empty buildings: in May 2026, 167 buildings on 85 properties, about 133,000 m², from cabins in the forest to a former veterinary college, a hospital clinic and nursing homes. More than half had stood empty for over five years when the City auditor looked in 2023, and the auditor found in 2026 that maintenance still lags. Buildings the City no longer needs are sold on the open market after a public bidding round — the route in for a co-op, at market price.
An empty building in Oslo with homes, balconies and neighbours drawn onto it in ink
Vacant office space7.8%of the office stock stands empty (the floor area is not published)
Empty buildings on record146109 confirmed
On the map1,472buildings and sites from 5 open sources
Homes potential—not in the economic model’s office data yet

Office figures: Entra consensus (brokers, banks and analysts), Q2 2026: office vacancy in Oslo incl. Lysaker/Fornebu expected to peak at 7.8% in 2026 and ease to 7.5% by 2028; the estimate was revised up for the third quarter running. Map built 2026-10-09.

Oslo city profileReuse atlas: all of Europe

A tour in 3D

6 empty buildings in Oslo, and what they could become

Buildings checked against today's sources and found empty — sites that could be well suited to the EHC model. A short film: how each one could come back to life, with what our conversion check and economic model say it could hold. A potential we spotted, not a plan.

Together, room for ≈ 306 homes for ≈ 675 people — a potential, not a plan.

  1. Ullevålsveien 68-72, Veterinærhøyskolen4,528 m² · ≈ 37 homes
  2. Hovinveien 4 Lille Tøyen Gamle Sykehjem3,960 m² · ≈ 37 homes
  3. Waldemar Thranes gate 703,500 m² · ≈ 28 homes
  4. Smedgata 30 - Villa Enerhaugen3,571 m² · ≈ 33 homes
  5. Myntgata 2 (Akershus festning area)Myntgata 2, 0151 Oslo · ≈ 112 homes
  6. Kingos gate 12-14 Ilahjemmet6,250 m² · ≈ 59 homes
  • activated ground floor
  • shared rooms
  • furnished mid-term flats
  • affordable long-term homes

The map

Every building a record says stands empty, one point per building: filter by type, size and how sure the evidence is, and open one to see who says so. “Opportunities” switches to the co-op lens: public land, conversion potential and projects already under way, every source as its own layer.

Private empty buildings: Norway has no vacancy register or empty-homes tax; Statistics Norway counts dwellings without registered residents only per municipality.

Loading map…

0 empty buildings · colour = type, dark ring = confirmed

Check any building in Oslo: could it become homes, and could the EHC model work there?

Named empty by owners and public records

3 buildings that the owner or a public register records as empty — whole buildings of at least 1,500 m² whose plans suit homes on paper (band A in our conversion check), not ruins and not let for interim use. Each row says who records it empty and when. We have not been to them, and a record can be out of date; those we have confirmed empty ourselves are marked as tour stops.

BuildingFloor areaRecorded empty byActions
Hovinveien 4 Lille Tøyen Gamle SykehjemOn the tourRoute in open
1920s protected former nursing home (3,960 m²) · Oslobygg KF
3,960 m²Vacant municipal buildings (City of Oslo list, May 2026)
Owner's list · Oslo kommune, Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (EBY) · 9 Oct 2026
Odvar Solbergs vei 83On the tour
1977 concrete building, once housing, then artists' studios · Kulturetaten (City of Oslo)
1,672 m²Vacant municipal buildings (City of Oslo list, May 2026)
Owner's list · Oslo kommune, Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (EBY) · 1 Jul 2025
Store Li gård (BRA kun for Våningshus) (building 3 of 4)
· Store Li gård (BRA kun for Våningshus) · Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (City of Oslo)
≈ 1,860 m²Vacant municipal buildings (City of Oslo list, May 2026)
Owner's list · Oslo kommune, Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (EBY) · 5 Feb 2025

Where to look first

Buildings with evidence that they stand empty — a second source agrees, a public record names them, or we have checked them — ranked by a score you can read: co-op scale, daylight depth, a station nearby, a zone that allows homes, affordable land and an open route in. Checked buildings carry their result; nobody has visited them on site yet. Leerstandsmelder reports join the list when they sit in a large non-residential building and a second source agrees.

PriorityBuildingFloor areaDepthStationConversion checkActions
81Brynshøgda 9 - 11 Bryn brannstasjonConfirmed empty by EHC
Public building named vacant · fire station (Brannstasjon)
1,751 m²14.6 m304 mA fit only
78Hovinveien 4 Lille Tøyen Gamle SykehjemConfirmed empty by EHC
Public building named vacant · nursing or care home (Sykehjem)
3,960 m²16.7 m249 mA fit only
78Smedgata 30 - Villa EnerhaugenConfirmed empty by EHCOnly as a partner
Public building named vacant · nursing or care home (Sykehjem)
3,571 m²17.4 m409 mA fit only
77Former Sogn upper-secondary school, Sognsveien 80 and 90Confirmed empty by EHCOnly as a partner
Public building named vacant · 1 other source nearby
22,102 m²21.6 m408 mA fit only
73Ilahjemmet (former nursing home), Kingos gate 12–14Confirmed empty by EHCOnly as a partner
Public building named vacant · 1 other source nearby
6,250 m²14.5 m1,658 mA fit only
73Ullevålsveien 68-72, VeterinærhøyskolenConfirmed empty by EHCOnly as a partner
Public building named vacant · school (Skole) · 4 storeys
4,528 m²17 m1,201 mA works up to €500–750/m²
73Waldemar Thranes gate 70Confirmed empty by EHC
Public building named vacant · artists’ studios (Atelier kunstnere) · 4 storeys
3,500 m²15.1 m1,659 mA works up to €500–750/m²
73Odvar Solbergs vei 83Confirmed empty by EHC
Public building named vacant · artists’ studios (Arbeidslokale r for kunstnere)
1,672 m²11.2 m566 mA fit only
71Myntgata 2 (Akershus festning area)Confirmed empty by EHC
Public building named vacant · 1 other source nearby
11,995 m²17 m567 mA fit only
68Former emergency clinic (Legevakten), Storgata 40Confirmed empty by EHCOnly as a partner
Public building named vacant · 1 other source nearby
14,655 m²39.1 m455 mA fit only

Districts where conversion makes sense

Where empty offices, the right zoning and a working neighbourhood come together — and what could go wrong.

A hand outlining a neighbourhood on a city map, with small houses drawn inside

St. Hanshaugen

The largest empty City buildings stand here: the former Veterinary College, the Myntgata block, studios at Waldemar Thranes gate 70 and two former resource centres.

  • Ullevålsveien 68–72: 14 buildings, 26,850 m², empty since December 2021
  • Waldemar Thranes gate 70: 3,500 m² of former artists' studios, recommended for sale
  • Lyder Sagens gate 18B and 20: 1,060 m² empty since October 2024

Risk: Several are listed or conservation-zoned, and the City is still studying its own use before any sale.

1 source

Grünerløkka and Gamle Oslo (the inner east)

The old emergency clinic, Gamle Munch, the former Lille Tøyen nursing home and Villa Enerhaugen are big empty City buildings in dense housing districts.

  • Storgata 40 (Legevakten): 14,655 m² empty since January 2024
  • Hovinveien 4, Lille Tøyen nursing home: 3,960 m², recommended for sale
  • Smedgata 30, Villa Enerhaugen: 3,571 m² empty since April 2024

Risk: The City may want some for its own services or refugee housing first; Gamle Munch needs a City Council decision to be sold.

2 sources

Nordre Aker (Sogn and Kjelsås)

The former Sogn school campus is the largest single empty City site, with a planning case starting.

  • Sognsveien 80 + 90: 22,102 m² empty of 59,847 m² since 2014
  • Kjelsåsveien 49c: a 560 m² kindergarten building recommended for sale

Risk: Unzoned land with a long planning horizon; the City runs a multi-purpose study first.

1 source

Groruddalen (Alna, Grorud, Stovner)

Former kindergartens, a fire station and offices on the list — smaller buildings in the districts the City is renewing.

  • Brynshøgda 9–11, Bryn fire station: 1,751 m² empty since April 2019
  • Odvar Solbergs vei 83: 1,672 m² of former workspaces recommended for sale
  • Revergården on Romsås was sold in 2026 to a scout group — a civil-society buyer

Risk: Several are recommended for demolition rather than sale.

1 source

Owners and routes in

Who controls the space, and what a housing cooperative can actually do with them.

A door key on a doorstep with a drawn path leading to an open door
Public owner

Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (EBY) — sale of City property

Empty City buildings the cross-agency project decides to sell are advertised on FINN.no by EBY and sold through a broker in an open bidding round (bidders see the highest bid). EBY itself decides sales up to NOK 15 million within two to four weeks. A co-op can bid like anyone else; on 8 Oct 2026 nothing was advertised.

1 source
City agency

City of Oslo — the vacant-buildings project (EBY, Oslobygg KF, Boligbygg Oslo KF, Bymiljøetaten, Kulturetaten)

The list is updated every May and December and names, for each property, the recommended action and who is responsible. A co-op can follow the entries marked for sale or 'being clarified' and propose a use before the decision — the City auditor found in 2026 that no overall assessment of letting empty buildings had yet been made.

2 sources
City agency

Kulturetaten — temporary cultural use (the Gamle Munch model)

The Gamle Munch pilot let an empty City museum to arts and neighbourhood groups for three years; the City's evaluation recommends the experience for temporary use of other empty buildings. A co-op can propose meanwhile use as a first step towards a building.

1 source
Public owner

Statsbygg — the state's civil estate

A state building can be sold only by a Storting decision or a statutory authority, so disposals leave a public paper trail. Nasjonalgalleriet shows the sequence: short lettings, then a test of whether the state still needs it.

1 source

Signals to watch

Decisions, auctions and closures that change what becomes available, and when.

  1. 2026-07
    Office vacancy forecast raised again

    Entra's consensus expects Oslo office vacancy to peak at 7.8% in 2026, up from 7.4% expected at the end of 2025.

    1 source
  2. 2026-05-28
    City list of empty buildings: 85 properties, 167 buildings

    About 133,000 m² empty (≈ 3.5% of the City's stock); 12 properties with 22 buildings added since December 2025, eight left the list (let, sold or demolished).

    1 source
  3. 2026-02-27
    Revergården on Romsås sold to a scout group

    A former kindergarten with damp problems left the list after a sale; a civil-society buyer took it over on 27 February 2026.

    1 source
  4. 2026
    City auditor: maintenance of empty buildings still lags

    Report 5/2026 found sales and clarifications largely followed up, but maintenance plans only partly in place and no overall assessment of letting empty buildings — a risk that properties decay.

    1 source
  5. 2025-11-20
    Gamle Munch proposed for sale

    The City government's 2026 budget proposal puts the former Munch Museum at Tøyen up for sale; the City Council must approve.

    1 source

Sources and freshness

13 sources connected, 1 waiting for access. We only use data we may lawfully reuse; where a publisher blocks automated access we do not work around it — a person downloads it, or we ask for permission.

Show every source, its licence and when we last read it
SourceAccessRecordsStatusLicence
OpenStreetMap disused/abandoned tags and brownfields
OpenStreetMap contributors
Open API66Live
2026-10-09
ODbL 1.0 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
Rail, S-Bahn and U-Bahn stations (OpenStreetMap)
OpenStreetMap contributors
Open APIscoringLive
2026-10-09
ODbL 1.0 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
Building heights: GlobalBuildingAtlas (TU Munich)
Zhu, X. X., Chen, S., Zhang, F., Shi, Y., Wang, Y. (2025), Technical University of Munich
GlobalBuildingAtlas: an open global and complete dataset of building polygons, heights and LoD1 3D models. Earth System Science Data 17(12), 6647–6668, doi:10.5194/essd-17-6647-2025. Read from the Parquet copy on Source Cooperative. Satellite-derived heights (typically 1.5–3 m error in Europe), turned into storeys with storey heights fitted on Berlin; used only where no register or official 3D model sizes the building.
Open download1,325 buildings sizedLive
2026-10-09
CC BY-NC 4.0 (heights); footprints from OpenStreetMap and Microsoft: ODbL
Road noise (EU Environmental Noise Directive, Lden)
European Environment Agency
Open APIscoringLive
2026-10-09
EEA standard re-use policy (attribution)
Leerstandsmelder.de — public reports of empty buildings
Leerstandsmelder (Gängeviertel e.V., Hamburg)
Shown while we ask Leerstandsmelder for permission. Reports since 2016 only, with the address, the month reported and a link to each entry; not checked by EHC. Each point says when a report has since been marked demolished, lived in, in interim use or rebuilt on Leerstandsmelder, and the owner type the reporter gave (private owners are never named).
Asking for permission0Pending
2026-10-09
Credited to Leerstandsmelder.de; asking for permission
Open-ended property funds: buildings they report partly empty
Open-ended real-estate funds (each point names its fund and report)
German and Austrian open-ended public property funds must list every property with its vacancy (or letting) rate in their annual and half-year reports. scripts/reuse/import-fund-reports.ts reads those lists; properties at 10 % vacancy or more are shown, those at 25 % or more count as evidence.
Open download0Live
2026-10-09
Published fund report (KAGB / KARBV property list), cited per point
Co-working spaces, department stores, banks, hotels and cinemas listed as permanently closed
Overture Maps Foundation (closure data: BrightQuery company records)
Places with operating_status "permanently_closed" in the monthly Overture release, read by scripts/reuse/import-overture-closures.ts and matched to the building they sit in. A closed business is usually one unit; names are shown only for companies, never for sole traders.
Open download0Live
2026-10-09
CDLA Permissive 2.0 (Overture Maps Foundation)
Land without current use and stalled construction, mapped from satellite imagery (Copernicus Urban Atlas 2006–2018)
European Environment Agency — Copernicus Land Monitoring Service
Urban Atlas class 13400 (brownfields, demolition sites and gaps in the built-up area, 0.25 ha and up) compared across the 2006, 2012 and 2018 editions, so each plot says how long it has stood unused; plus construction sites (13300) already under way in 2012, and 2012 construction sites left unused by 2018. Read from the EEA's open ArcGIS services, the same way in every radar city. The 2021 edition (Copernicus Data Space) drops plots built on since 2018 where scripts/reuse/import-urban-atlas-2021.ts has been run. Points are context, never evidence of vacancy.
Open API19Live
2026-10-09
Copernicus open data (© European Union, Copernicus Land Monitoring Service 2006–2021, EEA)
Stalled construction and buildings held by insolvent developers
EHC research (dated press and court sources per point)
Signa, Adler/Consus and other developer insolvencies since 2022 and stalled sites, each with its latest dated status (src/scripts/data/reuse/stalled-projects.json; news leads from scripts/reuse/mine-news.ts are reviewed before they join).
EHC research0Live
2026-10-09
Cited publisher per point
Church buildings the dioceses and regional churches plan to give up
Catholic dioceses and Protestant regional churches (their building plans), via EHC research
Buildings a church body’s published building plan or recent reporting names as to be given up, without church funding, for sale or lease, or profaned (src/scripts/data/reuse/church-plans.json and brussels-churches.json).
EHC research0Live
2026-10-09
Cited publisher per point
Named buildings and sites from EHC research (each with its own source)
European Housing Coop research
EHC research7Live
2026-10-09
Facts cited to their publishers
Year built and listing: OpenStreetMap building tags
OpenStreetMap contributors
start_date / construction_date and heritage / listed_status of the OpenStreetMap outline a record is matched to, where no register answers. Read with the outline match, not a separate query.
Open APIscoringLive
2026-10-09
ODbL 1.0 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
Vacant municipal buildings (City of Oslo list, May 2026)
Oslo kommune, Eiendoms- og byfornyelsesetaten (EBY) — with Oslobygg KF, Boligbygg Oslo KF, Bymiljøetaten and Kulturetaten; placed on Kartverket's matrikkel building points
Open download108Live
2026-10-09
No licence stated on the page — used with credit to Oslo kommune (EBY); building points: Kartverket, Matrikkelen – Bygningspunkt (open, no restrictions)
Office buildings (national building register points, Matrikkelen)
Kartverket — Matrikkelen – Bygningspunkt
Open API1,272Live
2026-10-09
Open (Kartverket; Geonorge: no restrictions) — credit Kartverket

What this radar cannot see yet

  • Private empty buildings: Norway has no vacancy register or empty-homes tax; Statistics Norway counts dwellings without registered residents only per municipality.
  • Floor area and storeys: the national building geometry with heights (FKB-Bygning) and the matrikkel's area fields are Norge digitalt restricted; the open building points carry use and status only.
  • Aerial photos: Norge i bilder's WMS is IP-restricted, so building cards show no photo.
  • Plans and transition areas: the national plan register (DiBK) is restricted, and the City's planning services on od2.pbe.oslo.kommune.no publish no documented open WFS.
  • The City's own list arrives only as a PDF twice a year; the radar reads it with an importer (scripts/reuse/import-oslo-vacant-municipal.ts) — the spreadsheet with coordinates would be better, and only the City can publish it.

Know an empty building we have missed?

Open data cannot see everything. Tell us about a building in Oslo that stands empty or barely used; once we have checked it, it joins the map under “Reported by visitors (checked)”.

A phone held up to photograph an empty shopfront, with a map pin drawn above it

We publish the address, the kind of building and your description once we have checked it — never your email. Please do not name the people who own or live in a building.

Radars nearby

The nearest radars. All 134 cities in the atlas

The figure on each card: empty buildings on record.

Aarhus, Denmark16empty buildings on recordBremen, Germany205empty buildings on recordCopenhagen, Denmark43empty buildings on recordEspoo, Finland654empty buildings on recordGdańsk, Poland415empty buildings on recordGothenburg, Sweden23empty buildings on recordGroningen, Netherlands10empty buildings on recordHamburg, Germany524empty buildings on recordMalmö, Sweden18empty buildings on recordStockholm, Sweden31empty buildings on recordSzczecin, Poland353empty buildings on recordTampere, Finland300empty buildings on record