Renting a salon chair in Norway: fixed rent, commission, and what the agreement should say

Chair rental means a hairdresser with their own business rents a workstation in someone else's salon. The rent can be a fixed sum, a percentage of turnover, or both. What agreements most often leave out is who owns the customers and the appointment book when the arrangement ends.

10 November 2026 · 7 min read

Written by the team behind Stamly at Inovix AS. We sell the booking system we write about, and we show where the numbers come from.

An empty green salon chair in front of a curved mirror in a bright salon.

In short

Fixed rent gives the salon a predictable income and the stylist the whole upside of a good month. A percentage shares the risk. You can also combine the two.
A stylist renting a chair runs their own business, usually as a sole proprietorship. VAT registration becomes compulsory once sales pass NOK 50,000 within 12 months.
Norwegian employment law presumes that someone working for another person is an employee. If the salon controls the stylist like an employee, calling it chair rental won't change that.
Write down who owns the customer list and the appointment book before the first customer. That is where the disagreement comes when the arrangement ends.

Picture this. The stylist who has rented a chair from you for three years hands in her notice. She takes her colour charts, and a fortnight later half her customers have booked at the salon two streets away. Whether they were her customers or yours depends on what your agreement says, if you wrote one. If you didn't, you're in for an argument.

This guide is about chair rental under Norwegian law. The commercial side (rent versus commission, what the agreement covers) works much the same anywhere, but the rules on employment, VAT and bookkeeping are Norway's.

Fixed rent, commission, or both?

Fixed monthly rent. The stylist pays a set amount for the chair, however much she takes. The salon knows what is coming in. She keeps everything above the rent, but pays as much in a quiet January as in December.
A percentage of turnover. The salon takes a share of what she earns from treatments. The risk is shared, but the salon has to be able to see her turnover, which only works if both sides trust the figures.
A combination. Lower fixed rent plus a smaller percentage. The salon gets a floor to stand on, and the stylist avoids paying full rent when the book is thin.

What a chair costs depends on the town, the location and what's included. If reception, basins, towels and treatment products are part of the rent, that's a different deal from a chair and a mirror. Look at adverts for chairs to rent in your area, and note what's included next to each price.

Is the stylist really an employee?

Section 1-8 of the Working Environment Act (arbeidsmiljøloven) defines an employee as anyone who performs work for, and under the direction of, someone else. The Act presumes an employment relationship unless the party commissioning the work shows it is more likely than not that the arrangement is an independent contract. In other words, it's up to the salon to show the stylist isn't an employee.

The wording of the agreement doesn't settle it. If the salon decides her hours, her prices and which customers she takes, it starts to look like employment. A tenant sets her own prices and carries the risk of an empty appointment book herself. If you're unsure where the line falls in your case, talk to a lawyer before anyone signs.

Your own business, VAT and bookkeeping

A stylist renting a chair is self-employed. Most start as a sole proprietorship (enkeltpersonforetak, ENK), registered with the Brønnøysund Register Centre (Brreg). The owner of a sole proprietorship is fully and personally liable for its debts and obligations.

Hairdressing services are subject to VAT (mva). According to the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), a business must register in the VAT Register once it has sold goods and services subject to VAT worth more than NOK 50,000, excluding VAT, within a 12-month period. The period doesn’t follow the calendar year. It can be any twelve consecutive months. Source: Skatteetaten

Whether VAT applies to the chair rent itself is a harder question. Letting out real property is generally exempt from VAT under section 3-11 of the VAT Act (merverdiavgiftsloven), but a chair with equipment, reception and products may be more than just premises. The answer depends on exactly what is being rented out. Check with your accountant, or ask Skatteetaten for a binding advance ruling.

The tenant has her own bookkeeping obligations. Section 5-15 of the bookkeeping regulations (bokføringsforskriften) requires anyone providing services by appointment to document the appointments: the time, the customer's name, as far as possible who will do the work, and which appointments didn't go ahead. Hairdressers must also record the type of treatment (section 8-3-3). If she takes payment in her own name in the salon, the till system rules apply to her as well.

What the chair rental agreement should say

The rent and what it covers. The amount or percentage, when it is paid, and whether VAT is added. List what is included: chair, basin, reception, towels, electricity, treatment products.
The customers. Who owns the customer list? What happens to customers she brought with her, and to customers the salon sent her way? Which contact details can she take when she leaves?
The appointment book. Which system she uses, who pays for it, and who has access. If she uses the salon's system, agree how her appointments and customers are separated out if she leaves.
Products. Does she use the salon's treatment products or her own? Does she sell the salon's retail products, and what share does she get?
Opening hours and keys. When she can get into the premises, and whether she can work outside the salon's opening hours.
Prices and marketing. That she sets her own prices, and whether she can use the salon's name, photos and social media.
Insurance and damage. Who covers damage to equipment, and what liability she carries towards her customers.
Notice. The notice period for both sides, what happens to appointments already booked, and whether there is a non-compete clause. A clause stopping her from taking customers with her should be discussed with a lawyer before it goes in.

The appointment book when a chair is rented out

There are two ways to set it up. Either the stylist has her own booking system and the salon only sees that the chair is taken, or she sits in the salon's system with her own calendar. The first gives her full control of her customers. The second is easier for customers, who find every stylist in one place.

In Stamly, a stylist renting a chair is added under Staff with the role Staff member. That is an access level in the system and says nothing about the employment relationship. She sees her own calendar and her own customers, and customers book her in the app or on the salon's page on stamly.net. Each staff member beyond the first costs NOK 149 a month, and the agreement should say who pays that. The customer database belongs to the salon's account, and the salon can export it. Stamly doesn't split turnover between salon and tenant and doesn't invoice chair rent, so you'll need to sort that out yourselves. See how the calendar and the customer database work, or work out the price.

Whatever system you use, go through the checklist for switching booking systems before a tenant moves in or out. The questions about the customer list and future appointments are the same.

Questions and answers

What is salon chair rental?

Chair rental means a hairdresser with their own business rents a workstation in a salon. The stylist sets her own prices and has her own customers, and pays the salon fixed rent, a percentage of turnover or a mix of the two.

Is fixed rent or commission better when renting a salon chair?

Fixed rent pays off for the stylist when the appointment book is full, because everything above the rent is hers. A percentage is safer for a stylist still building a client base, because the rent follows turnover. Low fixed rent plus a smaller percentage shares the risk between salon and stylist.

Do I need to register for VAT when renting a salon chair in Norway?

Yes, once your sales of services subject to VAT pass NOK 50,000, excluding VAT, within 12 consecutive months. Hairdressing is subject to VAT. The threshold applies to any twelve-month period, not the calendar year.

Who owns the customers when a stylist rents a chair?

That's for the agreement between the salon and the stylist to decide; the law gives no simple answer. Before you start, write down who owns the customer list, what the stylist can take with her when she leaves and what happens to appointments already booked.

Can a stylist renting a chair count as an employee in Norway?

Yes. The Working Environment Act presumes that someone working for another person is an employee, unless the party commissioning the work shows it is more likely than not to be an independent contract. If the salon controls her hours, prices and customers, she may be an employee even if the agreement says chair rental.