From 1 January 2026, HOFOR's price pages put Copenhagen's combined water and wastewater price at DKK 49.57 per m3 including VAT, up from DKK 43.91 in 2025. Copenhagen Municipality's tariff annex of 2 February 2026 gives a different figure: DKK 54.93 per m3 including duties and VAT.
Same base, different arithmetic
Both sources start from DKK 43.91 and describe a 13% rise. Measured against that base, DKK 49.57 is a rise of 12.9% and DKK 54.93 a rise of 25.1%. The annex puts the increase at 11.02 kr./m3, while its own water and wastewater components, 20.04 kr. and 22.63 kr., add up to 42.67 kr.
What households pay
The annex says an apartment using 85 m3 a year pays 481 kr. more in 2026 (13%), and a detached house using 140 m3 pays 793 kr. more (12%). Both work out at 5.66 kr. per m3, which is the gap between DKK 49.57 and DKK 43.91.
Why prices are rising
HOFOR attributes the 2026 increase to new waterworks, groundwater protection, climate adaptation and inflation. The annex attributes a 41% rise in the drinking water price to 2026 being a transition year in which surcharges not collected in 2024 and 2025 can be included. HOFOR's 2026 payment to BIOFOS for wastewater treatment is 8.91 kr./m3, up 1.39 kr.
More to come
HOFOR submitted its 2026 Copenhagen tariffs for municipal approval, which it expected by the end of Q1 2026. On 13 April 2026, Copenhagen's Climate, Environment and Technical Committee approved a water supply plan addendum for Brønshøj-Husum under which HOFOR's water tariffs are expected to rise by a further 4.80–5.00 kr./m3 in total (HOFOR's preliminary estimates).
How thin HOFOR's supply margin is, which of its 8 new waterworks are still to be built, and how the national regulator's revenue caps for HOFOR Vand København have moved are examined in the full report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: HOFOR, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the HOFOR Utility Snapshot.