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Conservatories are part of a living urban space that is appealing, pleasant and beautiful. A conservatory is a glazed and roofed outdoor space connected to business premises, which is used as a serving area either all year round or only in the summer.
A conservatory must be designed and constructed according to the specific street location. The application process for conservatories differs from that of open terraces, and they always require a separate permit issued by Building Control Services.
The factors affecting the design of a glazed streetside terrace and the application process are described in the instructions for conservatories.
Conservatories are subject to the same guidelines issued by the authorities as conventional seasonal terraces. For more information, please see the terrace instructions.
How to establish a conservatory
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Contact Building Control Services’ information service
Start by contacting Building Control Services’ information service to determine whether your location is suitable for establishing a new conservatory.
You can check your location’s current detailed plan in the City’s Map Service to verify whethert your project complies with the detailed plan.
Go to the Map Service(Link leads to external service)
Submit an advice request (neuvontapyyntö) in the Lupapiste.fi online permit service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
Go to the Lupapiste.fi service (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Once you have received a preliminary positive comment on the placement of your conservatory from Building Control Services, you can proceed with the establishment process. You will still need to apply for an official permit for your conservatory from Building Control Services at a later stage of the process.
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Submit an application to lease the terrace area
Submit an application to lease a street area for your conservatory.
We will determine whether the area is available to lease and request further information, if necessary. We may have to request comments from other relevant parties in order to issue a decision on the matter.
You will receive a lease agreement to sign once we have issued a decision on the leasing of the area.
Application for leasing a glazed terrace area (pdf, in Finnish)
Prices:
Glazed streetside terraces in the inner city area* (terrace area 1) EUR 27/m2/month
Glazed streetside terraces in the rest of Helsinki* (terrace area 2) EUR 17/m2/month
*Please refer to the terrace instructions for an up-to-date map of the areas.
Submit the following attachments with your application:
- A trade register extract (no older than three months) for the applicant company.
- An agent’s power of attorney (if the applicant company does not sign the application itself).
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Maps of the area to be leased. Map templates are available at kartta.hel.fi(Link leads to external service) or from City Survey Services, for example.
a) A layout plan at 1:500 or 1:1000 scale. The layout plan must indicate the location of the area to be leased.
b) A floor plan at 1:100 or 1:200 scale. The floor plan must indicate the location, dimensions and total area in square metres of the area to be leased.
- The preliminary positive comment from Building Control Services.
Please submit all the listed attachments as PDF files. We will not be able to process your application without them.
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Apply for a permit for a conservatory
You can apply for a permit from Building Control Services in the Lupapiste.fi service once you have a valid lease agreement with the City on the use of the area. Please attach the compliant master plans drawn up and signed by your construction planning officer and the lease agreement for the terrace area to the permit application. In addition to these, Building Control Services needs the same attachments that you submitted to the City when applying for permission to lease the terrace area.
Building Control Services will charge a fee for processing the permit application in accordance with the current building control price list.
Go to the Lupapiste.fi service (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
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Submit a notification of a food business and apply for an alcohol serving licence
If you serve or prepare food on your glazed streetside terrace or your number of customer seats increases significantly due to its expansion, you will most likely need to submit a notification of a food business under the Food Act.
Check with Environmental Services’ advisory service on food issues to determine whether the notification is necessary.
For more information and guidance, please contact Environmental Services’ advisory service on food issues.
Go to the ilppa.fi service (available in Finnish and Swedish)(Link leads to external service) to submit the notification
If you serve alcoholic beverages and/or your number of customer seats increases as a result of your new glazed streetside terrace, you will need an alcohol serving licence. For more information and guidance, please contact the Regional State Administrative Agency.
Contact information
Building Control Services
For advice on matters related to Building Control Services’ permits, please contact Building Control Services via the Lupapiste.fi service.
Contact information of Building Control Services on the map(Link leads to external service)
Land Use and Control
If you wish to lease public land owned by the City, please contact the Land Use and Control Unit.
For more information, please send an email to ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Contact information of the Land Use and Control Unit on the map(Link leads to external service)
Environmental Services and advisory service on food issues
If you have any questions about food business operations, please contact Environmental Services’ advisory service on food issues.
Environmental Services’ advisory service on food issues: kymp.elintarviketurvallisuus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)