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You can make an application for a parking spot in front of your high street business for parklet use, such as outdoor seating or another appropriate reason. You can lease a parklet spot for the summer season, which runs from April to October.
If no parking space exists in front of your business premises, you will not be able to create a parklet seating area. A parking spot leased as a parklet may not be used as storage space, or for advertising purposes, parking or storing vehicles that either have an engine or must be towed, or to run mobile food premises.
A right to use a parking spot for parklet purposes is always discretionary and granted on a case-by-case basis. If you need more instructions, please contact us at ulkoilma@hel.fi and we will assess whether your plans are viable.
Unfortunately, the CD parking spots reserved for embassies cannot be moved, which means that they may not be used as parklets.
Make an application to lease a parklet spot
Submit an application to lease a parklet spot by using an electronic form and submitting it via the City's online services. Alternatively, you can also use a PDF form. You can identify yourself through suomi.fi in order to log in to the service, either with mobile ID or online banking credentials.
Additional information
If you are unable to use the electronic form, fill in the the terrace and parklet application (PDF) and send it together with the necessary appendices via email to ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program). You can check which appendices are required for a parklet application from the list of appendices.
Use the online service
Make an application to lease a parklet spot
Fill in a form
Forms
Application appendices
Please submit all the listed appendices as PDF files. We will not be able to process your application without them.
A drawing of the parklet area’s location on a map on a scale of 1:500. Map templates are available from Helsinki Map Service(Link leads to external service).
A floor plan of the parklet area on a scale of 1:50 or 1:100. Include the parklet area’s dimensions (length and width), the placement of fixtures and furniture, access routes, entrances and the width of the free pavement area.
The building owner’s (usually a housing company) permission to use a parklet area outside of business premises. For the consent attached to the application, the city recommends using the Property Owner's Consent form (PDF).
A trade register extract for the applicant company, which you can request from the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland(Link leads to external service). The document may not be more than three months old.
Photographs of the street area and the wall in front of which the parklet area is planned. Please also attach photographs of the traffic signs and street drains in the area to your parklet application.
Photographs or drawings of all the fixtures, furniture and structures to be placed in the parklet area.
In addition, a certificate of a valid liability insurance policy must be attached to a parklet application.
If an agent is used to apply for a permit on behalf of the actual applicant, you will also require a power of attorney.
How much does it cost to lease a parklet spot?
The prices for public parklets outside of high street businesses in public areas have been fixed. The price is determined according to two separate pricing zones. Parklets are only available during the summer season. A parklet may also be leased partially, but the price is always based on an entire parking spot and an entire season.
Price list for outdoor seating areas 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2027:
| Season | Seating area 1 | Seating area 2 |
| Summer season 1 April – 31 October | €13.21/m2/month | €9.91/m2/month |
When do I need a permit from the building control services?
You will need a permit from the building control services if your outdoor seating area or its structures
- will be attached to the ground or a building next to the seating area.
- will be covered with a roof, canopy, awning or similar.
- will include fixed walls.
- will be built on a raised deck due to sloping ground and the falling height off the deck will exceed 50 cm at any point.
- will include a serving station whose dimensions exceed 250 x 150 x 220 cm.
- will include sheds or other similar closed or semi-closed structures inside which customers will be.
- will have a lavatory, a stage or a similar structure.
- will include adverts larger than 60 x 60 cm on each wall, or other sales or
- advertising equipment.
- So-called dining pods, which resemble greenhouses and have glass or plastic windows, are treated as conservatories, and therefore they require a permit from the building control services. Dining pods may only be used in outdoor seating areas during the summer season of 1 April – 31 October.
A permit from the building control services is not required for
- parasols and awnings that are not attached to the ground.
- straight awnings that are open on the sides and attached to the building facade.
- small-scale equipment that contain a restaurant’s name or usual information about the prices and opening hours.
A checklist for a parklet permit application
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Read the parklet guidelines
Before you apply for a parklet permit, read the guidelines on outdoor seating areas, the parklet contract and the parklet drawings.
Outdoor seating area guidelines (PDF in Finnish)
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Find out whether a parking spot can be used as a parklet
The suitability of parking spots as parklets is assessed on a case-by-case basis. You can read more about the factors that affect this suitability in the outdoor seating area guidelines (PDF in Finnish).
Find out whether a parking spot can be used for parklet purposes by contacting the inspectors via email at ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program). Use the map service(Link leads to external service) to determine the exact location.
When dimensioning your parklet, remember that the impact shields must be located in the parklet area you are renting.
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Get permission for the parklet from the property owner
Before applying for a permit from the City, you will need written permission for your seating area from the property owner. For the consent attached to the application, we recommend you use the Property Owner's Consent form (PDF).
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Fill in an electronic form
Please use the electronic form to apply for a permit for an outdoor seating area through the City’s online services (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service). You can identify yourself through suomi.fi in order to log in to the service, either with mobile ID or online banking credentials.
If you are unable to use the electronic form, fill in the outdoor seating area application form (pdf in Finnish) and send it together with the necessary appendices via email to ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program). You can check which appendices are required for an application for a parklet area from the list of appendices (PDF in Finnish).
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Application processing and rental decision/lease agreement
The city will consider the conditions for issuing a parklet permit on a case-by-case basis.Once your application has been processed, you will receive a lease decision and terms of contract.
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Area access right
Can begin to use the area the beginning of the lease term, the lease expires after the deadline specified in the lease decision or before that if it is terminated. The lessee must restore the area to a condition approved by the city by the end of the lease.
If you need to amend your agreement, please contact the inspectors of the Area Use and Control Unit at ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).
You can terminate the agreement by sending a written notice of termination (PDF, in Finnish) to the inspectors of the Area Use and Control Unit by e-mail to ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).
In order to ensure that the leased parking area is cleared for the construction of the parklet, the lessee may post tow-away warning signs. A temporary traffic arrangement decision (luvat@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)) is required to post the signs. The lessee bears the expenses of the temporary traffic arrangements.
Frequently asked questions
The time it takes to process an application depends on the planned parklet, so it's a good idea submit your application well in advance. At the fastest, you can obtain a permit in a few weeks if the permit office is not busy, and the parklet does not require a permit from Building Control or the Food Safety Unit, for example.
If you have both a terrace and parking space in front of your business premises, submit a separate application and agreement for each. For more detailed instructions, refer to the Terrace Instructions (PDF).
Apply for a liquor license for the parklet terrace from the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland(Link leads to external service).
If you need to make amendments to your contract, contact the inspectors of the Area Use and Control Unit at ulkoilma@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).