Instructions for tenants of city-owned rental apartments

Arrival notification

Register in the tenant register by submitting an arrival notification to the building management or maintenance company of the housing company. You can find the instructions on the noticeboard of your staircase.

After submitting your arrival notification, your name will be installed on the apartment door and the door buzzer and list of occupants at the staircase entrance. After submitting the arrival notification, you can also book a parking space and use of the sauna and communal laundry room. It also allows the maintenance company to unlock your door for you if you lock yourself out.

Notification of change of address

Report your change of address at Posti’s web page(Link leads to external service). You can log in to the service using your online banking credentials or your Posti login details.

More information about the notification is available at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s web page on moving.(Link leads to external service)

Electricity contract

Make a new electricity contract even before the move. At the same time, terminate the electricity contract of your old home.

Home insurance

Your lessor requires you to have home insurance. If you have home insurance, give the insurance company the information of your new apartment. If you do not have a home insurance policy, get one before you move into your new apartment.

If you have a payment default entry in your credit record, make an appointment to visit the insurance company’s office instead of using the electronic services. It is a good idea to ask for insurance offers from several different insurance companies. You can also get insurance in connection with an electricity contract.

Income support and Kela assistance

You can get assistance from Kela for paying both home insurance and rent. For more information, see  Kela’s web page on housing benefits(Link leads to external service) .

Keys

Get the keys from the Housing Services customer service at Työpajankatu 8. Please take along an identity document (driving license or passport). You will need to prove your identity when you sign for the keys.

Lost keys

If you lose your key and you cannot get into the apartment, please call the building caretaker. You can find the contact information on the noticeboard of your staircase.

The caretaker will check your identity and make sure that you are registered as living in the apartment. The maintenance or housing company will charge a fee for unlocking the door. The fee will be charged either on the spot or later by invoice. Having a new key made is done at your own expense.

Storage, parking and sauna

Your lease agreement may include a storage locker or a storage cage. If you are entitled to a storage unit, get a padlock for it and keep it secured.

If you need a parking space or want to book the communal sauna, contact the property manager or housing company’s maintenance company, whose contact information you can find on the noticeboard of your staircase. Parking spaces and communal sauna time slots are not automatically transferred from the previous occupant to your use.

Parking spaces and use of the communal sauna are not included in the lease agreement, and instead the housing company charges for them separately.

The rent is due on the second day of each month.

Questions about rental payment

If you have any questions about rent invoicing or if your rent is overdue, please contact the financial management services at talpa.asiakaspalvelu@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or call +358 9 310 25300.

Questions about rental debt

If you have accumulated rental debt, you can make a payment plan by contacting our customer service at asuntovuokraus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)

The payment plan can be for a maximum period of six months and will be for the duration of the lease only.

Other charges

If you have a parking space or use the communal laundry room or sauna, the charges are not included in the rent. Arrange their use or rental directly with the housing company or maintenance company.

As a tenant, you are obligated to take good care of your apartment and ensure its general cleanliness. Clean the apartment regularly, and clean things like floor drains and ventilation valves a few times a year. 

Fault reports

Inform the maintenance company or your lessor immediately of any faults you observe. Report faults electronically in the tenant’s e-services(Link leads to external service).

• In case of water damage in your apartment, notify the maintenance company immediately. You can find the contact information on the noticeboard of your staircase.
• Report faults in the windows, the apartment’s front door or electrical and HVAC equipment, such as plumbing fixtures and radiators, to the maintenance company. You can find the maintenance company’s contact information on the noticeboard of your staircase.
• Inform your lessor of faults related to fixed furnishings or household appliances.
• In case of a fire in your apartment or if you smell smoke in the staircase, call the general emergency number 112 immediately.

Smoking

Smoking is prohibited in the apartment and anywhere in the building. For the comfort of all occupants, smoking on balconies is not recommended.

Renovating rental apartments

Rental apartments are usually renovated between tenants. During the tenancy period, only the necessary small repairs are made.

You can find information on the housing company’s own renovations on the housing company’s noticeboard or from the building manager.

Please note that tenants are not allowed to carry out any plumbing, sewerage, or electrical work on their own.

Pets

Pets are allowed, but they must be kept leashed outside the apartment. Do not wash pets in the communal sauna or laundry facilities and keep them away from children’s playgrounds.

Domestic peace

Everyone has a right to domestic peace and a safe living environment. Please do not disturb your neighbours. Follow the housing company’s and general rules of conduct.

Be sure to let your neighbours know well in advance if you are going to host a party. It is also advisable put a notice of such matters on the noticeboard. Even in case of a party, remember to respect the quiet hours of the building.

Making an disturbance report

If your neighbour’s lifestyle disturbs your domestic peace, please report the disturbance to the building manager or, in serious cases, to the police. In the report, explain what happened, where and how long the disturbance lasted. 

A disturbing lifestyle is defined as:

• playing music too loud
• operating the washing machine or dishwasher at night
• noise caused by guests, sounds of partying
• repeated sounds of fighting or screaming
• causing a disturbance in the communal areas of the building.

Tips for safe and sensible living:

• Due to fire hazard, do not dry clothes on the radiators.
• Due to fire hazard, do not store items on the kitchen stove.
• Due to breakage of waterproofing, do not drill holes in the walls in wet rooms.
• Do not use broken electrical equipment.
• Do not shower under the influence of intoxicants. Falling asleep on the floor drain is a very common cause of water damage.
• Getting a smoke detector is your responsibility. Regularly test the smoke detector. 
• We recommend that you also have a fire blanket in the apartment.
• When you are away from home for a longer period of time, make sure that the electrical cables are disconnected from the sockets and the taps of the washing machine and dishwasher are closed.
• Ventilate regularly.
• Reducing the room temperature by a degree will reduce heating costs.

Communal storage areas / basement storage unit

For fire safety reasons, do not store things like fireworks, grill LPG or fuel cans in the storage areas.

If you have a basement storage unit but do not need it, do not allow the other occupants of the building to use it. The basement storage unit should be kept locked even when empty. Locking the basement storage unit is the responsibility of the tenant.

Waste sorting

Sorting waste correctly reduces the property’s waste management costs, which are one of the biggest cost items of a property. Please find out about the waste sorting system used by your housing company.

Furniture, household appliances and other household movables must be delivered to a Sortti station, landfill or waste collection points by the tenant. They must not be left in the building’s waste collection point.

• Dispose of all biowaste in a paper bag, wrapped in newspaper or in a bin bag intended for biowaste. Do not put plastic bags in the biowaste bin.
• Do not place plastic-coated paperboard/cardboard in the paper collection container.
• Dispose of all unsorted waste with mixed waste.
• Do not pour grease down the drain. Grease must be solidified and placed it in the biowaste bin.

Applying for a rental refund

You can receive a rental refund during repairs of the rental apartment by the lessor if you were unable to use the apartment during the repairs or if the apartment was not in the required condition. You are entitled to a refund starting from the moment the lessor received notice of the unsatisfactory condition of the apartment.

If you caused the problem yourself through negligence, you are not entitled to a refund.

How to apply for a rental refund

1. Send the refund application directly to the City of Helsinki’s registry office at helsinki.kirjaamo@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or to City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13, 00170 Helsinki. 
2. Submit the application in writing. Specify the reason why, for what time period and for which apartment you are applying for a refund. Describe the resulting inconvenience for living in your apartment.
3. Include your name, address details and bank account number in the application. If you have already moved out of the apartment, please include your new address.
4. Ask your building manager for a certificate of the inconvenience in your apartment and its duration. The certificate must indicate the time period during which the inconvenience affected your apartment, whether any part of your apartment was completely unusable, and whether you had the use of replacement facilities during the renovation. For example, in case of a façade renovation, you will not get a refund for the entire time when the building was under dust covers, but only for the time when your rental apartment/balcony was under dust covers.
5. Please provide all the requested information with your application so that the matter can be processed. If necessary, we will ask you for further clarification about the situation.
6. The application will be processed by Rental Apartments and the decision will be sent to you by post.

Receiving inspection and renovations

• The lessor always inspects the apartment before a new tenant moves in. The apartment is rented in the condition it is in after the inspection by Housing Services and any surface renovations. It is hoped that the new tenant will also visit the apartment so that, when signing the lease agreement, they know what condition the apartment is in.
• If necessary, apartments are renovated between tenants. During the tenancy period, only the necessary small repairs are made.
• The lessor does not always have information about the housing company’s own renovations. Renovations commissioned by the housing company may cover, for example, the façade, windows and plumbing system. You can find information about these from the housing company’s building manager or from your building’s noticeboard.
• Rental refunds are paid only after the renovation is completed, so you must pay the rent normally during the renovation. 
• If you cannot live in the apartment during the renovation, you must arrange the temporary replacement housing yourself. The lessor has no legal obligation to arrange replacement housing.

Terminating a lease

Terminate your lease in the tenant’s e-services(Link leads to external service). Alternatively, you can terminate the lease in writing by sending a notice of termination electronically or by post. You can also bring the notice to the Housing Services customer service at Työpajankatu 8 or submit a notice of termination by e-mail to asuntovuokraus@hel.fi.(Link opens default mail program)

Terminating a company housing lease

If you live in company housing of the City of Helsinki, you can terminate the lease agreement at any time to take effect after 14 days. However, this does not apply to so-called ‘on-call housing’, which the employee must live in throughout the employment relationship. 

You can also terminate the lease to end at the same time as the termination of your employment or service, in which case you do not need to comply with the normal notice period.

The lessor is subject to the general lease termination grounds. When your employment or civil service relationship ends, the lessor is entitled to terminate your lease.

If your employment or civil service relationship has lasted at least a year, the notice period is six months. In other cases, the notice period is three months.

Checklist for moving out

• Notify the maintenance company or the building manager of moving out.
• Return all keys received from the lessor to the Housing Services customer service at Työpajankatu 8. 
  • You will be charged daily rent for the apartment until you return the keys.
  • If all keys are not returned, Housing Services will re-key the lock at the tenant’s expense. 
• Empty and clean the apartment and any associated basement storage unit. 
• If you leave things in the basement storage unit or leave the apartment in a messy condition, the lessor will have the basement storage unit emptied and have the apartment cleaned at the tenant’s expense.

Bathroom, toilet and sauna

1. Clean the toilet seat and its back, the hand wash basin, taps, bathtub and shower screen.
2. Wash the sauna benches and clean the floor drains.
3. Clean ventilation valves.
4. Wipe down tile surfaces, floors and walls.

Kitchen

1. Clean the stove and refrigeration equipment inside and out, including the back, the oven grille and baking sheets.
2. Defrost the refrigeration equipment and set the switches to the 0 position. Leave the fridge and freezer doors open.
3. Clean the kitchen cabinets inside and out.
4. Clean ventilation valves and extractor hood and wash the grease filter.
5. If a cupboard has been removed to make room for a dishwasher, reassemble the cupboard.

Doors, windows and walls

1. Vacuum the floor surfaces and clean or wipe them with a damp cloth.
2. Remove any stains on walls and doors.
3. Clean the inner pane of the windows.
4. Clean and wipe down the inside and outside of the apartment door.

Storage units and other premises:

1. Clean the balcony, front and back yard and storage units associated with the apartment.

Do not abandon household appliances or furniture to the building’s waste collection area, in the building’s public or storage areas or in the apartment. If we have to order transport for their removal, we will charge you for it.

Invoicing price list for residents

Prices in the price list have been estimated according to the actual averages. If no price is found for an activity, invoices will be issued according to the actual cost. Prices include VAT and are indicative. If the actual costs exceed the estimate in the price list, we reserve the right to invoice the resident according to the actual costs.

Clearance of dwelling and storage

In accordance with the lease agreement, tenants are obliged to carry out a final cleaning of the apartment and storage facilities. Goods left in the apartment, a possible balcony, or the storage are sent to the landfill, the costs of which will be charged to the resident in addition to an additional cleaning fee.

Keys and locks

At the end of the lease, the lessee is obliged to return all the keys to the apartment to the lessor. If the keys are not returned, the lessor is entitled to rekey the locks at the lessee's expense.

Cleaning and repairs

The lessee must hand over the rented apartment in proper condition. If the apartment requires cleaning, repair, emptying or restoration, the lessor has the right to carry out the necessary work at the lessee's expense, with the exception of work caused by natural wear and tear.

Window cleaning 

1h €70 
2h €90
3h €130
4-5h €150

Furniture

Replacement of the door (without frames) €130
Changing the sink €500
Toilet seat €500
Dishwasher plugging €60
Other furniture, such as, refrigerators, are invoiced according to the actual costs.

Painting walls

Single wall €180
Single room ceiling €230 
Single room €250

If the tenant dies, the estate of the deceased must contact our customer service at asuntovuokraus@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program) or call +358 9 310 32294.

When a tenant dies, the tenancy of the apartment remains valid on the same terms. This means that the tenant’s estate is responsible for fulfilling the rental terms, such as paying rent and taking care of the apartment. Terminating the lease must be done in writing.

In order to terminate the lease of the estate, you need:

• A notice of termination signed by all the partners in the estate or a power of attorney from the partners who do not sign the notice of termination.
• An official certificate indicating the date of death of the tenant. The official certificate can be obtained from the parish registry or the Digital and Population Data Services Agency office closest to the tenant’s last residence.
• The estate inventory or a complete family history of the deceased, showing the partners in the estate.

If a partner in the estate wishes to continue the lease, they must notify the lessor in writing within three months of the tenant’s death. However, the partners in the estate cannot extend the lease agreement of apartments that are either company housing or used by the city’s Social Services and Health Care Division.

The estate has to terminate the lease agreement to end their responsibility for fulfilling the lease terms. The responsibility will expire after the notice period at the end of the following month. You can also agree on a different notice period at the Housing Services customer service. The relatives are responsible for emptying the apartment.