Residential plots for professional builders

The preferred plot recipients in public residential plot draws are:

• new operators who have not received a plot from the city before;
• projects that aim to develop housing construction or implement the area’s land use or housing policy objectives;
• applications from developers or developer consultants for a plot for regulated housing production.

We usually organise public residential plot draws about once a year. 

Registration and negotiation proceedings are more limited than public residential plot draws. They can be targeted at specific types of housing projects or specific builders, such as joint building.

We organise registration and negotiation proceedings every year.  

The recipients of plots intended for unregulated housing production are usually chosen through price competitions.

The city takes care of the development of housing construction by also organising a sufficient number of quality competitions. We organise them especially at sites of significance to the cityscape and at the starting sites of urban development projects.

Quality competitions can focus on a specific theme such as solutions promoting carbon neutrality.

We organise several competitions every year. 

The aim of the City of Helsinki’s Re-thinking Urban Housing programme is to improve the quality and appeal of living in blocks of flats and increase personalised solutions. We organise plot draws under the Re-thinking Urban Housing programme every year. The selection of the reservation recipients is based on an overall assessment, and the proposed implementation of the plot must have novelty value in accordance with the principles of the Re-thinking Urban Housing programme.

The programme provides developers with the opportunity to try new things and receive valuable guidance from the city experts for their development efforts. It also bolsters the visibility of the development project.

The Re-thinking Urban Housing programme focuses on innovative solutions that aim to meet the current needs related to housing and housing construction. The themes of the projects may be related to the adaptability of housing, the combination of work and housing, energy efficiency, affordability, and the comfort of living. The projects must comply with the city’s strategic housing policy and sustainable development goals. In the future, the programme will increasingly focus on suburban areas, for which projects will introduce new ideas and develop and revitalise their environment.

Re-thinking Urban Housing website (in Finnish)

Plots that have not been reserved in an open draw or competition are usually transferred to an ongoing plot draw in which anyone who is interested can apply for them. 

The ongoing plot draw is constantly in effect. You can find plots available for draw on the Plot draws and competitions page.

We make direct reservations without an open draw procedure or competition only on special grounds for the plot tenant and/or a partner chosen by them – for example, to promote the infill construction of the plot or for genuine novelty-creating development projects that have been approved as part of the Re-thinking Urban Housing programme.

Read more about Re-thinking Urban Housing 

The City of Helsinki mainly leases its residential plots. We only sell particularly valuable and attractive plots. 

Read more in the City of Helsinki’s plot allocation guidelines. 

The City of Helsinki allocates residential plots at market price.

However, Ara sites are an exception, as their market conformity is ensured by an impartial external expert or through price competitions.

Read more at the City of Helsinki’s plot allocation guidelines.  

Plots reserved for joint building can be applied for by:

• Groups of natural persons 
• Associations or other corporations that intend to carry out a group building project 
• Builder consultation corporations.

Group applicants

• Group applicants are a group of people who have not established an association or another corporation for a group building project.

• The group acts as the developer of the project and as the founding shareholders of the housing company that may be established. The group concludes agreements concerning planning and the construction contract.

• The members of the group must be natural persons of full legal capacity by the end of the application period. The group must appoint a contact person from among its members.

• It must have at least the number of members indicated in the plot list. The minimum number has been derived from the number of the calculated number of feasible apartments on the plot.

Corporation applicants

• Corporation applicants are associations or other corporations that intend to carry out a group[RT1]  building project.
• The applicant acts as the developer of the project and as the founding shareholders of the housing company that may be established. The applicant concludes agreements concerning planning and the construction project.
• The corporation must have the minimum number of members or share owners indicated in the plot list who are interested in and committed to the implementation of the joint construction project.

Consultant applicants

• Consultant applicants refer to corporations engaged in developer consultancy.

• The applicant must have sufficient experience and expertise, as well as sufficient resources for the management and consultancy of the construction project, as well as for gathering the people who will become residents.

• The consultant acquires the plot, gathers the group members who will become residents and prepares the necessary plans on behalf of the group, and contracts and other agreements in a manner agreed separately with the members of the group if necessary.

Basically, townhouses are detached houses sharing walls with adjacent properties but with a plot of their own. Each plot and its buildings can be administratively separate, independent properties.

As a rule, we allocate townhouse plots by leasing them after a public plot draw has been organised for currently vacant townhouse plots. The city decides on the criteria for the allocation of townhouse plots and the requirements set for the recipient of the plot before starting the plot draw process.
 
If no implementer has been found for a townhouse plot in the plot draw, it will be transferred to an ongoing plot draw where all interested parties can apply for them.

We have already allocated townhouse plots from Alppikylä in Suurmetsä and Ormuspelto in Malmi, for example. The plots in the above areas have been available for application by private persons without any other requirements being imposed on the recipient of the plot. As a rule, the plots are leased in the order of application, one plot per applicant. Obtaining a plot has not required the establishment of a group, being a resident of Helsinki or the fulfilment of the requirement of having a family with children.

Brochure of townhouse plots in Alppikylä (pdf 24 Mb) (in Finnish)
Brochure of townhouse plots in Ormuspelto (pdf 8 Mb) (in Finnish)