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Do you want to sell land to the City of Helsinki?
Helsinki acquires land for the development of the city and the implementation of local detailed plans. The city purchases, among others, missing parts of plots, plots of public buildings, public areas and unplanned land. The city is interested in purchasing developed land as well as leaseholds and buildings in areas where land use changes are planned for the coming decades.
The City of Helsinki purchases building land at the market price. There is a separate pricing practice for public areas.
Do you want to buy a part of a parcel owned by the city?
Building on a plot of land covered by a local detailed plan requires the ownership of the entire plot of land. If you own the most valuable part of a plot covered by a local detailed plan and the city owns the missing part, you can purchase or claim the part of the parcel from the city.
The City of Helsinki will sell the part of the parcel at the market value. The claiming will take place in connection with parcelling or through separate proceedings. The proceedings are handled by the National Land Survey of Finland.
City’s right to expropriate
Before building a street or park, the city will try to agree with the landowner on the purchase of the land and the buildings, structures and vegetation on the plot.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the city has the right and obligation to expropriate the land and buildings. The proceedings are handled by the National Land Survey of Finland. Helsinki has very rarely exercised its right to expropriate.
City’s right of pre-emption
The city has the right to replace a buyer in a real estate transaction where the size of the property being sold is more than 3,000 square metres. The right of pre-emption does not apply to transactions between close relatives, compulsory auctions, transactions by the execution authority or transactions in which the state is the buyer. Helsinki has very rarely exercised its right of pre-emption.
A property owner may request a preliminary opinion from the city that the city will not exercise its right of pre-emption.
Send the request by email to tontti@hel.fi (Link opens default mail program). In the subject field, write Helsingin kaupungin ennakkolausunto etuosto-oikeuden käyttämisestä (Preliminary opinion of the City of Helsinki on the exercise of the right of pre-emption). In the message, include information about the property, the purchase price and other terms and conditions of the transaction. If you wish to expedite the processing of the matter, please include a draft deed of sale and its appendices.
Land use policy guidelines of the City of Helsinki
In the guide on the implementation of the land use policy guidelines, you will find the City of Helsinki’s principles concerning land acquisition, land use agreements and additional construction on the city’s leased plots.
Read more about the land policy guidelines and statistics
Contact us by email
If you want to sell land to the City of Helsinki or purchase land owned by the city, contact the land acquisition team. The team also handles matters concerning expropriation and the right of pre-emption.
The best way to reach them is to send an email to tontti@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)