Glossary
The terms you meet from the agent and in the listing, explained short and straight.
C
- Cohabitation (avoliitto) In a cohabiting relationship there is no automatic split of property: each keeps their own and the home is divided by ownership, so record your ownership shares in the deed of sale according to what each of you put in.
- Condition inspection (kuntotarkastus) A condition inspection is a sensory, non-destructive assessment of condition (guideline card KH 90-00394) that finds risks but does not confirm damage and does not remove the buyer's duty to investigate.
- Condition survey (kuntotutkimus) A condition survey is a deeper investigation than a condition inspection, in which structures are opened up to find out the real condition of a risk point or, for example, the plumbing.
D
- Debt share (velkaosuus) The debt share is the apartment's portion of the housing company's shared loan, which is added to the selling price to reach the total debt-free price.
- Debt-free price (velaton hinta) The debt-free price is the real comparison price of a home: the selling price plus the apartment's share of the housing company loan (debt share), meaning the full sum you pay for the home.
- Defect notice (reklamaatio) Notify the seller of a defect within a reasonable time of discovering it (the disputes board's line is about 3-4 months), and at the latest within the absolute deadline: 2 years for a share-based apartment, 5 years for real property from the transfer of possession.
- Deposit and standard compensation (käsiraha ja vakiokorvaus) If you back out of a purchase, you lose at most 4 % of the purchase price as a deposit or standard compensation, and the same cap applies to compensation paid by the seller.
F
- Financing charge (rahoitusvastike) The financing charge (also called the capital charge) is the part of the monthly charge that pays down the housing company's loan, for example the financing of a pipe renovation.
- First home (ensiasunto) A first home is your first owner-occupied home, and from 2024 onwards a first-home buyer also pays the transfer tax, but gets a higher 95 % loan cap and the right to an ASP account.
H
- Hidden defect (salainen virhe) The seller is liable for a hidden defect even when they acted carefully: the property differs significantly in quality from what can reasonably be expected of a comparable one.
- Housing company (taloyhtiö / asunto-osakeyhtiö) A housing company (asunto-osakeyhtiö) is a limited company whose shares grant the right to control a specific apartment; you do not buy the apartment itself but the shares that give the right of control.
M
- Maintenance charge (hoitovastike) In 2024 the maintenance charge averaged 4.86 e/m2/month in apartment blocks and 3.69 e/m2/month in terraced houses, and it covers the housing company's running upkeep.
- Maintenance needs assessment (kunnossapitotarveselvitys, PTS) A statutory written assessment that the board presents at the annual general meeting each year and that states the buildings maintenance needs over the next 5 years.
P
- Pipe renovation (putkiremontti) Pipes last about 40-50 years, so blocks of flats from the 1960s-1980s are at pipe-renovation age; the cost is typically about 600-1,200 e/m2 and the shareholder's share is paid as a financing charge.
- Prenuptial agreement (avioehto) A prenuptial agreement is a written contract that excludes the marital right, meaning the right that would otherwise split the spouses net assets in half in a divorce.
- Property manager's certificate (isännöitsijäntodistus) The property manager's certificate is a statutory document that gathers the key details of the apartment and the housing company, and the buyer has the right to receive it before the purchase.
- Property tax (kiinteistövero) In 2026 the property tax on a permanent detached home is at least 0.41 % and at most 1.00 % of the taxable value, and your own municipality decides the exact rate.
- Purchase offer (ostotarjous) An accepted purchase offer is binding: when the seller says yes, a contract is formed, and backing out of it costs you.
S
- Selling price (myyntihinta) The selling price is the part of a home's price you pay yourself: an offer is usually made on the selling price, but a home's real price is the debt-free price.
- Share-based apartment (osakehuoneisto / asunto-osake) In a share-based apartment you buy the shares that entitle you to control a specific apartment, not the property itself, and the sale is governed by the Housing Transactions Act plus a 1.5% transfer tax.
- State guarantee (valtiontakaus) The state guarantee covers at most 25% of a home loan's principal and at most 60,000 euros, allowing you to borrow usually 85% and with an ASP loan 90% of the home's acquisition price.
T
- Total monthly charge (yhtiövastike) The total monthly charge is the payment a shareholder makes to the housing company each month, splitting into two parts: the maintenance charge (upkeep) and the financing charge, also called the capital charge (interest and repayments on the housing company loan).
- Transfer tax (varainsiirtovero) Transfer tax is 1.5% of a share-based apartment's debt-free price and 3% of real property, and the buyer pays it within two months of the deal.