Maintenance needs assessment (kunnossapitotarveselvitys, PTS)

The maintenance needs assessment (kunnossapitotarveselvitys) tells you what repairs are known in the housing company over the next 5 years. The board must present it at the annual general meeting in writing every year. For you as a buyer, this is the quickest way to see whether, for example, a pipe renovation is already ahead or still far off.

Read the assessment together with the property manager’s certificate (isännöitsijäntodistus). If a major repair states an exact year and an estimated cost, the decision is getting closer and it will show up before long in the financing charge (rahoitusvastike). If an item is vague or missing entirely, ask the board or the property manager to clarify it before making a purchase offer.

A longer-term plan, the PTS, is a different thing. It is usually a repair programme covering about 10 years that the housing company commissions voluntarily, and the law does not require it. The PTS gives a more detailed picture than the 5-year assessment, so if it is available, ask to see it.

The assessment is not a binding promise. The timing and amounts of repairs can shift and become more precise as condition surveys (kuntotutkimukset) are completed and cost estimates are updated. Use it as a signal of which way the housing company’s expenses are heading.