Buying an apartment in Finland: costs, documents and what to check

Buying an apartment in Finland works differently from most countries, and the differences are exactly where newcomers lose money. You don't buy the apartment itself. You buy shares in a company. The advertised price is often not the real price. And the most important information is in Finnish-language documents that nobody translates for you. This guide covers what things cost, which documents to demand, and what to check before you make an offer.

You buy shares, not walls

Most Finnish apartments are owned through a housing company, an asunto-osakeyhtiö. When you "buy an apartment", you actually buy shares in that company, and the shares entitle you to occupy a specific apartment. This has real consequences:

• The company owns the building. Its debts, its repairs and its finances are partly yours the moment you buy.
• The company can have loans, and a share of that debt can come attached to your apartment.
• Decisions about big renovations are made in shareholder meetings. You get a vote, but also a bill.

Detached houses (omakotitalo) are usually bought as real property instead, with a different set of documents and a higher transfer tax. This guide focuses on the share-based apartments most buyers start with.

The two prices: the trap every newcomer walks into

Finnish listings show a sale price, myyntihinta, but the number that matters is the debt-free price, velaton hinta:

An apartment "for 199 000 €" with a 60 000 € debt share is a 259 000 € apartment. You pay the debt share either off at purchase or month by month through a financing charge (see below). Always compare homes by their debt-free price.

The monthly fees, decoded

The listing usually advertises one small monthly number. Your real monthly cost has more parts:

• Hoitovastike (maintenance charge): covers the company's running costs. Heating, upkeep, administration. Everyone pays it.
• Rahoitusvastike (financing charge): your monthly share of the company's loan repayments. Only exists if your apartment carries a debt share, and it can be larger than the hoitovastike.
• Your own mortgage payment, plus water and electricity, on top.

A "268 €/mo" apartment with a financing charge and a mortgage can genuinely cost over 1 500 €/mo to live in. You can test any home's real monthly cost with our free calculator.

One more thing worth knowing: the company's loan is collective. If another shareholder stops paying, the shortfall is ultimately covered by the remaining owners' charges. A building where one investor owns many apartments deserves extra scrutiny.

Taxes and one-off costs

• Transfer tax (varainsiirtovero): 1.5 % of the debt-free price for housing-company shares, 3 % for real property (houses). Source: Finnish Tax Administration (Verohallinto), checked 8/2026.
• Note for anyone reading old advice: the first-time buyer exemption was abolished in 2024. First-time buyers pay transfer tax like everyone else now. Plenty of outdated articles still claim otherwise.
• No notary is needed for share-based apartments, and agent fees are paid by the seller in a normal listing. Your other costs are your bank's loan fees and, for houses, a possible condition inspection (kuntotarkastus, typically some hundreds of euros).

The documents: demand them by name

The listing is marketing. The facts are in the housing company's documents, and you have the right to see them before making an offer. Ask the seller's agent for these, using the Finnish names:

• Isännöitsijäntodistus. The manager's certificate. The single most important paper: confirms the charges, this apartment's debt share, the plot ownership and upcoming repairs. Ask for one no older than three months.
• PTS (kunnossapitotarveselvitys): the maintenance plan for the next 5–10 years. This is where the expensive surprises live.
• Tilinpäätös: the company's financial statements. Reveals thin cash reserves and looming charge increases.
• Yhtiökokouksen pöytäkirjat: general meeting minutes. Show what repairs have actually been decided.
• Yhtiöjärjestys: the articles of association. Can contain a redemption clause (lunastuslauseke) that lets other shareholders buy your purchase from under you, and maintenance-responsibility rules that shift costs to you.

Reading these takes an evening per home, and you'd still need to know what to look for. That is precisely the job KotioAI does: it reads the documents and explains the risks in plain English.

The risks that cost real money

• Putkiremontti (pipe renovation): the big one. Replacing a building's plumbing typically costs over 1 000 €/m². Often over 1 500 €/m² in the capital region (source: the Finnish Property Managers' Association's pipe renovation barometer, 2025). On a 72 m² apartment that is roughly 70 000–110 000 €. Buildings from the 1960s–80s either have done it or will. Check the PTS and ask directly.
• Vuokratontti (leased plot): if the company doesn't own its plot, ground rent is baked into your monthly charge, and when the lease is renegotiated, the rent can jump. Check the lease end date in the manager's certificate.
• A large company loan on a variable rate: your financing charge floats with Euribor, possibly for decades.
• A small housing company: repairs divide among few owners. In a four-apartment company, a 200 000 € roof means tens of thousands per apartment.

How the purchase actually proceeds

1. Offer (tarjous): written, usually via the agent, often with conditions such as financing or a condition inspection. Deduct known upcoming renovations from your offer.
2. Sale agreement (kauppakirja): for share-based apartments this can be signed digitally through the banks' DIAS system; no notary involved.
3. Payment and transfer tax: your bank typically handles the money and the pledged share certificates; the transfer tax must be declared and paid within two months (agents usually collect it at signing).
4. Ownership registration: apartment shares are increasingly in the digital share register (huoneistotietojärjestelmä) kept by the National Land Survey.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Finland?

Yes. Housing-company shares, which cover most apartments, can be bought by anyone regardless of nationality, with no permit. A permit from the Finnish Ministry of Defence is required only for real property (land and houses) when the buyer is from outside the EU/EEA, and since July 2025 real-property purchases by Russian and Belarusian nationals are in practice barred on national-security grounds (permanent residents of Finland excepted). Source: Ministry of Defence (defmin.fi), checked 8/2026.

What does hoitovastike mean?

It is the monthly maintenance charge every owner pays to the housing company, covering heating, upkeep and administration. It is not rent and it is not your mortgage. Budget for it on top of both.

What is a fair price per square metre?

It varies enormously by city and neighbourhood, but whatever you compare, compare debt-free prices (velaton hinta), not sale prices. Two identical listings can differ by tens of thousands in attached company debt.

Do first-time buyers get a tax break?

Not anymore. The first-time buyer exemption from transfer tax was abolished in 2024. Everyone pays 1.5 % on housing-company shares and 3 % on real property.

How much money do I need upfront?

Under Finland's loan cap, banks may finance up to 95 % of the price (raised to this level for all borrowers in July 2026; source: the Financial Supervisory Authority, Finanssivalvonta), so the legal minimum is about 5 % of your own money plus the transfer tax. On a 250 000 € apartment that is roughly 16 000 € at minimum; in practice many buyers bring 10–15 % to get better loan terms.

What is a putkiremontti and why does everyone ask about it?

The renovation of the building's water and sewer pipes. The most expensive repair a housing company faces, typically over 1 000 €/m². Whether it is done, planned or looming is one of the biggest factors in what an older apartment is really worth.

Don't read the documents alone

Every risk in this guide is visible in the documents. If you know Finnish, have an evening per home, and know what to look for. KotioAI reads the listing and the housing-company documents for you and explains the risks in plain English: the real monthly cost, the upcoming renovations, and the questions worth asking before you offer. See a full example report in English or try it with your first listing.