Asuntokauppalaki

This chapter contains general provisions.

This section says the Act applies to housing share sales, protection of the buyer’s legal and financial position during construction, and related legal relations, but it excludes certain cooperative share transfers, time-share housing, and transfers of occupancy rights under a separate Act.

Rules in this law about housing and shares also apply to part-ownership housing and share portions unless stated otherwise.

This provision defines key terms used in the law.

This section defines who counts as a “perustajaosakas” and lists three exclusions from that definition.

This section defines “rakentamisvaihe” (construction phase) and says when it ends.

This chapter applies when apartment shares or similar rights are offered to a consumer before the buildings or new apartments have been approved for occupancy.

A contract term that reduces the rights of a share purchaser or a limited company under this chapter is void.

The founding shareholder must ensure that the safeguard documents for the company and construction project are delivered for safekeeping as required by this chapter.

Turva-asiakirjojen säilyttäminen, tarkastaminen ja luovuttaminen on järjestettävä niin, että oikea taho säilyttää asiakirjat, säilyttäjä tarkastaa ne ja ilmoittaa puutteista sekä luovuttaa asiakirjat yhtiölle rakentamisvaiheen päätyttyä.

On request, the document custodian and the company must provide information, copies, and certificates from the documents to specified persons.

The custodian must print and store share certificates, and may not give a share certificate to the buyer before payment-related obligations are checked unless the seller consents.

The custodian of security documents may charge a reasonable fee for listed document-printing, storage, record-keeping, and issuing certificates or copies.

A housing company must follow the financial plan during construction, and after shares are sold to consumers it may increase debts or liabilities only with written consent from all share purchasers, except for certain auditor and site supervisor costs.

The company may increase the debts and liabilities in the financial plan without shareholder consent if the increase is based on listed grounds and the relevant condition was included in the sale agreement.

A company’s act that breaches sections 8 or 9 is not binding on the company if the other party knew, should have known, or failed to check the financial-plan limits; a related performance may also have to be returned.

Perustajaosakas saa myydä asunto-osakkeen rakentamisvaiheessa vain kirjallisella kauppasopimuksella, ja sopimus ei sido ostajaa ennen vaadittua vakuutta; panttauskin on tehtävä kirjallisesti.

Perustajaosakkaan on avattava rakennushanketta varten erillinen tili määrättyyn talletuspankkiin, osakkeiden kauppahinnat on maksettava sille, ja rahoja ei saa käyttää hankkeen ulkopuolisiin tarkoituksiin.

Perustajaosakkaan myymää asunto-osaketta ja tiettyä osakekauppaan perustuvaa saatavaa ei saa ulosmitata perustajaosakkaan velasta.

If a founder shareholder’s property is declared bankrupt, the bankruptcy estate must promptly tell the share buyers whether it will honor unfinished share sale contracts. If it does not, buyers may withdraw, and non-withdrawing buyers get voting/control rights in the company, with payment and refund rules.

The founder-shareholder and buyer must promptly notify the custodian of security documents about certain share-sale or pledge documents; the custodian must issue a certificate, keep a record, and provide information from that record when needed.

Turva-asiakirjojen säilyttäjä vastaa aiheuttamastaan vahingosta, ellei se osoita noudattaneensa asianmukaista huolellisuutta.

The founding shareholder must arrange statutory security for the construction and apartment-share sale contracts, using an allowed form of security and keeping it valid for the required minimum periods.

The security is released when the listed consents and proof requirements are met, or when the statutory time limits expire; a court can also allow release in some cases.

The founding shareholder must arrange insolvency security before apartment shares are offered for sale, and the security must stay in force for 10 years after the building is approved for use.

The company board must convene a shareholders’ meeting promptly after transfer agreements cover at least one quarter of the company’s residential apartments, unless the company is a part-ownership company.

Osakkeenostajat may choose an auditor for the company in the specified meeting, despite the articles of association. The company pays the auditor’s fees and related costs, and the shareholders’ meeting has the same right as the general meeting to receive information from the auditor.

Shareholders may choose a construction inspector at the meeting under section 20. The inspector must be professionally qualified, not dependent on the builder or founding shareholder, may get needed information and access the construction site, and the company pays the inspector’s fee and work-related costs.

Kun rakennukset on hyväksytty käyttöönotettaviksi, hallituksen on kutsuttava yhtiökokous viipymättä, ilmoitettava tietyt asiat kutsussa ja käsiteltävä kokouksessa määrätyt tiedot sekä valinnat.

Tätä lukua sovelletaan tietyissä asuntokaupan ennakkotilanteissa, joissa on maksettu varausmaksu tai käsiraha taikka sitouduttu vakiokorvaukseen.

The chapter’s rules cannot be contracted away to the consumer’s detriment, except where later provisions say otherwise; the same applies to a seller if the dwelling is not part of the seller’s business activities.

If a sale goes through, the deposit or reservation fee is counted toward the price. If the sale does not go through, the seller must usually return the money; in some cases the seller may keep the deposit or receive agreed compensation.

A person must not accept a promissory note or similar negotiable undertaking as a down payment or reservation fee if its transfer or pledge would limit the payer’s ability to raise claims against a good-faith holder.

If a seller has already received earnest money, the seller may not take a second earnest-money payment or offer for the same apartment until the first payment has been returned or it is clear the seller keeps it.

The cap is 4% of the sale price, and it can be adjusted in individual cases if that would otherwise be unreasonable.

This section says when this chapter applies to the first sale of a dwelling for first-time use.

A contract term that departs from this chapter’s rules to the consumer’s detriment is void, unless later provisions say otherwise.

Myyjän on yleensä asetettava ostajan ja yhteisön hyväksi vakuus ennen asuntokauppaa tai huolehdittava suorituskyvyttömyysvakuudesta ennen loppukatselmusta, tietyin poikkeuksin.

If no handover time was agreed, the seller must hand over the apartment within a reasonable time after the sale. The seller must also hand over the share certificate/documents or give consent for registration when the apartment is handed over, and give conditional registration consent immediately after the sale unless otherwise agreed.

By default, the seller pays certain housing-related costs before possession is transferred; if transfer is delayed because of the buyer, the buyer pays those costs from the date the transfer should have happened.

The seller bears the risk for damage or destruction of the apartment before it is handed over to the buyer’s possession. If handover is delayed for a reason on the buyer’s side, the buyer bears the risk from the time handover should have happened, if the seller has done what handover requires. If the buyer bears the risk and the apartment is damaged for a reason not caused by the seller, the buyer must still pay the purchase price.

The buyer may withhold payment of a purchase-price instalment in certain delay situations.

Ostaja voi purkaa kaupan myyjän viivästyksen vuoksi vain tietyissä tilanteissa, mutta ei enää sen jälkeen, kun asunto ja tietyt asiakirjat on luovutettu ostajalle.

The buyer may cancel the sale before the agreed handover date if there are strong reasons to expect a delay that would justify cancellation.

If the seller asks whether the buyer accepts delayed performance, the buyer may not cancel the sale if the buyer does not respond within a reasonable time and the seller performs by the stated time.

Buyer has a right to compensation for damage caused by the seller’s delay, unless the seller shows a qualifying obstacle or other stated exception applies.

If an estimated completion date has been given for an apartment, delay rules apply when handover is more than 30 days late. For buyer payment-withholding rules, the estimated completion date is treated like the agreed handover date. The seller may rely on subsection 1 only if the matching term is included in the sale contract.

If the seller’s property is placed in bankruptcy before construction is finished, the rules in Chapter 2, Section 14 apply. In other cases, the buyer may cancel the sale unless the bankruptcy estate promptly says it will perform the contract and provides security for performance.

An apartment is defective if it does not match the agreed terms, legal requirements, health and construction standards, material quality expectations, or a buyer’s reasonable expectations.

A dwelling can count as defective if the seller gave false or misleading information, failed to disclose required information, or omitted important details about the dwelling, its surroundings, or its use/maintenance before transfer.

A buyer may not claim a known circumstance as a defect when buying the apartment.

The seller is responsible for defects that existed when the risk passed to the buyer, and warranty information must be clear and usable by the buyer.

Myyjän on järjestettävä vuosittainen tarkastus, ilmoitettava siitä etukäteen ja laadittava pöytäkirja; tietyissä tilanteissa vakuuden antaja tai asuntoyhteisö saa käyttää tai täydentää oikeuksia.

Buyer must notify the seller or the repair-responsible party of a defect and related claims within a reasonable time after discovering it, or when the defect should have been discovered.

The buyer may still rely on a defect despite section 19 if the seller acted with gross negligence or disgracefully, if the defect stems from safety-related legal requirements not being met, or if the property otherwise endangers health or property.

A buyer may withhold payment of the remaining purchase price because of a defect in an apartment, but only up to the amount of the claims connected to that defect.

The buyer may demand that a defect be repaired or otherwise corrected at no cost. The seller may refuse the correction request if the repair costs would be unreasonably high, and correction can also require consent in some cases.

The seller may fix the defect at their own cost if the buyer does not ask for rectification and the seller promptly offers to do it after notice of the defect.

The seller must fix a defect within a reasonable time after the buyer reports it, with a limited postponement allowed for certain defects found before the annual inspection. The buyer may also set a reasonable deadline and, if the seller does not act in time, arrange the repair elsewhere and claim compensation.

The buyer may claim a price reduction or rescind the sale if the defect is not corrected in time or should not be corrected; in some shared-ownership housing cases, the buyer may instead receive reasonable compensation, and interest applies to refunded purchase price amounts.

Buyer has a right to compensation for damage caused by a defect in the apartment, and the seller must compensate indirect damage only if the defect or damage was caused by the seller’s negligence.

A buyer cannot rely on a financial defect unless they notify the seller of the defect and related claims within a reasonable time after discovering it, or when they should have discovered it.

The buyer must notify the seller of a legal defect and related claims within a reasonable time after noticing it; otherwise the buyer may lose the right to rely on the defect, unless the seller acted grossly negligently or dishonourably.

This section sets when the buyer must pay the apartment purchase price, requires a minimum deposit for part of the price, limits overly large advance instalments, and lets the seller withdraw the deposit only after a waiting period unless the buyer objects.

A seller must promptly tell the buyer about any price increase and the reason for it; some price-increase clauses are invalid in housing-company sales covered by the chapter’s financial-plan rules.

If the buyer was supposed to specify a dwelling feature or equipment detail but does not do so on time, the seller may specify it. The seller must tell the buyer and give a reasonable time to change it; if the buyer does not change it in time, the specification becomes binding.

If the buyer cancels the apartment sale before the apartment has been handed over to the buyer’s possession, the seller is entitled to compensation for the damage caused.

If the buyer pays an instalment of the purchase price late, the seller has a right to default interest unless the sale is cancelled or rescinded.

Myyjä saa tietyissä tilanteissa purkaa kaupan ostajan maksuviivästyksen vuoksi, mutta ei enää joissakin luovutuksen jälkeen tai sen jälkeen kun viivästynyt maksu korkoineen on maksettu.

The seller may claim compensation when the buyer delays payment and the seller cancels the sale, or when the buyer withdraws under section 32.

Jos kauppa puretaan tai ostaja peruuttaa kaupan, myyjän on palautettava kauppahinta; purkutilanteessa maksetaan myös korkoa. Ostajan on luovutettava hallussaan olevat asunto ja tietyt asiakirjat takaisin myyjälle, ja tietyissä tilanteissa molemmilla osapuolilla on kohtuullisia korvausvelvoitteita.

The buyer may not rescind the apartment sale if the apartment has deteriorated beyond normal wear and tear or been damaged because of the buyer’s negligence, unless the buyer compensates the seller for the resulting decrease in value.

Damages for breach of contract may be reduced if they are unreasonable, especially when the buyer’s delay or cancellation stems from hardship caused mainly without the buyer’s fault.

Korvausta vaativa on nostettava vahingonkorvauskanteensa 3 vuoden kuluessa siitä, kun hän sai tiedon vahingon ilmenemisestä ja korvausvelvollisesta. Lisäksi kanne on pantava vireille viimeistään 10 vuoden kuluessa siitä, kun vahingon aiheuttanut materiaali, ainesosa tai laite laskettiin liikkeelle.

This section says the chapter does not limit an injured person's right to claim compensation under the Tort Liability Act, Product Liability Act, or other law.

Asuntoyhteisöllä on oikeus vedota rakentamista tai korjausrakentamista koskevan sopimuksen sisältöön, vaikka se ei olisi sopimuksen osapuoli ja vaikka hallintoelin olisi aiemmin hyväksynyt yhteisön vahingoksi tehdyn poikkeamisen.

Asuntoyhteisö ja sen osakas tai jäsen voivat vaatia korvausta yhteisöoikeudellisten säännösten nojalla, vaikka menettely olisi aiemmin hyväksytty tai siitä olisi myönnetty vastuuvapaus.

Asunnon ostaja saa vedota asunnon virhettä koskeviin 4 luvun säännöksiin myös ensimmäistä myyjää vastaan, vaikka asunto olisi ostettu kolmannelta.

Buyer must notify the first seller about a defect and related claims within a reasonable time, or lose the right to make claims under section 3. There are exceptions for grossly negligent or dishonourable conduct by the first seller, and for defects tied to safety/property-protection requirements or danger to health/property.

A security covered by the listed sections also applies for the benefit of a buyer who bought the apartment from a third party during the security period.

If a device in a dwelling has a defect, the home buyer may make defect-based claims against the trader who supplied it earlier in the sales chain for resale or housing production.

A contract term that limits the rights of a housing community or consumer under this chapter is void.

The chapter applies to used apartment sales and to sales by a non-business seller when an apartment is first put into use after new construction or comparable renovation.

Kuluttajan vahingoksi tehty sopimusehto, joka poikkeaa tämän luvun säännöksistä, on mitätön, ellei laissa toisin säädetä.

Items and devices in the apartment when it is shown to the buyer are included in the sale unless the parties agreed otherwise.

The seller must hand over the apartment’s possession and related title/possession documents, or give consent for the buyer’s registration, at the agreed time.

By default, the seller must pay certain housing-related costs tied to the period before the buyer takes control, unless the parties agree otherwise.

The seller bears the risk of damage to the apartment before it is handed over to the buyer, but the buyer bears the risk earlier in certain cases and must still pay the purchase price if the apartment is damaged while that risk is on the buyer.

Buyer may withhold payment of the purchase price in several seller-delay situations until the delay is cured or the seller shows timely performance is likely.

If the seller delays handing over possession of the apartment or the documents, the buyer may rescind the sale and claim damages, but only if the delay causes substantial harm and rescission is not unreasonable.

If there are serious reasons to expect a delay that would justify rescission, the buyer may rescind the sale before the agreed performance date.

An apartment is defective if it does not match the agreed terms, pre-sale information, required disclosure of a special feature, or reasonable buyer expectations about condition and fittings.

The buyer cannot rely on defects they should have known about or would have noticed in an inspection; the buyer also has no duty to verify the seller’s information or inspect beyond normal methods unless the seller asks or another special reason exists.

The rule on the time that determines a defect, set out in Chapter 4, Section 17, also applies to defect assessment under this chapter.

Buyer must notify the seller of a defect and related claims within a reasonable time after discovering it, and in any event within two years of receiving possession of the apartment, unless an exception applies.

A buyer may withhold payment of the remaining purchase price due to a defect in the dwelling, but not more than the amount clearly supported by the buyer’s defect-based claims.

The buyer may get a reasonable price reduction for a defect, interest on the refunded price from when the seller received it, and may rescind the sale if the defect causes substantial harm and no other remedy is reasonable.

Ostajalla on oikeus saada korvaus asunnon virheestä aiheutuneesta vahingosta, ellei myyjä näytä, ettei virhe johdu hänen huolimattomuudestaan.

If a business seller has done or arranged repair or improvement work on a home before the sale, the buyer may demand correction of defects in that work, and the seller may correct the defect under sections 22–24 of chapter 4.

The buyer may, despite section 12, demand a reasonable price reduction if the seller failed the disclosure duty under section 11 and the buyer was negligent during the inspection under section 12.

A home sale has a financial defect if the seller gave misleading information, failed to disclose information the buyer could reasonably expect, or an unexpected defect makes the financial burdens much larger than expected.

If the sold item has a legal defect involving a third party’s right, the buyer may seek remedies; the seller must promptly end that third-party right or the buyer may rescind the sale or seek a corresponding price reduction, and the buyer may also claim damages in the stated cases.

The buyer must pay the purchase price unless otherwise agreed, once given a reasonable chance to inspect the apartment and relevant documents, and at the same time as the apartment is handed over and the documents or registration consent are provided.

If the buyer does not pay the purchase price or part of it on time, the seller is entitled to late-payment interest under the Interest Act.

Myyjä saa tietyissä tilanteissa purkaa kaupan ostajan maksuviivästyksen vuoksi, mutta ei saa tehdä niin enää, kun tietyt asiakirjat tai suostumus on luovutettu tai kun myöhästynyt maksu korkoineen on maksettu.

Myyjällä on oikeus saada korvaus ostajan maksun viivästymisestä aiheutuneesta vahingosta, ellei ostaja näytä viivästyksen johtuvan laissa tarkoitetusta esteestä.

If the seller is a business and the buyer is a consumer, cancellation of the sale follows section 4:32, and the buyer’s compensation liability follows section 4:35.

The seller-liability rules also apply when the information was given or omitted by the seller’s commissioned broker or other representative, or when it comes from the housing company’s representative.

If a sale is rescinded or the buyer cancels it, the seller must return the purchase price, pay interest on it in certain cases, and the buyer must return the apartment or related documents if held.

The compensation-adjustment rule in Chapter 4, Section 38 also applies to compensation under this chapter.

A home seller may claim damages from the housing company or person who supplied the information if incorrect information in the manager’s certificate or from the company’s representative led to liability, unless they show there was no negligence.

A home seller may claim compensation from the party whose defect caused the dwelling defect, and a pledge holder selling a pledged dwelling must disclose that fact before the sale and is liable for damage caused by failing to disclose or by giving incorrect information.

Kuluttajaa ei sido ennen riidan syntymistä tehty ehto, jonka mukaan kuluttajan ja elinkeinonharjoittajan riita ratkaistaan välimiesmenettelyssä.

This section says rules on the competent court and forum agreements are found in Chapter 10 of the Code of Judicial Procedure.

This section criminalizes certain breaches of buyer-protection rules related to housing company shares, including prohibited transfer or pledge, missing disclosure, premature offering, and improper marketing, with fines or up to one year’s imprisonment.

Kilpailu- ja kuluttajaviraston on laadittava ohjeet 2 ja 4 luvussa säädetyistä vakuuksista.

Certain sellers must ensure a certificate of performance security is delivered to the building control authority at final inspection, and the document keeper or security provider must give the certificate on request.

This provision sets the law’s commencement date and allows early implementation steps before commencement.

This section says several chapters and provisions do not apply to contracts, offers, claims, or other matters that arose before the law entered into force.