Information database
About the knowledge base
A knowledge base for landlords on real-estate investment, rental operations, taxation and housing companies
Whether you are looking for beginner instructions on real estate investment, information on legal aspects of rental operations or on the pitfalls of taxation, this knowledge base provides answers to your questions. You can filter the articles by topic or use the search function to sort articles by content. While the section on real estate investment is available to everyone, other sections are restricted to members only and fully available via login on our member pages.
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Jäsenille
Housing First
The Housing First model aims to increase housing capacity in order to fight homelessness. This model removes typical financial risks…
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Renting to a foreigner
Renting to a foreign-born person does not differ from renting to a Finnish-born person. The Act on Residential Leases applies…
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Renting to a company
Business premises are typically rented to companies. However, even a residential apartment may be rented to a company. When the…
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General information
Landlords must pay a tax on capital income. Any expenses for the production of rental income are tax-deductible. All receipts…
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Transfer tax
The buyer of a property or an owner apartment must pay a transfer tax. The transfer tax rate is 3…
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Entering as income and as funding
The possibility to deduct charges for common expenses depends on how the housing company files the charges on record. The…
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Finances
The management of finances in a housing company differs greatly from managing a normal business, as the purpose of a…
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Deciding on funding
Each year, housing companies must decide whether to enter charges for common expenses as funding. This decision is always made…
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Deducting expenses
The landlord is entitled to deduct costs incurred in the production of rental income. Any expenses are deductible from the…
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Grounds for taking possession of an owner apartment by the housing company
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act includes a complete list of grounds that a housing company may use to take…
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Articles of association
The articles of association can be considered one of the most essential documents of a housing company. Even though the…
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Rental income
Rental income is compensation received from assigning the right of possession of an item. Typically, the leased item is an…
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Capital gains tax
When a landlord sells their apartments, sales often result in capital gain or loss. Capital gain is taxable as capital…
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Adjustment options for housing company’s annual financial statement
A housing company is liable for corporate tax like any other corporation. However, housing companies are granted several adjustment options…
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Renovations
As a landlord, you should take good care of your rental apartment. This means that you should renovate the apartment…
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Share register and registering ownership
The share register includes a list of all shares along with the owner apartments whose possession is conferred by the…
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Fixtures and appliances
Acquired appliances and fixtures may be deducted from rental income either as annual expenses or by depreciation. For a furnished…
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Shareholders’ meeting
The shareholders’ meeting is the highest decision-making body in a housing company. The shareholders’ meeting decides on all matters that…
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Renting to a relative
Your tenant may, at least temporarily, be a family member, such as your own child. It is quite typical for…
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Gift tax and inheritance tax
Any non-compensated assignments are subject to either a gift tax or an inheritance tax which are determined by the value…
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Renting to a relative
Your tenant may, at least temporarily, be a family member, such as your own child. It is quite typical for…
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Procedure for taking possession of an owner apartment by the housing company
Taking possession of an owner apartment means that the housing company takes over the possession of a shareholder-owned apartment for…
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Housing company
Our knowledgebase includes information on finances, repair needs, and management of a housing company.
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Travel expenses and other expenses
Any travel expenses related to a rental operation are tax-deductible, as are other occasional expenses incurred in the production of…
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Renting out your property
Renting out an apartment can be a breeze—as long as you know what you are doing. The Finnish Landlord Association’s…
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Own use and its implications
A landlord may face a situation where they need their leased apartment for their own use. On the other hand,…
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Audit
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act includes clauses about the housing company’s obligation to select an auditor or an operations…
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The board of directors
A housing company shall have a board of directors. The board of directors shall see to the administration of the…
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Losses incurred by the rental operation
Your rental operation may result in losses during a certain year. Losses are incurred when deductible costs exceed your rental…
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Protesting against or voiding a decision
Decisions made by a shareholders’ meeting may be voidable or even null and void. If there is a modicum of…
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Taxation
Landlords are required to pay tax for the capital income accumulated from their rental operation. Any expenses for the production…
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Value added tax
Rental operation is principally not subject to value added tax regardless of the legal form of business. However, there are…
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Investing via a limited liability company
If you plan on expanding your rental operation, it may be a good idea to establish a limited liability company…
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Tax Return Guide
Rental income and any related expenses thereof must always be declared to the Finnish Tax Administration. Relevant information has to…
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Repairs and maintenance
Both the company and the shareholders of the company may perform repair and maintenance work. On occasion, a shareholder may…
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Charges for common expenses
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act states that shareholders must pay charges for common expenses to the housing company. The…
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Maintenance liability
Responsibility for the maintenance of the housing company’s building and other facilities is divided between the shareholders and the housing…
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Report on maintenance needs
The board of directors must present a report on maintenance needs at the ordinary shareholders’ meeting. The report must be…
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Compensation
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act includes regulations concerning situations where a shareholder may be liable for less than a…
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Housing company renovation projects
Housing company renovation projects are typically long-lasting projects that require diligence, know-how, and time from particularly the property manager and…
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Shareholder’s alteration work
The shareholder is entitled to perform alterations quite extensively within the owner apartment. However, before commencing the work, confirm the…
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Shareholder’s liability for damages
Shareholder’s liability for damages may have to be reviewed if, for example, it is found that a bathroom renovation has…
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Notification of maintenance and alteration work
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act requires the shareholder to notify the board of directors or the property manager in…
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Equal division
An equal division means that costs are divided equally between all shareholders. In other words, this exceptional arrangement reduces the…
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Increase in value
Increase in value has traditionally had a significant role in real estate investment. In the long term, apartments have provided…
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BRRRR
BRRRR is short for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. This investment strategy is based on increasing the value of the…
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Flipping
Flipping is a term used to describe the increase of an apartment’s value by means of renovation. The flipped apartment…
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Short-term accommodation services
Some real-estate investors focus on providing short-term accommodation services by renting furnished apartments. There is demand for furnished apartments in…
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Investing in real estate abroad
Investing in real estate abroad may give variety to your portfolio and provide higher profits than a purely domestic operation.…
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Appropriate rent
An essential part of your investment strategy is to determine the appropriate rent for your investment. Setting the rent correctly…
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Financing
In residential property investment, using leveraging is easier than with other forms of investment. A real estate investor may finance…
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Housing company maintenance expenses
Shareholders are sometimes taken aback by high maintenance expenses in a housing company, and it’s not uncommon for them to…
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Housing company renovation projects
Housing company renovation projects are typically long-lasting projects that require diligence, know-how, and time from particularly the property manager and…
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Fair rental practices
Fair rental practices are meant to assist with creating, running, and ending a trouble-free lease. Fair rental practices guide is…
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Non-discrimination in renting
In principle, private landlords are entitled to choose a tenant freely. However, the choice may not be made on a…
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Flipping apartments
Flipping apartments is one of many residential property investment strategies. It refers to a strategy where you buy an apartment…