Tärkeää tietoa asumisesta

"My home is where everything is right for me."
(Tanzanian saying)

• You can obtain an electricity contract by calling an electricity company and supplying them with your name and address. Residents have the responsibility to buy and change light bulbs and fuses.

• The tenancy agreement will indicate whether water bills are included in the rent or whether they are payable separately each month.

• If you have a landline, inform the telephone company of your new address and a landline connection will be established.

• If you have a television, you will need a TV licence. TV licences are available from viestintävirasto.

• By Finnish law, each residence must have a fire alarm. Make sure your fire alarm is in operation. Residents are responsible for replacing the batteries of fire alarms approximately once a year. Home insurance does not cover a fire if the fire alarm was out of order prior to and during the fire.

• Home insurance is provided by insurance companies. Insurance companies will help you to choose the right kind of insurance for you. Make sure that you know exactly what is covered by the insurance.

• Household appliances are the responsibility of residents, so look after your refrigerator, freezer, cooker, cooker hood and washing machine.

• You will need permission from your landlord to put up a satellite dish.

• Balconies are for the residents’ recreational purposes only. Cooking or storing food on a balcony is not allowed.

• Litter is discarded in closed-up bags into containers that are indicated for that purpose. Poisonous material, electrical waste and scrap electronics are hazardous waste and cannot be deposited in the waste containers of the property. A container for biological waste is provided for food remains. Do not put plastic or other litter in the biological waste container.

• For the location of the nearest hazardous waste collection site please visit ongelmajäte.fi.

Communal Areas for Residents:

• You can sign an agreement with the landlord whereby you will be entitled to use the sauna in the building.

• You must make a reservation to use the laundry room in the building.
• The building’s storage facilities are intended for belongings you do not need every day.
• Cars must be parked in allocated areas only. You can sign an agreement with the landlord whereby you can have a parking spot allocated for you.

The household safety guidebook Kodin turvaopas can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior’s Rescue Department. The guidebook contains information on, for example, fire safety and the prevention of accidents.

Each building usually has a house committee, which is connected to the board of the housing association. The house committee is a channel for communicating the occupants’ opinions and wishes. Participation in occupants’ meetings can be beneficial. You can get elected to the occupants’ committee, which is a good place to influence the affairs of your own building. You can also contact the house committee if housing-related problems arise.