The process of buying and selling owner apartments will transfer to a new electronic system. Paper share certificates will no longer be used, and information about apartment owners will be entered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System maintained by the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS).

The registration consists of two phases. First, the housing company needs to transfer their list of shares to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. Only after this can the ownership of a single apartment be registered in the electronic system. At the same time, the paper certificate will be made void.
During the transition period, paper share certificates can be used or the ownership can be indicated by an electronic entry in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.

The change of ownership can be registered in different ways, depending on whether the housing company’s list of shares has been transferred to the electronic system and whether the ownership of the apartment has already been registered in the electronic system.

Before the transaction

• Check all information about the apartment you are about to buy.
• Contact the building manager or NLS to check whether the housing company’s list of shares and information about the ownership of the apartment have been entered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.
• Information about the ownership of apartments in all new housing companies established after 1 January 2019 is automatically entered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.

When must a new owner be registered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System?

If the housing company has not transferred its list of shares to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, you can complete the transaction as before by using paper share certificates, and no information about the ownership of the apartment will be entered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. Information about the transfer of ownership and the new owner is entered in the paper share certificate.

If the housing company’s list of shares has been transferred to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, the new owner must apply for the registration of their ownership in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System after the transaction. If information about the shares sold has not yet been transferred to the electronic system, the transaction will be completed using paper share certificates, and the certificates will be made void in conjunction with the registration of ownership.

If the housing company was established after 1 January 2019, it will automatically be entered into the Residential and Commercial Property Information System directly after its establishment. No share certificates will be printed, and information about apartment owners, pledges and any restrictions on the right of possession will be maintained in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. 

The apartment owner must apply for the registration of ownership after the transaction. The registration of ownership requires the consent of the previous owner.

See also

Information and instructions on housing transactions on the website of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.