To-do list for apartment sellers

Ownership of an apartment can be indicated by either a paper share certificate or an electronic registration of ownership in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.

Before a housing transaction

  • Always present the buyer with an owner-apartment printout and an excerpt from the list of shares. From the printouts, the buyer can see information about the apartment’s ownership, pledges and restrictions.
    • If the apartment you are selling has an electronic registration of ownership, you can purchase the printouts from the NLS E-service (in Finnish).
    • If not, you can place an order for the printouts in the National Land Survey of Finland customer service.
    • The estate agent can also obtain the printouts through the service of their system supplier.
    • Please note: The printouts from the Residential and Commercial Property Information System do not replace the building manager’s certificate, so don’t forget to get the building manager’s certificate from the housing company for the transaction.
  • If the apartment still has a paper share certificate, make sure that it is available for the transaction. If the paper share certificate has been misplaced, you must request its annulment from the District Court before you can conclude the transaction.
  • Please note: If the shareholders of an undivided estate sell an apartment in the name of the decedent, the registration of ownership, i.e. the clarification of the estate, should be completed before the transaction, as this way, you will not need to provide the buyer with the deed of estate inventory and a detailed extract from the Population Information System for the registration of ownership.

During a housing transaction

  • If there is an electronic registration of ownership for the apartment, you must give the buyer your consent for the registration of ownership.
  • If there is a paper share certificate, you must add a transfer entry in the share certificate and hand the certificate over to the buyer.
  • Please note: If necessary, you must give the buyer a power of attorney to attend the housing company’s annual general meeting, as the deed of sale is not sufficient proof of their right to attend the meeting. Before sending invitations to the annual general meeting, the housing company will check ownership data from the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, but the registration of ownership may take several months.

After a housing transaction

See also

By answering the questions in our interactive instructions, you can check how the buyer can register the ownership of an apartment when completing the transaction. 

Information and instructions about buying and selling an apartment on the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority's website.

Do you need help?

Contact our customer service