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Privacy policy: Personal data related to the ownership of shares in housing companies

Why is personal data processed?

The National Land Survey of Finland (NLS) processes personal data in the course of the maintenance of registers and a service system pertaining to shares entitling to the possession of apartments in housing companies (the Residential and Commercial Property Information System), as well as for information services.

An essential part of the maintenance is the processing and registration of applications concerning the ownership, pledging and restriction of shares.

What is the basis for the processing of personal data?

The NLS processes personal data to comply with its statutory obligations.  

Whose personal data is processed?

The NLS processes the personal data of the following:

  • Holders of shares and rights (e.g. pledgees)
  • Transferors and transferees of shares (e.g. in connection with the sale of a residential property)
  • Individuals who have applied for the registration of their ownership and their contact persons
  • Individuals who have transferred the list of shares in a housing company, as well as the shareholder information received from the housing company during the transfer of the list of shares
  • Building managers and members of housing companies’ boards of directors.

What personal data is processed? 

  • Names
  • Personal identity codes or if the individual does not have a personal identity code, date of birth, nationality and home address
  • Contact details (except for the addresses of customers who have a order of non-disclosure for personal safety reasons or addresses listed in a non-disclosure decision made by the NLS)
  • Information about owners and restrictions obtained in connection with the transfer of lists of shares
  • Information regarding the registration of ownership and the processing of related applications
  • Information about entry in a list of shares (information about the payment of transfer tax)
  • Information regarding restrictions and the processing of related applications
  • Information about maintenance and modifications of apartments reported by the shareholders to the housing company
  • Shares of apartments in the housing company’s loan capital and maintenance charge liabilities.

Is automated decision-making or profiling used?

The processing of personal data does not involve any automated decision-making or profiling.

How long is the personal data retained?

The NLS permanently retains information regarding the ownership, pledging and restriction of shares. 

The NLS permanently retains the information about maintenance and modifications of apartments. The NLS only retains the most recent information about loan capital and maintenance charge liabilities. 

Where does the personal data come from?  

The disclosure of personal data to the NLS for the maintenance of the Residential and Commercial Property Information System is based on law.

The NLS receives information regarding the registration of the ownership, pledging and restriction of shares from customers applying for registration in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. Customers can be private individuals, companies or authorities.

The NLS also receives information for the maintenance of the Residential and Commercial Property Information System from other authorities:  

  • The Finnish Patent and Registration Office provides information about the founders and board members of housing companies
  • The Digital and Population Data Services Agency provides information about the current names, personal identity codes, contact details and any guardianship of housing companies’ shareholders
  • The Finnish Tax Administration provides information about the payment of asset transfer tax.

The NLS also receives information from the following parties: 

  • From housing companies, information about the maintenance and modifications of apartments, as well as apartments’ shares in the housing company’s loan capital and maintenance charge liabilities
  • From banks and other lenders, information about housing company loans.

To whom is personal data disclosed?

The NLS discloses personal data for the purposes of share trading, the management of securities, the administration of companies and the access to shareholder information. The individual requesting the data must have a valid reason.

The NLS discloses information to other authorities such as the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, the Finnish Tax Administration and National Enforcement Authority Finland. Information about apartments’ shares of the housing company’s loan capital and maintenance charge liabilities will be disclosed to the Positive Credit Register of the Finnish Tax Administration starting from 2027.  

Information is also disclosed to private parties such as developers, banks and real estate agents when they need the information in their operations. 

The list of a housing company’s shares is a public document, which means that anybody can obtain the information in the list of shares. The list of shares does not contain the personal identity codes of the shareholders. 

Personal data is not transferred outside the EU or the EEA.

What are your rights in relation to the processing of your personal data?

You have the right to be informed whether the NLS is processing your personal data and if so, which data. You may submit a request to view your personal data using our form or submit a free-form request.

You can check your contact details in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System in the e-service of the NLS (in Finnish). If your apartment has an electronic record of ownership, you can also use the NLS e-service to check the information about your apartment. 

You have the right to request that the NLS rectifies any inaccurate personal data without undue delay. You may submit a request for rectification using our form or submit a free-form request.

Contact your housing company if you wish to view information about the maintenance and modifications or financial data of your apartment. The NLS enters information about maintenance and modifications and the shares of apartments in the housing company’s loan capital and maintenance charge liabilities in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System in accordance with the housing company’s notification.  

Right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Ombudsman

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Ombudsman if you are of the opinion that the NLS has violated legislation on the processing of personal data.

Applicable legislation

Act on the Residential and Commercial Property Information System 1328/2018
Act on the Bringing into Force of the Act on the Residential and Commercial Property Information System 1329/2018  

Controller

National Land Survey of Finland
Visiting address: Opastinsilta 12 C, 00520 Helsinki
Mailing address: PB 84, 00521 Helsinki
Tel.: +358 29 530 1100 (switchboard)
Email: kirjaamo@nls.fi
maanmittauslaitos.fi/en

Data protection officer

National Land Survey of Finland
Data protection officer
Mailing address: PB 84, 00521 Helsinki
Tel.: +358 29 530 1100 (switchboard)
Email: tietosuojavastaava@maanmittauslaitos.fi