Apply for registration of the ownership of your apartment

The owner of the apartment must apply for registration of ownership in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. You can apply for registration of ownership after your housing company has been entered into the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. The old share certificate will be replaced with an electronic registration of ownership.

An apartment can be, for example, an apartment, a parking space, a storeroom, or business premises.

The registration of ownership of an apartment is subject to a charge. See the price list.

By answering the questions in our interactive instructions, you can check how to apply for registration of your apartment in various situations, for example, when you have a paper share certificate or an electronic registration of ownership.

How to apply for registration of ownership of an apartment

  1. Check either with the property manager or the National Land Survey's customer service that the housing company has been entered into the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.

  2. Fill in the application (in Finnish or Swedish) to register the ownership of the apartment.

    Note: The registration of the ownership of an apartment can be applied for in NLS e-services. The application is always made by filling in a PDF form.

  3. Acquire attachments.
  4. Send the application and its attachments via our secured e-mail service or by post, or bring them to one of our customer service points.

    Once your ownership has been registered, you will receive a notification as a classified e-mail or by regular post.

How to send the application when you have a paper share certificate

Hand in the application and original share certificate to one of the National Land Survey's customer service points.

You can also send the application and original share certificate by post. Please note that the share certificate is a transferable security, and it is important to select a secure delivery method. For additional information, see the Posti website, for example.

Please note! If you have a large number of share certificates, please send them by post to Maanmittauslaitos / Huoneistot, PL 3300, 65101 Vaasa.

When your ownership has been registered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System the National Land Survey will make the original share certificate void. If you wish, you can have the share certificate returned to you after it has been made void.

If your share certificate is held by a bank (as security for a loan)

Banks wish that customers who have the share certificate as security for a loan do not apply for registration yet. Currently, there is delay in the processing of applications. Therefore, we recommend that you wait until the delay has eased.

Check the average processing time of applications

How to send the application when the apartment has an electronic registration of ownership

Attach the transferring party's consent to your application.

When should you apply for registration of ownership?

If an apartment has a new owner – for instance, you have bought or inherited an apartment – you need to apply for registration of your ownership within two months.

If you own an apartment in a housing company that has transferred its list of shares to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, you have 10 years time to register the ownership of your apartment. The limitation period starts to run from the time when your housing company transferred its shares to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System.

Processing time

See the average processing times of applications and surveying services on the Application processing times page.

Registration of ownership of parking space

Paper share certificate

If the parking space has a separate share certificate, apply for registration of ownership in the same way as you would for an apartment. If the parking space does not have a separate share certificate, you do not need to apply for registration of the parking space separately.

Electronic registration of ownership

If the apartment and parking space are already entered into the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, check the apartment printout. If the apartment and parking space belong to different groups of shares, apply for registration of ownership of the parking space in the same way as you would for an apartment. If the apartment and parking space belong to the same group of shares, you do not need to apply for registration of the parking space separately.

Registration of clarification of ownership

Parties to an undistributed death estate can jointly apply for the registration of the ownership of an apartment belonging to the death estate. Applying for the clarification of ownership is not mandatory but makes further measures easier.

The clarification of ownership should be applied for, for example, when a death estate wants to sell the apartment of the deceased owner. In this case, the deed of estate inventory and an extract of family relations do not need to be provided for the buyer for the registration of ownership.

Attach the deed of the estate inventory, an extract of family relations and any will to the application.

Registration of ownership when the articles of association have been amended

After the articles of association have been amended, you have to apply for registration of your ownership, if there have been changes in the share group you own. See more detailed instructions on the website of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (in Finnish or in Swedish).

You can have a look at the instructions for housing companies in situations where the articles of association are amended on the osakehuoneistorekisteri.fi website (in Finnish or in Swedish).

Attachments to the application

Attachments can be delivered as copies, apart from paper share certificates and temporary certificates that must always be delivered as originals.

The most typical attachments in various situations

Sale

  • Paper share certificate or temporary certificate as original or
  • the transferring party's consent

Gift

  • Paper share certificate or temporary certificate as original or
  • the transferring party's consent

Partitioning or distribution of an estate

  • Partitioning or distribution agreement
  • Possible paper share certificate or temporary certificate
  • Deed of estate inventory and extract of family relations
  • Possible will

Will

  • Will
  • Acknowledgement of receiving information about the will or approvals from parties to the estate
  • Possible declarations of compulsory shares and an account of the distribution of compulsory shares
  • Possible paper share certificate or temporary certificate as original
  • Deed of estate inventory and extract of family relations

Partitioning agreement

  • Partitioning agreement
  • Possible paper share certificate or temporary certificate

An amendment of the articles of association that leads to changes in the share groups

  • The housing company’s report on the formation of new share groups and the discontinuation of old ones. The housing company’s report must cover all changes that took place through the amendment of the articles of association. The report can be, for example, the minutes of the housing company’s shareholders’ meeting in which the amendment of the articles of association was processed.
  • A paper share certificate or temporary certificate as originals if the ownership of the share group that was discontinued with the amendment of the articles of association was based on a paper share certificate.
  • Application or consent of the pledgee and the party protected through restrictions if there were any pledging and restriction records for the share group that was discontinued with the amendment of the articles of association.

Price

Registration of the ownership of an apartment

An apartment can be, for example, an apartment, a parking space, a storeroom or business premises.

 

Product Price € (excl. VAT) Price € (incl. VAT)
7481101000
Registration of ownership upon application of the owner or
notification of the housing company, EUR per apartment
 		89,00 No VAT
7481101004
Registration of clarification or other registration or entry in the register, EUR per apartment
 		89,00 No VAT
7481101005
Return of a share certificate or temporary certificate
 		16,00 No VAT
7481101090
Registration of the ownership of all shares (EUR per hour)
 		118,00 No VAT
7481101091
Changes in identification information (EUR per hour)
 		118,00 No VAT
7481101094
Recording register entries pertaining to changes in articles of association €/h
 		118,00 No VAT

748110190 Registration of the ownership of all shares (EUR per hour) if

  • The owner of the shares has assigned the entire share capital at once to an assignee/assignees. The assignor’s proportion of holdings in each group of shares must be the same as the assignee’s proportion of holdings in each group of shares; or
  • The owner(s) apply for simultaneous registration of the ownership to the company’s entire share capital so that the proportion of holdings of each owner is the same for all groups of shares.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I register my ownership if I have misplaced my paper share certificate?

If your paper share certificate is misplaced or damaged, request its annulment from the district court.

If you requested your share certificate to be annulled before your housing company transferred its list of shares to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, your housing company must provide a new or temporary share certificate to replace the annulled one.

If you requested your share certificate to be annulled after your housing company transferred its list of shares, your housing company does not need to provide a new or temporary share certificate. Attach the district court’s decision on the annulment of the share certificate with the ownership registration application.

I bought an apartment whose ownership is still indicated by a paper share certificate, even though the housing company has already been transferred to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. What do I need to do?

You must apply for the registration of your ownership within two months of signing the deed of transfer or transfer of ownership. Apply for the registration of ownership from the National Land Survey. Application form (in Finnish).  

The application must be accompanied by your original paper share certificate with a transfer note in your name. You can send your application and share certificate by mail or bring them to the National Land Survey’s service location anywhere in Finland. Please note that the share certificate is a transferable security and it is important to select a secure delivery method. For additional information, see the Posti website, for example.

Based on the application, the National Land Survey of Finland will register your ownership as an electronic registration of ownership in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System and cancel the paper share certificate at the same time. Do not cancel or destroy your share certificate yourself. 

Read more about the registration of ownership. 

If the apartment is pledged as collateral for a loan, please contact the bank.  

I was notified that my housing company’s list of shares has been transferred to the Residential and Commercial Property Information System. What do I need to do?

If you are the current owner of the apartment, you have 10 years to apply to the National Land Survey for the registration of ownership of the apartment. This means that you will convert your paper share certificate into electronic form. Apply for the registration of ownership from the National Land Survey. Application form (in Finnish).  

Your original paper share certificate is required as an attachment to the application. You can send your application and share certificate by mail or bring them to the National Land Survey’s service location anywhere in Finland. Please note that the share certificate is a transferable security and it is important to select a secure delivery method. For additional information, see the Posti website, for example. 

Based on the application, the National Land Survey of Finland will register your ownership as an electronic registration of ownership in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System and cancel the paper share certificate at the same time. Do not cancel or destroy your share certificate yourself. 

Read more about the registration of ownership. 

I am a shareholder – what do I need to do?

The procedure depends on whether your housing company is already included in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, and whether your apartment still has a paper share certificate or an electronic registration of ownership.  

You can check the instructions for each situation by responding to the service assistant’s questions.  

What do I do if my share certificate is in the bank?

If your share certificate is held by a bank as collateral for a loan, you can authorise the bank to apply for registration on your behalf. However, there is no rush to apply for the registration of ownership. 

If your share certificate is stored in a bank safe but not as collateral for a loan, you can contact the bank and agree whether to apply for the registration of ownership yourself or authorise the bank to do so.

I bought an apartment whose ownership is indicated by an electronic registration of ownership. What do I need to do?

Apply for the registration of ownership from the National Land Survey. Application form (in Finnish).

To register your ownership, you need the seller’s consent. Attach a copy of the deed of sale or separate written consent and the seller’s contact information (telephone number and email address) to the application.

Alternatively, the seller can sign their consent to the application form for the registration of ownership. NLS will contact the seller to verify their consent.

Read more about the registration of ownership. 

If the apartment is pledged as collateral for a loan, please contact the bank.  

I need to register quickly. Can I get the registration right away?

The registration can be rushed for a justified reason (for example, a housing transaction is coming up).

Please contact the National Land Survey’s customer service by phone or using the online form if you need faster registration. 

Do I also need to apply for a separate registration of ownership for the parking space?

If the parking space has a separate share certificate, apply for the registration of ownership the same way as you would an apartment. In new housing companies (established in 2019 or later), the new owner applies for the registration of ownership of a parking space with the consent of the previous owner. 

If the parking space does not have a share certificate, you do not have to apply for ownership of the parking space separately because the apartment and the parking space are controlled with the same group of shares. The items controlled by the share group are shown in the articles of association and the apartment printout. 

What are the processing times for registration applications?

Application processing times can be found on the Application processing times.

How much do Residential and Commercial Property Information System registrations cost?

Check the price list for apartments.