‘Reliction area’ means the area remaining between the plot boundary and the shoreline. In other words, it is an area that used to be part of the waterbody but has become part of the land area over the years, as the land has risen more than the water level. 

In Finland, the boundaries of owned plots do not change automatically when the landscape changes.  

According to Professor Hannu Koivula from the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) of the NLS, the land currently rises by a centimetre a year in Vaasa, whereas the sea level rises by roughly three millimetres per year. This means that there are more new reliction areas around seaside plots in Vaasa than in Helsinki, where the rate of sea level rise is estimated to approach the rate of land uplift. 
 

Each year, 500–800 people acquire their reliction area 

Reliction areas can be acquired by applying for their acquisition from the NLS. Once an owner of a seaside plot has acquired a reliction area, their plot extends all the way to the sea. 

‘The benefit gained from acquiring a reliction area varies from one situation to the next. It may be a building permit, a certain plot area or the feeling that ownership is secure,’ says Reijo Hautamäki, Production Manager at the NLS, who is responsible for reliction area acquisitions in the region of Ostrobothnia. 

‘If you are thinking about the ownership of your reliction area, its acquisition is fairly easy. Each year, 500–800 reliction areas are acquired in Finland,’ Hautamäki says. 
 

Reliction areas under ownership for next July 

The acquisition of a reliction area is a surveying procedure subject to a separate charge, in which the applicant covers the costs arising from the NLS’s processes, typically EUR 2,000–3,000. In addition, the acquiring plot owner must pay compensation to the owner of the water area – typically the joint water area’s management association – as well as transfer tax, which is three per cent of the acquisition price. More information about the level of compensation can be requested from the management association, but the final price will only be determined during the surveying procedure. 

The acquisition of a reliction area usually takes five to eight months. More urgent cases will be processed more quickly. 

‘If you apply for the acquisition of a reliction area today, we estimate that its ownership will have been processed by early summer 2025, as surveying is not usually possible during winter,’ says Reijo Hautamäki. 

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a notification with the contact details of the cadastral surveyor who is processing the acquisition case. You may contact the surveyor if your need for an acquisition is urgent. 
 

Read more

Read more about joint water areas (in Finnish)
Read more about the acquisition of reliction areas (in Finnish)  
Apply for the acquisition of a reliction area in the NLS’s e-service (in Finnish)
If required, contact the NLS customer service 

 

Further information: 

About the acquisition of reliction areas  
Reijo Hautamäki, Production Manager, +358 40 538 9368 

About land uplift  
Hannu Koivula, Professor, Department Director 

The email format is firstname.lastname@nls.fi