A cadastral survey is needed when you want to establish a new property, define the borders of a property or change the rights related to a property.
Cadastral surveys are a public service and they are regulated, among others, by the Real Estate Formation Act (554/1995), Private Roads Act (560/2018) and the Act on the Redemption of Immoveable Property and Special Rights (603/1977). The results and decisions of cadastral surveys will be saved in the Land Information System of Finland and stored indefinitely. The cost of the survey is determined according to the prices set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
You can apply for a survey if you are the owner or a co-owner of the property. Any other party, whose rights would be affected by a cadastral survey, can apply for a survey as well.
Apply for a cadastral survey if you want
- to split a property you own into new properties (parcelling)
- a title registration of a conveyed parcel will initiate parcelling without an application.
- to split a property owned by several people into separate properties (partitioning)
- to find out a property’s exact boundaries (boundary demarcation)
- to get a right of way to your property or to solve a dispute relating to a right of way (private road survey)
- to get a right to use someone else’s property for a specified purpose (easement survey)
- an agreement between property owners is necessary in order to register an easement.
- to expropriate a reliction area (expropriation procedure)
During cadastral surveys, the necessary terrain work and cartographic work are conducted only when there is no snow on the ground. If you submit your cadastral survey application in winter, we can usually start working in the terrain the following spring.
Before applying for a cadastral survey
- Find out which type of cadastral survey you need. On each type’s webpage you can find more information on what tasks are conducted in each type, how long the survey will approximately take, and what it will cost and how the costs are determined.
- If the property has multiple owners and you are applying for the survey jointly, please attach authorizations letters from all co-owners to the application form.
- It is recommended that you discuss with your neighbours and all other concerned parties why the survey is conducted and what type of survey is necessary. If the matter can be agreed on beforehand, the survey can be completed faster.
Apply for a cadastral survey
- Collect all necessary attachments and save them in .jpg or .pdf format.
- Apply for the survey via the NLS e-service (in Finnish): select the property and the type of cadastral survey you are applying for, fill in the information requested in the application form and attach all necessary attachments.
If you do not have access to the NLS e-service, you can also apply for a survey with a paper application form, in Finnish or in Swedish (suomi.fi).
Visit our website in Finnish or a land survey office for more information on cadastral surveys.