Hearing and consent of neighbours

A neighbour can be a private person, housing cooperative, company, city or some other body that owns or occupies the property.

If two properties share a border, they are neighbours. A property located behind another property is not a neighbour. An exception to this are the so-called axe-handle plots. If there is a road that leads to a third property between two other properties, this is known as an axe–handle, thus, these two properties are neighbours. 

A property located immediately on the other side of a road or diagonally opposite is a neighbour. However, a wide road with several lanes severs the neighbour connection. In Helsinki, such roads include Ring I, Itäväylä and other exit roads of the city.

A property located behind a narrow strip of a park is a neighbour. No exact number of metres has been determined for the width of the strip of a park; the matter is assessed case-specifically.

There can be several owners or occupiers of the property. Everyone must be consulted separately. Particular attention should be paid to this issue, for example in the case of property owned by the estate of a deceased person.

The consent and hearing of a neighbour are two different things. If a neighbour does not consent, construction may not be started. In a hearing, neighbours can object to a project, but if the project is in accordance with the local detailed plan, it can still be implemented.

A neighbour can refuse to give their consent, if the project impedes the use of their property. One of the purposes of the permit process is to ensure the equal treatment of neighbouring properties, therefore, a neighbour who refuses to give their consent must give a reason for not consenting.
 

Most building permits and statements are subject to a fee. 
 

See all permit fees: 

City of Helsinki Building Control Price List 2025 (In Finnish, pdf).  

City of Helsinki Building Control Price List 2024 (In Finnish, pdf). 

The processing times are averages of days needed for the processing of permit applications. The average is calculated over a period of three months and updated four times per year.  

Building Control Services has the greatest backlog of applications in spring. In order to avoid congestion and make the processing of applications smoother, the price list features a discount for single-family house projects in the winter season. You can find the permit prices under ‘How much does a permit or statement cost?’

Average processing times in the period of 1 January 2025–31 March 2025

Building permit, all locations:  

• new construction: 117 days
• expansion and alteration work: 91 days 

Building permit, single-family houses:  

• new construction: 108 days
• expansion and alteration work: 135 days 

Building permit, apartment buildings:  

• new construction: 131 days
• expansion and alteration work: 80 days 

Landscape work permit: — (1 October 2024–31 December 2024: 126 days)  

Demolition permit: 51 days
 

Applications receive notification of the decision approvals in the Lupapiste online permit service.  

Permit decisions made by Building Control Services officials will be on public display for 14 days and permit decisions by the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee for 30 days. It is possible to lodge a claim for rectification against a permit decision by a Building Control Services official with the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee. Permit decisions by the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee can be appealed to the Helsinki Administrative Court.

You can see the public notice list of permit decisions made by Building Control Services officials under Julkipano in the Lupapiste service(Link leads to external service) .

The public notice list for permit decisions by the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee is viewable in the lobby of Kaupunkiympäristötalo at Työpajankatu 8.

Find permits decisions on the following pages:  

• Agendas and minutes of the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee (In Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
• Permit decisions from the head of Building Control (In Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
• Decisions from Building Control officials (In Finnish)(Link leads to external service)

A list of public notices and decisions is also on display in the lobby of the Urban Environment House, located at street address Työpajankatu 8, Helsinki.

A permit decision becomes final when the appeal period has expired and no one has appealed the permit decision. The appeal period for a decision by the Environment and Permits Sub-committee of the Urban Environment Committee is 30 days and the appeal period for a decision by a Building Control Services official is 14 days. The date of the decision and the appeal period are indicated in the permit decision.

You may only start the construction work once the permit becomes legally valid. Projects that have been granted a building permit must begin within three (3) years and the construction work must be completed within five (5) years of the permit entering into force. In the case of action permit, demolition permit or landscape work permit, the work must be carried out within three (3) years.

Be sure to apply for an extension of your permit while it is still valid. Unless an extension is applied for during the permit’s period of validity, you will have to reapply.

In Helsinki, all applications for building permits are submitted electronically in the Lupapiste (Link leads to external service) online permit service. General and project-specific guidance and counselling are also primarily provided via Lupapiste. Documents related to the application and construction process monitoring are to be submitted in digital format to Lupapiste.

How to get started and ask for advice in Lupapiste

1.  The first time you use the service, you will be asked to register. After this, you will be able to log in with your e-mail address and password.
2. Enter the street address where your project site is located.
3. Use the “Kysy neuvoa (Ask for advice)” button in the upper right-hand corner to request guidance. 
4. Write a short description of your project and your question(s). The service will direct you to the appropriate expert who can answer your question(s). 

After the consultation, you can turn your request for guidance into a permit application.

The Lupapiste user manual (available in Finnish and Swedish only)(Link leads to external service) offers instructions for registering and logging in to the service, submitting a new application or request for guidance, turning your guidance request into a permit application, and submitting an application.

You can also submit a guidance request form (Link leads to external service) to receive technical support for using Lupapiste.