1. Hire a principal designer for your project
It’s a good idea to hire a principal designer for your construction project as early as the plot acquisition stage. The principal designer is responsible for the design of the building and acts as your contact person with the Building Control Services. They also ensure that the design complies with the valid local detailed plan, building code and other regulations. Allow enough time for the design phase of a small-house project, preferably a year.
In Helsinki’s dense urban environment, special requirements apply to the designer’s competence. When hiring a principal designer, make sure that their education and work experience meet the criteria of the “Demanding” qualification class.
2. Start your project by submitting a guidance request in Lupapiste
Begin preparing your project as early as possible by submitting a guidance request in Lupapiste.
Through Lupapiste, you can send us questions related to your construction project and the principal designer can also book a preliminary consultation once the initial plans have been drawn up based on the background information.
In Lupapiste, up-to-date information and instructions remain available to all parties involved throughout the entire design and permit process.
Siirry Lupapisteeseen(Link leads to external service)
Katso Helsingin rakennusvalvonnan yhteystiedot(Link leads to external service)
In Helsinki, all applications for building permits are submitted electronically in the Lupapiste 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.
Go to Lupapiste (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
How to get started and ask for advice in Lupapiste
- 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.
- Enter the street address where your project site is located.
- Use the “Kysy neuvoa (Ask for advice)” button in the upper right-hand corner to request guidance.
- 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.
3. Start registering the property as a plot
You must have legal rights to the building site before you can submit a building permit application in Lupapiste.
Once you have bought or leased the property, make sure it is also registered as a plot. This is important so that the building can be taken into use at the stage of the partial final inspection. If a plot division or subdivision needs to be carried out for the property, it is important to contact Helsinki’s City Survey Services as early as possible.
4. Project planning begins with identifying the constraints and gathering background information
Local detailed plan regulations guide construction on the plot
The building must be designed in accordance with the regulations set out in the local detailed plan. The plan specifies, for example, how much can be built on the site, the building right, the maximum number of floors and the maximum height of the building. It is your and the principal designer’s responsibility to make sure that the project complies with the plan. You can find your area’s local detailed plan in Helsinki’s map service. If there is no valid plan for your plot, contact Building Control through Lupapiste.
Tarkista alueesi asemakaava Helsingin karttapalvelusta(Link leads to external service) (Move the map to your area, zoom in on the view and click on the boundary of the local detailed plan.)
The building ordinance defines the framework for construction in Helsinki
The ordinance is binding and sets out the regulations governing construction in the city. It includes provisions on, among other things:
- building terraces
- managing stormwater
- felling trees
- planting
- plot coverage
- waste management.
The Karttakori service provides the background data needed for preparing drawings
The principal designer orders the background data for the design from the City of Helsinki’s Karttakori service. Information about cables and lines located on the plot is available to the principal designer through the Johtotietopalvelu service.
Hae lähtötietoaineistot Karttakori-palvelusta(Link leads to external service)
Lue lisää Johtotietopalvelusta
Order a soil survey for the plot
You must commission a soil survey for the plot from a specialised company. The survey is an essential part of the project’s background data, as it ensures that the foundation structure can be designed and built to meet the building’s key technical requirements.
For example, a sloping plot or ground with rock or soft soil requires special measures in the design of the building’s foundations. Any groundwater areas or soil contamination must also be taken into account in the design.
In addition to the soil survey, it is advisable to check other restrictions on the plot, such as nature conservation areas, noise zones or flood zones. This information can be found in Helsingin karttapalvelusta(Link leads to external service) .
Special attention must be paid to managing stormwater, meaning roof and surface water, in Helsinki. Stormwater must be absorbed or retained on your own plot. If retention on the plot is not possible, the water must be directed to an external stormwater system. Stormwater must not be directed onto a neighbour’s plot, a roadway, cycle path, pavement, street ditch or any other public area.
5. The building is designed based on the background data
Once the background data is in order, the house can be designed and positioned on the plot correctly from the start.
The principal designer is responsible for preparing the building plans and main drawings based on the background data and your wishes. The plans must comply with the provisions of the Finnish Building Code.
Pääpiirustuksia ovat
- asemapiirros
- leikkauspiirustus
- pohjapiirustus
- julkisivupiirustus.
For small-house plots, a yard plan must also be prepared if the site layout has not been presented in sufficient detail in the site plan.
The starting point for design must be compliance with the local detailed plan. However, for a specific reason, the municipality may grant minor deviations in connection with the building permit application, for example from laws, provisions, the local detailed plan or the building ordinance.
If you apply for a minor deviation, the principal designer must specify each deviation separately with justifications in the project description in Lupapiste. We will assess minor deviations on a case-by-case basis and, if necessary, request statements from the relevant authorities.
In the description, the principal designer must clearly state
- what you wish to deviate from
- how you wish to deviate
- the reasons for the deviation.
A minor deviation must lead to a better outcome in the design solution. The reason for a minor deviation cannot be financial.
Minor deviations must be presented in the preliminary consultation. If an unreported minor deviation is identified by Building Control in the building permit application, it may delay the processing of the permit.
6. The principal designer holds preliminary consultations with Building Control
The principal designer holds preliminary consultations with the building permit officer at Building Control. You may also take part in these consultations.
Preliminary consultations are booked through Lupapiste. At the same time, the required main drawings and documents for the consultations must be submitted. The principal designer is responsible for ensuring that the documents are available no later than one week before the agreed consultation date.
In the preliminary consultation, the following will be reviewed
- the designer’s competence
- the project’s background data
- reports
- preliminary plans
- any minor deviations from the local detailed plan or other regulations that require special consideration or reports in the building permit.
In the preliminary consultation, we will define which documents and attachments the principal designer needs for the building permit application. The aim is to guide the plans to the point where the building permit can be applied for.
After the preliminary consultation, the discussion continues in Lupapiste.
Tutustu rakentamislupahakemukseen liitettäviin selvityksiin ja asiakirjoihin (pdf)
7. Submitting and processing the building permit application
The building permit application is processed in Lupapiste. The application can be submitted either by you or by the principal designer. The principal designer is responsible for ensuring that the application is carefully completed and contains all the required information. We can process the application once the main drawings and other conditions for a positive decision are in order.
In a small-house project, you must also have designated HVAC, structural and foundation designers. It is your responsibility to ensure that the responsible specialist designers are named in Lupapiste no later than when the building permit application is submitted.
Tarkista Topten-ohjekortti pääpiirustuksien laatimiseen(Link leads to external service)
Processing a permit application for demanding projects takes 2-3 months, provided that the documents allow the application to be handled. For especially or exceptionally demanding projects, the processing time is 6 months. If Building Control requests that the application be supplemented, the additional documents must be submitted within the given deadline. If the supplements are not provided properly, or if the application cannot otherwise be processed, it may be dismissed or result in a negative permit decision.
Jätä rakentamislupahakemus Lupapisteeseen(Link leads to external service)
8. Neighbours must be consulted in connection with the building permit application
When the building permit application is initiated, the project plans must be presented to the neighbours. This is called neighbour consultation. We can handle the neighbour consultation free of charge.
If the construction project is close to a neighbour’s boundary or otherwise affects the neighbour’s property, their consent is required instead of consultation. It is your responsibility to obtain this consent.
9. You can start construction work after the startup meeting
Before starting construction work, you must arrange a time for the startup meeting with the inspection engineer from Building Control. In the meeting, the procedure for inspection documents is agreed on, as well as the stages of work at which our inspection engineers will carry out official inspections at the site. Remember to appoint a responsible site manager for the construction project before the startup meeting.
The startup meeting must be attended by
- the inspection engineer
- the project owner or their representative
- the building’s principal designer
- the responsible site manager.
In the meeting, the procedure for inspection documents is agreed on, along with the work stages at which our inspection engineers will carry out official inspections at the site.
Construction work must begin no later than three years after the permit decision has been granted and must be completed within five years of the permit becoming legally valid.
You can book the startup meeting with your area’s inspection engineer during telephone service hours.
Katso tarkastusinsinöörien yhteystiedot(Link leads to external service)
10. Inspections during construction and commissioning of the building
Our inspection engineers carry out official inspections at the site during the stages of work specified in the permit decision and, where applicable, in the startup meeting. We check that the site complies with the granted permit decision, the applicable laws and regulations, and that the responsible parties in the construction project fulfil their duties.
The most common inspections carried out at the site include, for example
- foundation inspection
- location inspection
- structural inspection
- inspection of water and sewer installations, as well as ventilation inspection.
In addition to the agreed times, we also carry out random inspections at the site.
Once the official inspections and the measures required by the inspection engineers have been carried out, you must agree with us on the timing of the commissioning inspection (partial final inspection) or the final inspection. At the commissioning inspection, we verify that the conditions for the building’s safety and health are met. After this, the inspected spaces can be taken into use. When the building and yard work specified in the granted permit are fully completed, we will carry out the final inspection at the site. The final inspection must take place while the permit is still valid.
The Helsinki small house is a standard detached house model with a floor area of 120-165 m², designed for plots larger than 300 m². The house is intended for urban living and is suitable both for new areas and for infill development in older neighbourhoods. The Helsinki small house model is also well suited for self-build projects.
Processing a building permit application based on the Helsinki small house type plans takes less time if no changes have been made to the type plans.
You can find the Helsinki small house type plans and a small‐house brochure on the Puuinfo website.