A new Building Act which will enter into force on 1 January 2025 was adopted on 1 March 2023 during the previous parliamentary term. Upcoming major changes that were adopted already in 2023 include, e.g., measures to mitigate and track the carbon footprint of buildings. Also, the building permit (rakennuslupa), action permit (toimenpidelupa) and the notification procedure (ilmoitusmenettely) which apply to different kinds of projects under the current Land Use and Building Act will be replaced by a single building permit (rakentamislupa).
Before its entry into force, the current Finnish Government, which was formed in June 2023, aims to make certain important changes to the new Building Act. The government proposal (HE 101/2024 vp) for these changes was published on 19 September 2024.
Subject to the Parliament’s approval, the last-minute changes to the upcoming new Building Act include, for instance, the following:
- A new permit for clean transition industrial projects (puhtaan siirtymän sijoittamislupa) will be added to the law. With the new permit, certain industrial projects contributing to clean transition can be sited without a traditional zoning process. This aims to accelerate the commencement of such projects. Wind and solar power plants are not within the scope of the proposed new permit. The permit will also partially implement the so-called Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)
- A three-month processing time limit for building permit applications will be added to the law. However, a six-month processing time limit will apply to building permit applications for exceptionally demanding projects and permit applications for clean transition industrial projects. The processing time limits will enter into force in 2026.
- Originally in 2023, responsibility for the overall implementation and quality of a construction project was assigned to the principal contractor of the project (päävastuullinen toteuttaja). This has been feared to create ambiguities, for example, regarding responsibilities related to subcontracting in construction projects. Therefore, the statutory overall responsibility of the principal contractor will be removed from the new Building Act already before it comes into force.
- The rights of appeal for certain authorities and NGO’s will be reduced from the level set in 2023.
- The 2023 requirements on reporting climate impacts and materials used in construction projects will be softened and their entry into force will be postponed until 2026.
- The new law will be clarified so that temporary structures for, e.g., concerts and festivals do not require building permits.
When the new Building Act enters into force on 1 January 2025, the current Land Use and Building Act will lose most of its construction-related Sections, and the Act will be renamed accordingly (alueidenkäyttölaki). The remaining Sections, mainly concerning land use and zoning, will also undergo a complete reform in the coming years. The changes are a part of an ongoing comprehensive reform of the land use and building legislation in Finland.
For more information, please contact Henrikki Tahkokallio and Antto Junkkari.