Living in a new house

Apply for an apartment, Changing apartments, Condition of the apartment

A great number of Soihtu’s residential buildings are newly renovated or recently built houses. Living in a new house is different than living in an old house.

Follow-up work is minimized, tenants will be informed in advance

Soihtu strives to build the houses as complete as possible during the construction phase, so that there is no need to visit the apartments after commissioning due to any follow-up and adjustment work. Sometimes, however, for one reason or another, something that has not been repaired or that will only be revealed after commissioning may come up in the apartment. The aim is to carry out such work as smoothly as possible, informing the tenants in advance and taking tenants into account.

Heating adjustments during the first colder season

When the residents are living in the building for the first winter, fine-tuning of the heating system is carried out in the entire house. Adjustment of the heating system is the responsibility of the construction contractor. Successful adjustment requires a period when the temperature is well below zero for several days in succession. When the long-term weather forecast looks suitable, the landlord or contractor will notify the residents in advance (at least 14 days prescribed by law) about the adjustment measures to be made in the apartment. The adjustment usually involves several visits to the apartment over several days, so that the changes can even out, and the heat from the heating system is distributed as evenly as possible between the apartments in the whole house.

One year after the construction: Half-time warranty inspection

Upon receiving of the site, a two-year warranty period begins in accordance with the contract, during which any faults found in the construction work are the responsibility of the contractor. Defects and deficiencies during the warranty period are generally compiled together and repaired at once.

One year after the construction there will be a so-called half-time inspection and clear faults, primarily in the public areas, are repaired. The apartments are inspected mainly if requested by a tenant. The first year’s warranty repairs will be carried out by the contractor together with their own subcontractors on an agreed schedule.

Two years after the construction: Actual warranty inspection

Two years after receiving of the site, an actual warranty inspection is carried out, during which Soihtu supervisor goes through all the apartments in case of any faults. At this stage, all tenants are contacted with a survey before the inspections, as the tenants are asked for their observations on possible things to be fixed in the apartment.

Tenants are always informed about the inspections in advance. Based on the inspections, the contractor will carry out the repairs on agreed schedule. Tenants will be informed of the schedule in advance, either by Soihtu or the contractor. After the repairs, a new round of inspections will be carried out, either on a random basis or systematically, depending on the matter to be repaired.

Tenants can submit maintenance requests anytime

Although two years is a short moment in the scale of a building, it is a long time in the scale of a person. Therefore, the resident of the new house should by no means have to put up with a defect in his apartment that causes the inconvenience of living or additional damage. For minor and major faults, you should always make a maintenance request using the fault notification form. Soihtu Facility Services processes all incoming electronic maintenance requests as soon as possible after they arrive.

• Maintenance requests at Soihtu’s sites are divided into warranty work and regular maintenance work.
• Usual maintenance work is carried out as a part of the daily maintenance contract by Soihtu Kiinteistöhuolto and organized based on urgency.
• Warranty work is the responsibility of the construction contractor, i.e. the company that built the house. The maintenance process for warranty work differs from the usual maintenance process. In works covered by the warranty, the construction company’s warranty master processes the repair work included in the contract as a larger entity and orders the contractor to the site. In such a situation, the resident’s experience may be that the maintenance requests in the new building are lagging and the fault causes annoyances in everyday life. Deficiencies that significantly hinder living or cause possible additional damage will be repaired without delay. Sometimes, for example, product delivery times affect the execution time of even a minor repair job.

The resident of Soihtu is also obliged by the legislation regarding tenants to report any defects that appear in the apartment and to make an electronic maintenance request when they are detected. In the most recently compiled warranty questionnaire, it is worth bringing up all the defects that appeared in the apartment during the period of living. Defects that cause significant inconvenience or additional damage should be reported as soon as you notice them, and not wait until the warranty inquiry.