Changes to Act on Residential Leases from 1 October 2026: What Should Soihtu Tenants Know?

Housing, Kortepohja, Korttelikylä, News, Soihtu Vehkakuja / 18.9.2026

The legislation governing residential leases in Finland will be reformed on 1 October 2026.
An article about the reform can be read on the Ministry of Justice website (in Finnish and Swedish only).

The aim of the reform is to clarify the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords and to update legislation that has remained largely unchanged since 1995.

The new legislation, which will enter into force at the beginning of October, will also affect everyday living for Soihtu Housing tenants. We will align the tenancy agreement terms of all our tenants with the provisions of the new legislation. As a result, all tenants will soon receive updated tenancy agreement terms to review and sign.

In this article, you will find a summary of the most important changes from the perspective of a Soihtu tenant. If your tenancy at Soihtu is ending on 30.9.2026, the changes don’t apply to you.

Report Everyone Living in the Apartment from 1 October 2026 Onwards

After the new legislation enters into force, tenants will be required to inform their landlord of everyone living in the apartment. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that the landlord has accurate information about the occupants for matters related to housing, property maintenance and communication.

Tenants must provide the following information:

• the number of people living in the apartment
• the basis on which they live in the apartment (for example, spouse or child)
• the name, date of birth and contact details of all adult occupants.

If the number of people living in the apartment changes, it is important to update this information without delay.

You do not need to take any action yet. Once the legislative changes have entered into force, we will contact all tenants and request the necessary information.

Changes to Notice Periods

An important point for tenants is that the notice period for tenants with open-ended tenancy agreements will remain unchanged at one month.

The rules concerning landlords’ notice periods will change. In future, the landlord’s notice period will be four months instead of the current six months. This rule applies when the tenancy has lasted continuously for at least two years.

This means that if a landlord terminates a tenancy agreement, the agreement will end four months after notice is given, instead of the previous six months.

Serious Disturbances May Lead to Immediate Termination of a Tenancy Agreement

The law gives landlords the right to terminate a tenancy agreement with immediate effect, without a notice period, in serious exceptional situations related to housing. This may apply, for example, if a tenant repeatedly fails to pay rent, causes damage to the apartment, or seriously disturbs other tenants.

The revised legislation will also allow landlords to terminate a tenancy agreement for another exceptionally serious reason. This gives landlords a clearer legal basis for addressing situations where a tenant’s actions seriously endanger the safety, security, or peaceful enjoyment of other tenants. Such situations may include, for example, serious acts of violence or threats occurring in an apartment, within the building, or in shared outdoor areas.

The change will not affect everyday student living. Instead, it supports a safe and comfortable living environment. Every Soihtu tenant has the right to privacy, peaceful living, and a safe everyday life, and the revised legislation makes it easier to address serious disturbances when they occur.

If you encounter a serious disturbance, please inform your landlord without delay. Landlords do not receive information about such incidents directly from the authorities and therefore rely on reports from tenants.

Tenancy-Related Notices Can Be Delivered Electronically

The new legislation clarifies and further enables the electronic delivery of tenancy-related notices, announcements and, where applicable, formal warnings.

In practice, email and other electronic communication channels will play an even stronger role in official tenancy-related communication. For Soihtu tenants, the reform will not bring any major changes, as a large part of our communication already takes place through electronic channels. It is therefore important to make sure that the landlord has your up-to-date contact information.

You can review and, if necessary, update your contact details on the Tenant Page.

Smoking Ban Becomes the Legal Default

Under the revised legislation, smoking in apartments, on balconies, and in other shared areas will be prohibited by default.

At the Soihtu Housing location Vehkakuja, the smoking ban on balconies will therefore be extended to tenants living in Buildings A and C at Vehkakuja 2.

Failure to comply with the smoking ban may result in the immediate termination of the tenancy agreement.

The Move-Out Date Is Generally the Same as the Tenancy Agreement End Date

Under the revised legislation, the end date of the tenancy agreement will, by default, also be the moveout date, regardless of which day of the week the agreement ends. On the moveout date, the apartment keys must be returned to the landlord by the deadline specified by the landlord.

When planning a move, it is therefore important to check well in advance which day of the week your tenancy agreement ends. If the keys to your new home will not yet be available on your moveout date, you may need to make arrangements for storing your belongings in the meantime.

Time Limit for Refunding the Deposit

Some Soihtu tenants have paid a deposit to the landlord to secure the payment of rent and the proper care of the apartment.

Under the revised legislation, the deposit must be refunded, or the tenant must be informed that all or part of the deposit will be withheld, within 14 days of the tenancy agreement ending and the apartment being returned to the landlord’s possession. The new legislation also gives landlords greater flexibility to use the deposit to cover outstanding payments related to the tenancy when the tenancy ends.

The aim of the reform is to make the handling of deposits procedures more transparent and to ensure that deposits are returned, or any deductions are communicated, without unnecessary delay.