Building supervision

The construction of a sauna building or utility building less than 30 m2 does not require a building permit.

Sauna building is a building, at least half of which is used for sauna purposes. The building may have a lounge area, for example with a fireplace for heating the building. The sauna building may not have a fixed cooking facility (stove). The permit requirement for the wastewater system of a sauna of less than 30 m2, which is exempt from the permit requirement, is regulated in the building regulations and the distance from the shoreline in the environmental protection regulations.

Economic building is a building that cannot be used for living. An outbuilding serves the main building of the property. Outbuildings include, for example, garages, warehouses, saunas, work spaces, hobby rooms and barns. An outbuilding may have heating. An outbuilding may not have a fixed cooking facility (stove).

Construction in a local plan area

When a sauna building or utility building is built in a local plan area (or a waterfront local plan area), the following must be taken into account:

• The building must comply with planning regulations.
• The construction site must have building rights (building rights specified in the plan)
• The building must be located so that the distances to the neighbors' boundaries and buildings, as well as to the building's own buildings, are in accordance with planning regulations, fire regulations and ordinances.
• Felling trees in the building sector may require a landscape work permit, and construction of a wastewater system may require a construction permit.

Construction outside the local plan area

The construction of sauna buildings and utility buildings of less than 30 m2 on an existing building site is exempt from the requirement for a permit outside of local plan areas. The following points must be taken into account when constructing:

• The construction site must have building rights to construct the building. Building rights are stipulated in the municipal building regulations.
• The building must be located in such a way that the distances to the boundaries and buildings of the neighbours and to the building's own buildings comply with fire regulations and ordinances. The distance of the building to the private road and the highway must comply with the requirements given for distances.
• The construction of a wastewater system requires a building permit.
• In buildings with groundwater, water must not drain directly into the watercourse, but must be absorbed into the soil in a controlled manner. Wastewater must be led, for example, to a stone nest, sauna ball or absorption well at least 10 meters from the shore.

The construction of a canopy less than 50 m2 does not require a building permit.

Shelter is a building site where at least 30 percent of the wall area is open. The canopy can be, for example, a carport or a barbecue shelter.

Construction in a local plan area

When building a shed of less than 50m2 that is exempt from permit requirements in a local plan area (or a waterfront local plan area), the following must be taken into account:

• The canopy must comply with the zoning regulations.
• The canopy must be positioned so that the distances to the neighbors' boundaries and buildings, as well as to the owner's own buildings, comply with planning regulations, fire regulations, and ordinances.
• Felling trees under buildings may require a landscape work permit for felling trees.

Under 50 m2 of canopy construction on an existing building site is exempt from the requirement for permits outside of local plan areas.

The following points must be taken into account during construction:

• The canopy must be positioned so that the distances to the neighbors' boundaries and buildings, as well as to your own buildings, comply with fire regulations and ordinances.
• The distance to a private road and a highway must comply with the requirements for distances.

Demolition of a building often requires a demolition permit. Even if a permit is not required, a demolition notification must be submitted to the building inspection 30 days before the demolition work begins. Without a notification, the building will not be removed from the register or from property taxation.

The Construction Act requires that when applying for a construction or demolition permit, a report be made on the demolition materials, hazardous substances and soil and rock materials to be removed from the project. The report does not need to be made if the amount of demolition materials is small or no soil and rock materials to be removed are generated. Rapu is an information system maintained by the Finnish Environment Institute for the preparation and updating of the demolition material and construction waste report required by Section 16 of the Construction Act. The system stores information on materials and waste generated in demolition and construction projects. The law requires a report to be made as of 1 January 2025. The person undertaking the construction/demolition project is responsible for submitting and updating the information to the Rapu system.

Changes to the building's intended use, as well as repairs and alterations, will still require a building permit. Small surface renovations do not normally require a building permit. Changes to load-bearing structures, room arrangements and HVAC systems may already require a permit. Check with the building inspectorate to see if a permit is required before starting the renovation.

Building regulations must always be followed. Construction exempt from a permit only requires a permit process. There are also regulations for construction in the plan, building regulations and construction guidelines. If the construction project deviates from the regulations, a deviation permit must be applied for and obtained.

The site must have a qualified designer and valid plans. A structural designer is required to design the structures of the building and canopy. In the future, the developer will be responsible for acquiring sufficient expertise and experts and ensuring that the construction complies with the law and plans. When purchasing finished products, plans must be required from the manufacturer of the product (e.g. a wooden light warehouse).

Even buildings exempt from a permit will affect the conditions of neighbors, so it is recommended to inform neighbors in writing before starting construction work to avoid conflicts.

Construction on the shoreline outside of the planned areas requires a positive deviation permit from the shoreline planning requirements when the building or canopy is located outside the yard of the existing construction site.

Tax law reform is underway. According to the current regulations, the building owner must report buildings exempt from a permit to the tax authority in a property tax return when their total area exceeds 5 m2. Keeping the municipal property register up to date has remained unclear in terms of legislation, and only information about buildings requiring a permit is sent to the digital and population information system through building supervision and further to the tax authority.

The building inspectorate advises/guides on permit-related matters, but does not, for example, plan the placement of the building on the construction site.

In addition to the inspections specified in the permit, random inspections are carried out during construction supervision by the building inspectorate.

The Construction Act governs the scope of official supervision. According to the law, the task of the building supervision authority is to monitor, through random inspection procedures, that the responsible parties fulfill their obligations. For this reason, in addition to the inspections specified in the permit decision, the building supervision authority will carry out random inspections at construction sites.

Pay attention to your project schedule that you can only start construction one month after the building permit decision has been made.

The Construction Act changes the method of notification of permit decisions and the time limit for appealing decisions. The publication procedure is abolished and the permit decision is notified by public announcement. Notification of the decision is made by publishing the announcement and the permit decision to be announced in the public information network on the authority's website.

The announcement and the document to be announced will be kept publicly available on the authority's website throughout the appeal period against the decision.

The appeal period will be unified and will be 30 days from the date of notification of the decision for all permit decisions. Notification of the permit decision is deemed to have occurred on the seventh day after the publication of the notice regarding the permit decision on the authority's website.

The change in the method of notification of the decision and the appeal period means that it will take 37 days for the permit decision made by both the board and the office holders to become legally effective from the time the announcement regarding the permit decision is published on the authority's website. The change is particularly significant for decisions by office holders, for which the current corresponding period is 14 days.

If you are planning to build a new building, repair an old one, expand it, or perform other measures, contact the building inspectorate as early as possible.

Building supervision services:

• Ensures the safety, health, sustainability and legality of the built environment.
• Strives to promote construction that is environmentally friendly and takes the public interest into account.
• Advises those undertaking a construction project on the interpretation of planning regulations and applying for permits, and provides information on requirements and obligations.
• Monitors compliance with formulas.
• Handles permits for deviations, construction, demolition, renovation, landscaping (e.g. felling trees in a local plan area), wastewater systems in sparsely populated areas, etc.
• Archives permit decisions and related documents and retrieves information from the archive if necessary.

Anyone undertaking a construction project within the municipality is entitled to building supervision services and is obliged to comply with the building supervision's instructions and regulations. The advice and guidance provided by the building supervision is free of charge.

The prices of paid services are stated in the Tariff approved by the Building Board.

Construction-related permits are applied for in the municipality of Kihniö via the electronic Lupapiste service: