Neighbour consultation and neighbour consent

Neighbours must be consulted regarding the initiation of a building-related permit application (building permit, landscaping permit, demolition permit). During the consultation, the plans for the project are presented to the neighbour, at which point they may submit reasoned remarks concerning the project. In principle, all adjacent neighbours must be consulted. The permit officer for the building permit application may determine that consultation is not necessary for a particular neighbour, considering the minor nature or location of the project, or the content of the detailed plan.

You can consult the neighbour yourself or request Building Supervision to consult the neighbours. Building Supervision lists the neighbours to be consulted in the Lupapiste e-service. Consultation carried out by Building Supervision takes approximately three weeks and is charged according to the current Building Supervision charge. In some cases, Building Supervision carries out the consultation via a public notice in a newspaper, for example, if there are at least 10 neighbours, if the ownership of neighbouring plots is unclear, or if the applicant so requests.

The plans presented during the consultation must correspond to the main drawings of the permit application. If changes are made to the plans later in connection with the building permit application, the consultation must be carried out again.

The owner of the property to be consulted may, for example, consist of several private individuals, in which case all owners must be consulted. In the case of a housing company or a real estate company, the consultation is signed by the party authorised with signing rights.

What is the difference between neighbour consultation and neighbour consent?

Neighbour consultation is distinct from neighbour consent. In a consultation, neighbours are given the opportunity to submit reasoned remarks regarding the building project. If the building project complies with the detailed plan and building regulations, opposition from neighbours does not, in principle, constitute grounds for rejecting the permit application.

Neighbour consent, on the other hand, mainly concerns situations where the building project deviates from the detailed plan or building regulations, causing a nuisance to the use of the neighbouring property. If consent is not obtained from the neighbour, the grounds for refusal, the resulting nuisance, the overall situation, and equal treatment are examined, based on which the potential rejection or approval of the permit application is assessed.

Neighbour consent

Consent is required, for example, if a building or structure is placed closer to the boundary of the neighbouring plot than the detailed plan or the Hämeenlinna building regulations allow. Building Supervision cannot request neighbour consent on your behalf.

Matters requiring neighbour consent may also relate to building easements, such as a wall or foundation easement related to a firewall. In such cases, ensure that an easement agreement is drawn up and registered in connection with the consent.

When the applicant wishes to consult neighbours personally

Complete the neighbour consultation (in Finnish) form:

• Always attach a dated site plan to the form
• Also attach dated facade drawings to the form if they are part of your application’s main drawings
• Specify all deviations and minor deviations from regulations on the form, including justifications
• You may also attach other main drawings of your application to the consultation form
• Present your plans to all neighbours and ask them to complete the required sections on the consultation form
• Add the consultation form signed by the neighbours, along with its attachments, to Lupapiste
• If you are unable to consult all neighbours, you can request Building Supervision to consult the remainder
• If you require neighbour consent, you must complete a separate neighbour consent form