Signing the rent agreement
The rent agreement can be made in paper or digital format.
A paper rent agreement can be signed at our office, for example, when you collect the keys to your apartment. You must bring personal ID with you.
If a rent agreement concerns a minor tenant, the agreement must also be signed by a guardian before it can come into effect. It is therefore not possible to sign the rent agreement digitally in such cases. The guardian is responsible for the fulfilment of the obligations in the rent agreement and for the behaviour of the tenant until the tenant reaches the age of 18. Once the tenant turns 18, the guardian’s responsibility for the rent agreement will end, and so will the guardian’s right to information.
It is possible to digitally sign the rent agreement if you are an adult, you have a Finnish personal ID number, and you have online banking credentials. A link to sign the digital rent agreement will be sent by email, so you must also have an email address.
If the rent agreement is made in two persons’ names, both parties must digitally sign the agreement using their own banking credentials. In addition to online banking credentials, both parties must also have a Finnish personal ID number and an email address.
If you have a power of attorney for another person or if the rent agreement will be signed in the name of a company, it will only be possible to sign the rent agreement in paper format.
Rent agreement and duration
Rent agreements are primarily valid until further notice.
Rent agreements can be fixed-term agreements if there are grounds to do so (e.g. summer hotel sites, temporary housing).
The rent agreement does not necessarily have to start or end on the first day of the month.
The obligation to pay rent begins once the rent agreement comes into effect.
Term of notice
The term of notice is always one calendar month. For example, a rent agreement terminated in January will remain in effect until the last day of February, a rent agreement terminated in February will remain in effect until the last day of March, and so on.
The term of notice is calculated from the last day of the month in which the rent agreement was terminated, so it makes no difference to the end date of the rent agreement whether notice was given on the 5th, 15th, or 25th day of the month.
A fixed-term rent agreement can also be terminated with a term of notice of one calendar month.
End date = moving out date
The date on which the rent agreement ends is also the date on which the tenant moves out. So, if your rent agreement ends on the last day of January, for example, you must hand over your empty and cleaned apartment to us on that date. You must also return the keys to the apartment on that same day at the latest.
The tenant’s right of possession of the apartment ends when the tenant returns the keys to the apartment to the lessor. The obligation to pay rent ends when the rent agreement ends, even if the keys are been returned and the right of possession of the apartment is transferred before the end of the rent agreement.