How to buy a house in Finland as a foreigner

Finland's lakes and forests are full of affordable country houses and summer cottages (mökki). EU and EEA citizens can buy freely. Buyers from outside the EU and EEA, including British and American buyers, need a permit first.

Can a foreigner buy a house in Finland?

• EU and EEA citizens can buy real estate in Finland on the same terms as Finns.
• Buyers from outside the EU and EEA have needed authorisation from the Finnish Ministry of Defence to buy real estate since 1 January 2020. This applies to private individuals and to companies domiciled outside the EU/EEA, and to some EU/EEA companies controlled from outside it. The application can be made before the purchase or within a deadline after it, and is filed through the Ministry's e-service. The rules do not apply on the Åland Islands, which have their own regime.

If a permit is required, do not complete the purchase without understanding what happens if it is refused. Read the Ministry of Defence's guidance and ask a Finnish lawyer if in doubt.

Real estate or housing company shares?

In Finland, a detached house on its own plot is usually real estate (kiinteistö). Flats and many terraced houses are owned through shares in a housing company (asunto-osakeyhtiö), which works differently and is taxed at a different rate. Some cottages stand on leased land. Check which type you are buying: the rules, taxes and documents differ.

How the purchase of real estate works

1. Offer. Most houses are sold by an estate agent (kiinteistönvälittäjä). Offers are made in writing; a deposit agreement may be used.
2. Condition inspection. A condition inspection (kuntotarkastus) is common for older houses. Read it carefully, and consider your own inspection.
3. Deed of sale. A sale of real estate must be in writing and confirmed by a public purchase witness (kaupanvahvistaja), or completed in the National Land Survey's electronic real estate transaction service.
4. Transfer tax. The buyer files a transfer tax return and pays the tax to the Finnish Tax Administration, before applying for title registration.
5. Title registration. The buyer applies to the National Land Survey of Finland (Maanmittauslaitos) for registration of title (lainhuuto) within six months of the deed.

Costs and taxes

• Transfer tax (varainsiirtovero): 3% of the price for real estate (1.5% for housing company shares), for contracts signed on or after 12 October 2023. The buyer must file and pay it themselves, even if an agent was involved. Source: vero.fi.
• Title registration fee and, if you borrow, mortgage registration fees: see the National Land Survey's price list.
• Permit fee for non-EU/EEA buyers: see the Ministry of Defence.
• Annual real estate tax (kiinteistövero) set by the municipality, plus insurance, electricity, waste and, often, private road fees.

Financing and residence

Finnish banks lend mainly to residents. Non-residents usually finance from home or pay in cash. Owning a house in Finland does not give you a right to live there: non-EU citizens can usually stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area and need a residence permit from the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) for longer. Read does owning a house give you residency?

Checks for a rural Finnish house or mökki

• Is it built for year-round use, or a summer cottage? Check insulation, heating and water pipes for winter.
• Water from a well or the lake, and the wastewater system: rural properties must meet wastewater rules, so ask about the system and its paperwork.
• Shoreline rights: is the shore part of the property, and are there shared beaches or jetties?
• Radon: some regions of Finland have high radon levels. Ask whether it has been measured.

More in wells, septic systems and radon: technical checks in Sweden and Finland.

Where to look

See our current cheap houses in Finland. We list only a few Finnish houses so far; for more lake houses in the Nordics, see Sweden or the lakeside houses across Europe.