Guidelines for living in apartments

The property’s code of conduct and general rules relating to good practices for living in apartment buildings and terraced housing help residents ensure that everyone can enjoy life in their own home.

Life is more enjoyable for everyone if residents ensure their home environment is kept clean and in good condition.

Subletting the apartment in full and offering as accommodation

Auroranlinna apartments are intended solely as the main residence of the tenant(s). Renting out the apartment (subletting) to another person, even for a short period of time, is strictly prohibited and leads to an immediate termination of the rental contract. Our rental contracts expressly prohibit any and all use of our apartments for financial gain, such as by renting them out through Airbnb.

An exception to the general rule on letting onwards is if a tenant needs to move to another municipality or abroad temporarily for work or study reasons or due to an illness. Permission may be granted for the apartment to be temporarily rented out to someone else for this period by following the notification procedure. See specific information about temporarily renting out the apartment under the section “Temporary apartment relinquishment”.

If Auroranlinna learns that the resident is involved in unauthorised accommodation activities in the company’s apartment, Auroranlinna shall bear its social responsibility and notify the tax authorities and Kela about such activities so that the resident’s benefits may potentially be re-evaluated.

Subletting

The main tenant can sublet no more than half of the apartment (half of the number of rooms) to be used by another person without the permission of the landlord, provided that no considerable harm or disturbance is caused by this arrangement to the landlord.

The main tenant must inform the subtenant about the landlord of the apartment and about the conditions of the rental contract. The subtenant must also be registered in the register of occupants. The maintenance company will only open doors for a person registered in the register of occupants in the event of missing or forgotten keys, for example.

When subletting the apartment, the main tenant is responsible for the payment of rent and utility costs (sauna fees, parking space, etc.), the validity of the apartment’s home insurance and for other duties specified in the rental contract. The main tenant is also responsible for ensuring that the subtenant adheres to the general rules and other conditions specified in the rental contract during all situations.

If the main tenant’s rental contract with Auroranlinna ends, the rental contract of the subtenant will terminate at the same time.

If Auroranlinna learns that the resident is involved in unauthorised accommodation activities in the company’s apartment, Auroranlinna shall bear its social responsibility and notify the tax authorities and Kela about such activities so that the resident’s benefits may potentially be re-evaluated.

Temporary relinquishment of apartment

The tenant may be granted permission to let their apartment to another person temporarily for a pre-agreed period of time if the tenant is temporarily moving to another municipality or abroad for work, studies or illness or for similar reasons related to moving to another municipality or abroad and when the landlord does not have reasonable grounds to object the letting of the apartment.

Permission for a temporary apartment relinquishment must be applied for in advance from Auroranlinna, using the form Temporary relinquishment of apartment (residence permit application) PDF (162kt).

You can submit the signed form to Auroranlinna’s customer service either by email as an attachment, or in paper format. The residence permission application must always be signed by all signatories to the rental contract. You must also submit a written explanation stating the grounds for the temporary apartment relinquishment: employment contract, certificate of accepting a study place, proof of receiving treatment for a disease or proof of performing military or civic service, etc., in another municipality. Travel tickets alone are not sufficient proof.

After receiving the application, Auroranlinna will process and approve it, provided that the conditions of temporarily renting out the apartment are fulfilled. The decision of Auroranlinna must also be presented to the temporary tenant.

The temporary tenant must be registered in the register of occupants. The maintenance company will only open doors for a person registered in the register of occupants in the event of missing or forgotten keys, for example.

When temporarily renting out the apartment, the main tenant is responsible for the payment of rent and utility costs (sauna fees, parking space, etc.), the validity of the apartment’s home insurance as well as other duties specified in the rental contract. The main tenant is also responsible for ensuring that the temporary tenant adheres to the general rules and other conditions specified in the rental contract during all situations.

Social room

The residents’ committee manages the use, arrangements for, and cleaning of the social and hobby rooms, unless otherwise agreed. In order for a social room to be made available for use by residents, a residents’ committee must be established and residents responsible for its use nominated.

More about the residents’ committee (at the moment only in Finnish)

Management of waste

Please sort your domestic waste. The less mixed waste a property produces, the cleaner our shared future will be, with raw materials reused rather than simply thrown away. Sorting also leads to societal savings on waste management costs and reduced living costs. You can use not just the waste collection containers in your building, but also your local collection points for recycling.

Old furniture, domestic appliances, bicycles, car tyres, batteries, and other such items must be taken to an HSY Sortti Station, or, if they are in a suitable condition for recycling, to one of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre stores, for example. If necessary, you can use a collection service, if offered by the operator – more information can be found on hsy.fi or kierratyskeskus.fi. Only waste that fits into the waste collection containers and that is the kind of waste the container is intended for may be left in the waste collection room, shelter, or yard area.

Instructions for Waste sorting and recycling 
Watch a video about sorting waste

The recycling has been made as easy as possible. The variety of containers allows every tenant a good chance to sort the rubbish close to home in every property.

When everybody takes care of the tidiness of the waste room, the rats have less interest to have their nests on the area of the property.

Maintenance works in apartments

In general, Auroranlinna does not carry out renovations to apartments whilst the apartments are occupied. However, apartments may be refurbished or renewed as part of large repair works, such as those concerning the entire stairwell or the building’s bathroom and toilet facilities, whilst the apartments are occupied.

Repair or renewal works may also be carried out in apartments whilst they are occupied in instances such as when appliances or fixtures are malfunctioning or if there is moisture damage. If such repair work is necessary, access may be granted to apartments using a master key without prior notice.

High temperature in the apartment

When the temperature outside is high, the tenant must try to keep the internal temperature of the apartment tolerable using available means, e.g.:

• keep the blackout curtains and/or blinds closed during the day when the windows are exposed to direct sunlight
• open the balcony glazing, so that the balcony does not heat up strongly and thus also affect the temperature of the apartment
• close the balcony door when the weather outside is hot or warm
• ventilate in the evenings or at night and try to get a draft in the apartment
• use the oven, stove and apartment sauna as little as possible
• get a fan or a cooler if necessary

Bathroom maintenance

The bathroom is the one room of the apartment most likely to suffer water damage. After showering, wipe any water from the walls onto the floor, and from the floor into the floor drain using a squeegee. Furthermore, it is also a good idea to leave the bathroom door ajar to help it dry faster. If your apartment is equipped with an apartment-specific ventilation system, the extractor should be set to its most powerful setting during and after activities such as showering and dealing with wet laundry.

The best way to clean grouting between wall tiles is by using a brush and cleaning substance designed for the task.

The bathroom floor drain and sink drain trap should be cleaned out regularly. Hair and dust can gather in the water lock, which in the worst case scenario can block the water lock and cause water damage.

Watch a video Cleaning the bathroom floor drain
Watch a video Cleaning drain traps

Balcony

Please make sure to keep your balcony clean and tidy. A build-up of snow on balconies can lead to moisture damage, amongst other issues, so please make sure to clear it away as it accumulates.

Damp rugs can lift the paint off the balcony floor. For this reason, rugs that have got wet should be lifted to dry after rain.

Beating the dust from rugs on balconies is prohibited. There is a dedicated space for beating rugs in the property’s grounds.

Balconies are not designed to be used for storage.

As stated in the code of conduct for the property, having an open fire on the balcony is prohibited. The only kind of barbecue permitted for use on a balcony is an electric one. Gas and electric barbecues may be used on terraces and in private yards. You must always take fire safety into account.

Balconies are not suitable places for smoking, as doing so can easily cause a nuisance to your neighbours.

Pest control

Any sightings of pests, either in an apartment or elsewhere in the property, must be reported immediately to the Auroranlinna defect notifications service. A good description, and if possible, a photo of the pest, will make it easier to deal with the issue. Auroranlinna will investigate the sightings and implement pest control measures if necessary. Some pest insects, such as carpet beetles, saw-toothed grain beetles, or Indian meal moths, can usually be dealt with by residents themselves. Bed bugs, German cockroaches and rats in the yard area, amongst other pests, must always be dealt with by a pest control specialist. Help with identification and guidelines on dealing with pests can be found on this Helsinki City Environmental Center’s website brochure PDF.

The best way of preventing pest problems in the home is thorough and regular cleaning. Luggage should always be checked after a trip, to ensure you have not brought back any unwanted guests.

The pests most often spotted in the home are insects, including bedbugs, carpet beetle larvae, German cockroaches, and other pests. Pests often get into the home in luggage or with purchases from shops, such as powders or dried fruits.

Rats and other rodents cause the biggest nuisance around and outside properties.

If you detect common bedbugs in your apartment, immediately contact your building manager using the Auroranlinna defect notifications service in order to start an extermination process carried out by professionals.

Feeding birds

Feeding birds is prohibited in all areas of all Auroranlinna properties. There is one fundamental reason for the ban on feeding birds – the food put out for birds also provides a veritable buffet for rats and other rodents. Rats and other rodents eat seeds that have fallen to the ground and can also climb trees to get at feeders hung from branches, for example. Rats thrive with a plentiful supply of food and good shelter.

Rat problems are a common occurrence in the Helsinki Region. For this reason, the City of Helsinki has prohibited feeding birds in a number of areas around the city. As dealing with rats in and around properties is the responsibility of property owners, feeding birds in Auroranlinna property areas is prohibited for the same reason. This means that you cannot feed birds in the yard, terrace or balcony of your apartment, or in the shared garden or yard area of your building.

We can significantly reduce how attractive the areas we live in are to rats and other rodents if we do not leave food out for birds and keep the area around bins free of loose waste. In order to prevent rat problems, all rubbish in waste collection areas must be collected in closed waste containers.

Storage facilities

There is dedicated storage space in apartment blocks for outdoor sports equipment, such as bikes and skis, and there is often room to store prams and pushchairs too.

The outdoor equipment storage area is not intended for storing children’s toys and nor is it a playground. It is in everyone’s best interests to ensure the doors to the storage spaces are kept locked.

There is often a separate storage space for each apartment, intended for personal possessions, in apartment blocks. The doors are equipped for use with a padlock, which tenants should purchase themselves. If your building features separate cold storage facilities in the basement, you must also provide a lock for your storage space. Petrol canisters and other flammable liquids and gases must not be stored indoors (e.g. gas canisters for gas-powered barbecues).

The storage space for personal possessions and the apartment usually have the same number. You may not take over empty storage spaces on your own initiative under any circumstances. If you cannot find your own storage space, submit a defect notification.

Apartments in terraced houses usually have their own cold storage space connected to the building. Items susceptible to moisture damage, such as furniture, clothes, and items that cannot withstand cold must not be stored in these storage facilities.

Smoking

The Finnish Tobacco Act prohibits smoking in all shared areas of the property and in public areas, including lifts, sauna facilities, open staircases and balcony corridors of balcony-access apartment buildings, and ventilation balconies.  Furthermore, in lease contracts signed from 1 January 2019 onwards, smoking within residential accommodation is banned.

Smoking on apartment balconies or terraces is not recommended, as the smoke produced may pose a nuisance to other residents. When smoking, please be considerate to your neighbours when choosing where to smoke and by disposing of your cigarette butts appropriately.

In the event of disturbances, You can contact us by using the Notification of disruptive smoking form.

Disruptive smoking

Smoking is prohibited at the stairwells, lifts and other shared spaces such as property saunas and social rooms. Smoking is also prohibited in children’s play areas and in the yard near the entrances and air intakes of the house and on the shared balconies. Smoke can enter from these places to neighbour apartments, balconies or the stairwell. In addition, there are very few ways in which smoke from a yard or another balcony can be prevented from entering another part of a property.

Our properties will become smoke-free after the complete renovations. At smoke-free buildings, smoking is prohibited in the apartments, on the balconies, on the terraces, and at all common areas of the property, as well as in the outdoor areas. Smoking also means the electronic cigarette. In addition, in leases signed as of 1 February 2019 smoking is prohibited inside the apartments. In lease agreements signed from October 6, 2021, the terms of the contract prohibit smoking inside and outside the apartments.

A resident who suffers from an annoying smoke/smell has the right to report an annoying smoking. Based on the report, the problem will be investigated. Smoke can enter the apartment either from the structures or from outside.

WHEN DISTURBING SMOKE COMES FROM APARTMENT STRUCTURES
Cigarette smoke/smell comes from somewhere in the structure of the apartment, e.g. from the toilet, cooker hood, cabinet, socket, mailbox or any other structure. If necessary, we will try to find out where the annoying smoke comes from and whether anything can be done about it. Make an electronic defect notification for smoke that comes from the structures of the apartment

WHEN DISTURBING SMOKE COMES FROM OUTSIDE THE APARTMENT

Cigarette smoke/smell comes from open windows or a balcony door, for example. Auroranlinna very rarely has the possibility to prevent smoke from entering the apartment, for example from the yard or another balcony, as it would probably require changes to the ventilation system or major structural changes throughout the entire property.

If necessary, we can share a bulletin to the apartments as a reminder, asking smokers to pay attention to the neighborhood. Cigarette smoke/smell is surprisingly easily entered to the balconies and apartments of other apartments. Make a report to annoying smoking that comes from outside the apartment via email: asuntopalvelu @ auroranlinna.fi.