SUMMARY

According to the law, all dwellings must have at least one smoke detector for each 60 square metres or part thereof on each floor of the dwelling. In terms of safety, it is best to have smoke detectors in each bedroom and on the exit routes of the dwelling.

In our newer and renovated dwellings, the smoke detector is connected to the electricity supply. In older dwellings smoke detector are battery-powered.

The resident is responsible for ensuring that the smoke detector is functional. It should be vacuumed regularly of dust. You can test that it is working by pressing the test button on the smoke detector.

“You should test that your smoke detector is working once a month and whenever you have been away from home for a while,” says Juha Sopanen, Property Manager.

The resident is responsible for changing the batteries. The maintenance company takes care of changing batteries for smoke detectors that are connected to the electricity supply, but it is the resident’s responsibility to notify the maintenance company of the need to change a battery.

“Batteries should be changed at least once a year and immediately if the smoke detector starts beeping intermittently”, says Sopanen.

Our Biggest Saver competition rewards those who save the most electricity and heating energy.

Everyone’s input is needed in the energy saving campaign. We are participating in the national Down a Degree campaign, the aim of which is to reduce energy consumption throughout the country and thus prevent having to resort to temporary blackouts.

As part of our energy saving efforts, we launched the Biggest Saver competition in November. All buildings completed on or after 1/11/2021 are automatically included in the competition. The competition has two categories: the biggest saver in heating costs and the biggest electricity saver.

In both categories, the top three buildings will be rewarded with a cash prize, which they can use to make their buildings more comfortable. The competition takes the energy consumed between 1/11/2022–30/4/2023 into consideration.

Our rents will increase by an average of 3.5 per cent at the beginning of 2023. The need for an increase is explained by higher interest rates, higher maintenance and construction costs of properties due to inflation and the significant increase in the price of energy.

The amount of the rent adjustment varies slightly from property to property. “In the case of 26 properties, the increase will remain below 2.9 per cent, whereas the rents of the majority, that is 240 properties, will be adjusted by 3–3.9 per cent. In the case of 32 properties, the rent will increase by over four per cent.

The increase in the price of electricity will also affect the sauna booking fee, which will increase from EUR 10 to EUR 15 a month at the beginning of next year. Correspondingly, the prices of parking spaces will increase by EUR 2–5 (parking space in a closed parking garage: + EUR 5/month; other parking spaces: + EUR 2/month).

We sent rent payment letters for 2023 to our residents at the beginning of October. The rent payment letters indicate the amount of your rent. If you have not yet activated e-invoicing, we recommend that you do so to make your life easier.

We are installing water fixtures with a lower pressure in our dwellings. The new fixtures will reduce water consumption by approximately 15 per cent.

“We are replacing water fixtures in 8,083 dwellings in 153 properties, which is roughly half of our property portfolio. Bathrooms will be equipped with watersaving shower handles. The kitchen and the sinks in the toilets and bathrooms will be equipped with an aerator that limits the water flow,” says Hannu Rahkila, our Head of Real Estate.

All the water fixtures in the dwelling are inspected and repaired. Toilet seats are repaired to prevent leaks.

We will send a notice to the dwellings at least two weeks before work begins. The technicians will spend approximately 15 minutes in the dwelling. When work is ongoing, there must be unobstructed access to the water fixtures.

Water and energy prices have been increasing sharply and are likely to continue increasing with high inflation. The annual savings on installation work per dwelling are approximately EUR 140, which means savings of EUR 1.2 million per year for 8,083 dwellings.

“All energy-saving efforts, such as the installation of water-saving fixtures, affect the average rent. Saving water and energy is also very important for the environment, but also for there to be enough energy this winter,” Rahkila emphasises.

In the heating season, the target temperature for apartments is 20.5 degrees, which can vary by 1.5 degrees.

The room temperature is measured at the height of 1 metre with a distance of at least 0.6 metres from the outer wall. When the target temperature has been reached, the radiator may feel cool, or the lower and upper edges of the radiator may be at different temperatures.

You can turn down the radiator thermostat if you feel that the target temperature is too high for you. If the temperature in your home is below 19 or above 22 degrees and you feel uncomfortable with the temperature, you should contact your property maintenance company.

Please keep in mind that the inlet valve in the window frames must be open in order for the ventilation in your home to work as planned and for fresh air to enter the apartment. If you feel too much draught from the windows, please contact the maintenance company. Improved insulation reduces heat loss and increases housing comfort.

The majority of our housing units have the Fortum SmartLiving intelligent heating system, which provides even heat. The service includes a resident user interface that allows you to easily monitor the temperature and humidity of your home with a smartphone or computer.

When are the grounds of your property ploughed when it snows? And who will take care of gritting when it is slippery?

The maintenance company monitors the weather and starts gritting common areas if the forecast promises slippery weather. The snowploughs begin work when there is more than three centimetres of harmful snow on access routes and parking areas.

The maintenance company takes care of ploughing common access routes, manually clears snow and grits areas in front of front doors.

If your home door opens directly out, you are personally responsible for clearing the snow off and gritting the access route to your door. The same goes for areas in front of doors to separate storages. It is important to remember to also clear the snow off your balcony and backyard, as these are emergency exit routes.

The maintenance company clears the snow off the middle area of the car park and the route to the public roads. Residents are personally responsible for clearing the snow off their parking spaces and the narrow areas between cars.