Excavation permit and siting permit

An excavation permit (external link)is required when digging in the street area. You can apply for it online (in Finnish). The running of lines and structures (e.g. electric cables, water pipes, district heating pipelines and frost guards) in a public area or street area also requires a siting permit, with the exception of smaller connection work. If a siting permit is needed, the excavation permit is applied for only after the siting permit is granted.

When you plan to run lines, cables or other structures in a public area (street and park), you must obtain a permit to do so. Repairs to existing permitted lines and structures only require a declaration of work in a public area. You can apply for a siting permit(external link) online (in Finnish). Siting permits are free of charge.

According to Section 14a of the Act on the management and cleaning of streets and certain other public areas, the person responsible for the work carried out in a public area must submit a notification to the municipality. In the case of real estate renovation in a housing company, the responsibility for the work is considered to rest with the housing company or the real estate company. If it is appropriate for technical reasons, the contractor performing the work may apply for the necessary decisions on behalf of the client. In this case, the client must give the contractor a power of attorney. The holder of a power of attorney has the right to apply for an excavation work decision and/or a decision on the temporary traffic arrangement in the traffic area on behalf of their client. 

A power of attorney (see appendix to the application) cannot transfer the obligations imposed on the parties of a construction project by legislation. The client and the contractor are jointly and severally responsible for the safety of the construction site in accordance with the Land Use and Building Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Submit the application as a PDF or image file.

In case of non-compliance, the city has the right to rectify deficiencies that pose an immediate risk to the use of the public area without consulting the contractor. The costs incurred by the measures will be passed on to the person responsible for the costs of the decision indicated in the power of attorney.

If the contractor is unable to handle the payments due to bankruptcy or other similar impediment, the payments will be charged to the issuer of the power of attorney.