The Building Supervision of the City of Oulu have introduced a housing company permit, which makes it possible to apply for a building permit regarding renovations of the bathrooms in the whole housing company at one time. Contrary to for example the renewal of the bathrooms in connection with piping renovation, the housing company permit shall be valid even ten years, provided that the conditions are to be met. The shareholders may implement bathroom renovations in accordance with their own timetables during this period of time.
The Building Supervision of the City of Oulu have introduced a housing company permit, which makes it possible to apply for a building permit regarding renovations of the bathrooms in the whole housing company at one time. Contrary to for example the renewal of the bathrooms in connection with piping renovation, the housing company permit shall be valid even ten years, provided that the conditions are to be met. The shareholders may implement bathroom renovations in accordance with their own timetables during this period of time.
Anneli Paakkari, Permit Architect and Olli Teriö, Renovation specialist from the Repair Construction Team under the Building Supervision of the City of Oulu tell that this housing company permit is the first equivalent procedure for permits in Finland.
‘The aim is to make it easier to apply for permits and to improve planning and control of renovations’, says Teriö.
When a housing company applies for the housing company permit, it applies for common building permit for the basic type of its bathrooms. Unified and complete plans shall be made for renovations, especially regarding constructions and waterproofing along with other moisture control and management. The housing company permit includes that a housing company has, for example, a responsible Site Manager employed through a multiannual framework agreement. The housing company permit can also be applied for terrace and balcony glazing systems.
‘Styles and constructions of bathrooms in the housing companies are repeated, so that based on those rules of the game that have been agreed on in the beginning it is possible, in principle, to process with one bathroom at a time’, says Teriö.
The housing company permit shall be applied for primarily for the period of five years. It can, however, be prolonged for another five years in all, provided that the conditions continue to be met.
‘Thereby, the shareholders have already the permit, plans and the responsible Site Manager available when it becomes necessary to renovate the bathroom in their owner apartment’, says Paakkari.
She estimates that a housing company shall be provided with a valuable partner by the responsible Site Manager regarding larger entities than only one bathroom renovation, since this person knows constructions and challenges of the house in question. She points out that there has been the need for a responsible Site Manager in renovations earlier too, but in this new model the same person knows the building system and, for example, the requirements of the small block of flats of the 50s.
‘Based on the previously utilised practice, the implemented control and supervision have also been of variegated quality. Through this improvement we wish to achieve continuity, both in the planning and design process and in the work of the responsible Site Managers. It is also known that (Building) Designers and Site Managers are short during the period of repair construction boom.’
Quality and money saving
Limited liability housing companies own the real estate in their possession and therefore the permit shall always be applied for by the housing company and permit costs and expenses are to be imposed on the shareholders based on standard practice. With the housing company permit, the shareholders shall also save money as the permit costs as much as circa 2–3 single permits. Teriö adds that at the same time the housing company permit is a valuable document which indicates that bathroom renovations have been completed with permits, well planned and designed and that they have been supervised in a proper way.
‘The housing company shall be responsible for that waterproofing has been done correctly. Any longer-term relationship with the responsible Site Manager along with high-quality planning and design shall help the housing company’s Board of Directors along with its House Manager to follow the quality of the renovations’, adds Paakkari.
Before the first bathroom renovation is to be commenced, a start-up meeting shall be held in which the representatives of the Building Supervision Services and of the housing company, the responsible Site Manager and the House Manager participate. Paakkari tells that particular procedures shall be agreed on already in the early stage of the process, including for example any anomalous structures that are to be discovered. The following renovations shall then be commenced only through notification procedure (commencement notification). The responsible Site Manager shall otherwise take care of the necessary inspections, such as commissioning inspections.
The normal final inspection of the bathrooms shall be held simultaneously either after the last bathroom renovation has been completed or the permit deadline has been achieved.
Paakkari and Teriö emphasise that the Repair Construction Team under the Building Supervision Services shall be continuously reachable and counsels both the housing companies and the renovators of the detached houses in matters related to repair work.
Support for renovations is available at and provided by one location
- More recourses
The Building Supervision of Oulu have increased the amount of the recourses related to counselling and guiding in repair construction. A wide-ranging counselling and guidance related to any repair construction work of both the housing companies and detached houses are now provided by one team.
- Focus on repair construction
The Building Supervision shall focus on repair construction since there is a continuous need for repair and we want to support any repair work to be successful.
- Good advice ‘on the house’
In addition to matters related to assessment activity subject to permit and processing a permit, the professionals in the team shall counsel and guide in questions related to heating, ventilation and air conditioning along with energy and constructions.
- Renovation and repair cards for housing companies
Housing companies shall also gain renovation and repair cards of their own, which comprise comprehensive information packages for example for improving energy economy. This card file shall be found at energiakorjaus.info and its development work is part of the e-Lighthouse project in which the City of Oulu is involved.
