What should I do when a close relative living in a rental home passes away?

When the tenant of a rental apartment passes away, the rental agreement can be either transferred or terminated, i.e. it is

“Estate” refers to the deceased person’s assets and liabilities. A rental home is included in an estate.  Depending on the context, the term “estate” may also refer to the shareholders of an estate collectively.

“Shareholders of the estate” refers to persons who may be entitled to a share of the deceased person’s property. Shareholders of the estate include the deceased person’s heirs, surviving spouse (pursuant to the Marriage Act) and any potential beneficiaries of a general-legacy will.

The processing of an estate usually begins when a close relative or relatives of the deceased person contact our customer service and inform us of the death of the tenant. 

In order to receive information about the rental agreement from us, the relative or relatives must submit a report on the family relationships of the deceased (referred to as “sukuselvitys” by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and “virkatodistus” by Finnish parishes). The report allows us to ascertain that the person contacting us is a shareholder of the deceased person’s estate and is thus entitled to information about the rental agreement. Shareholders of the estate may also authorise another party to receive information about the agreement on their behalf through a power of attorney.

When an estate wishes to terminate the deceased person’s rental agreement, the shareholders must submit to Asuntosäätiö:

Once Asuntosäätiö has received the abovementioned documents, we can start processing the termination of the rental agreement. The period of notice for terminating a rental agreement is three months, calculated from the delivery of the documents.

The rental agreement may be transferred to the spouse or relative in the ascending or descending line of the deceased or to a permanent resident of the home. When an estate wishes to transfer the deceased person’s rental agreement to another person, the shareholders must submit to Asuntosäätiö: 

Persons requesting a transfer to an interest-subsidised rental home must provide the required documentation on their assets before the agreement can be transferred.

When a person who lives as a tenant in a right-of-occupancy home passes away, we will process the transfer of the apartment on a case-by-case basis, as our right-of-occupancy homes are primarily intended for right-of-occupancy residents. In such a case, the transfer of the rental agreement to another person requires the consent of the landlord, i.e. Asuntosäätiö.

If the deceased rented the apartment together with another person, the person who rented the apartment together with the deceased (rather than the estate) has the right to continue the rental agreement, unless the landlord has a legitimate reason to oppose this. The same right to continue the rental agreement is enjoyed by the surviving spouse of the deceased person, a child who is a member of their family, or the parent of the deceased person or their spouse. These rights restrict the authority of the estate over the rental agreement as previously described in this document.