Contracts may also include a clause linking the increase to the consumer price index and setting a minimum annual increase. Anne ViitaThe Chief Operating Officer of Suomen Tenants told Helsingin Sanomat on Monday that in the latter case, the minimum increase is typically about three percent.
Some leases stipulate that the rent must be reviewed by comparing the index at the time of the review to both the index and the rent at the time of the original signature.
Consumer prices in Finland have risen faster than in decades in 2022. According to Statistics Finland, the annual rise in consumer prices, ie inflation, was 5.7 per cent in April. Eurostat, for its part, has released preliminary data showing that inflation continued to pick up markedly in May.
A tenant currently paying € 800 a month in rent may soon have to pay an additional € 46 if the lease allows for an increase in the consumer price index.
However, rents are unlikely to increase for all tenants because the landlord is not required to increase their rents annually despite the terms of the lease. However, Viita considers it likely that landlords will start raising rents as inflation accelerates.
“It is very likely that landlords will stick to their rent increase criteria because the cost to them will also increase through payments related to ownership costs,” he told the newspaper.
He also stressed that many landlords have given up rent increases during a coronavirus pandemic.
“This has been very unusual.
If the grounds for the rent increase are not stated in the lease, the increase must be negotiated with the tenant or the contract terminated to amend the clause.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page
