Land policy
The land policy of a municipality is defined in section 5a of the Land Use and Building Act. According to its definition, the municipality’s land policy includes objectives related to the municipality’s land acquisition and implementation of plans and measures that create the preconditions for the development of communities.
The land policy guidelines of the City of Kuopio are based on the land policy programme approved by the city council. It defines the main lines for the use of land political means enabled by legislation.
The starting point for land policy in Kuopio’s central urban area is to acquire land for the city’s ownership before their first master planning. In this way, the increase in land value caused by zoning and municipal technical investments made by the city can be detained for the city as land donation revenue. These revenues are used to organise municipal services. The city’s land ownership also enables appropriate programming of land use and quantitative and qualitative steering of housing production.
The land use agreement is a contract that is mainly used in connection with changes to the city plan. Under the provisions of chapter 12a of the Land Use and Building Act, landowners benefiting from land use planning have an obligation to contribute to the costs of urban construction incurred by the city. According to Kuopio’s land policy guidelines, land use agreements are negotiated with landowners in such cases, in which the landowners’ participation in the costs of urban construction is agreed upon. With land use agreements, the city acquires funding to cover the costs of municipal construction caused by changes in the city plan.
The land policy guidelines also include principles related to the plot transfers. Plots are priced at a reasonable fair price. In the central urban area, the plots are mainly rented. However, a rental plot intended for housing can be sold to the tenant for their own once the building has been built.
The land policy programme of the City of Kuopio can be read in its entirety by clicking on the link below.
Land acquisition
The City of Kuopio acquires land in the growth areas of the city. In addition, land is procured, if necessary, in order to acquire green, recreational and street areas for city ownership and in accordance with the city plans in force.
A land owner can offer land for sale to the City of Kuopio.
Contact information
Right of pre-emption
According to the Act on Prior Purchases, the City has the right of pre-emption in property transactions where the land area of the object of the sale exceeds 5,000 m2. In the Act on Prior Purchases, the right of pre-emption refers to the right of a city to redeem a property sold. By making the decision to use the right of pre-emption and completing the purchase, the City becomes the buyer in the property transaction under the terms agreed in the deed of sale.
The period for exercising the right of pre-emption is three months from the date on which the deed of sale of the property was confirmed. In transactions where the City is not a party, this means that the buyer’s application for title remains in force for three months from the date on which the transaction was concluded.
In order to speed up the processing of the title, the buyer may request the City for a decision not to exercise the right of pre-emption. The City will make a formal decision if the City can waive the right of pre-emption. A fee is charged for the decision in accordance with the current price list.