Building stock and construction database

Building stock

The data on the building stock describe the building stock in active use according to the situation on the last day of the year. The key variables of the data content are 

• Number of buildings
• Gross floor area of a building
• Purpose of use of a building (according to the Classification of Buildings 2018)
• Year of completion of a building (at the accuracy of 10 years)
• Municipality.

The building stock does not include buildings used in agricultural production, sauna buildings, outbuildings, buildings of the Finnish Defence Forces or free-time residences registered as free-time residences. However, free-time residences in residential use are included in the building stock in which they have been included in statistics since 2000. Free-time residences proper are included in the statistics on free-time residences. The building stock and the free-time residences stock do not include the same buildings, since an individual building is categorised as falling under either in the building stock or the free-time residences stock.
The purpose of use of the building is given on the 3-digit level, except for residential buildings on the 4-digit level.

Data are available since 2005.

Renovation building

The tables of renovation building describe large renovations planned for housing companies located in the largest towns and major regions.

Data on actual renovation building are available classified by type of building (one-dwelling and two-dwelling houses, terraced houses, blocks of flats) and renovation target.

Data on large renovations planned for housing companies are available starting from 2014. The key variables of the tables are 

• Year
• Town (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku, Kuopio, Oulu, Lahti, Pori, Jyväskylä)
• Major region
• Type of renovation (water supply system renovation, sewerage system renovation, façade renovation, roof renovation, heating system renewal, air conditioning system renovation, retrofitting or modernisation of the lift, yard area renovation, some other major renovation)
• Planned time (not planned, over the next 0-3 years, over the next 4-6 years, over the next 7-10 years).

Building production

The tables concerning building production provide information on granted building permits, and on started and completed building projects. Annual data are published in this section, monthly data are available from the separate Building production database. The key variables of the data content are

• Number of building permits
• Capacity
• Gross floor area
• Number of dwellings
• Floor area of dwellings.

The data concerning the building stock are based on the data on buildings in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's population information system. 

The data concerning renovation building are based on Statistics Finland's data collection on the Finance and renovation building of housing corporations.

The data on building production are based on notifications submitted by municipal building supervision authorities to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency concerning building projects subject to building permits in Finland and different construction stages.

Building

A building refers to any independent structure permanently constructed or erected on its site. It has its own entrance and contains covered space intended for different purposes, usually enclosed within outer walls or walls separating it from other structures (buildings).

Caves and other subterranean spaces which are mainly enclosed within rock or similar walls and/or which do not contain structures comparable to the interior structures of buildings proper, for example underground oil tanks, are not buildings.

Stalls, kiosks, etc. that do not contain space separated by closed walls, and transportable caravans, ships, etc. are not classified as buildings.

The building stock statistics do not include:

• free-time residences
• buildings intended for storing liquids
• buildings used only in agricultural production
• sauna buildings belonging to residential buildings
• outhouses of residential buildings
• buildings entirely controlled by foreign missions
• buildings of the Armed Forces
• air raid shelters
  except in cases where such buildings are occupied or contain business premises.

Building material

The building material refers to the material from which the vertical supporting structures of the building are mainly made. The classification is as follows:

• concrete, light concrete
• brick
• steel
• wood
• other, unknown.

Dwelling

A dwelling refers to a room or a suite of rooms which is intended for year-round habitation; is furnished with a kitchen, kitchenette or cooking area; and has a floor area of at least 7 square metres. Every dwelling must have its own entrance. A single-family house may be entered through an enclosed porch or veranda. If a dwelling is entered through the premises of another dwelling, it is not regarded as a separate dwelling but instead those two constitute one dwelling.

Facilities

Data on the facilities of dwellings and buildings are derived from the dwelling and building data of the Population Information System of the Population Register Centre.

Facilities in a dwelling:

• sewage
• running water
• toilet
• hot water
• washing facilities (shower, bathroom or sauna)
• sauna in the dwelling
• central or electric heating.

The data on dwelling facilities have been used in determining the standard of equipment of the dwelling.

Facilities in a building:

• electricity
• sewage
• running water
• hot water
• lift
• sauna in the building
• swimming pool
• mechanical ventilation
• air raid shelter.

Gross floor area

The gross floor area of a building comprises the floor areas of the different storeys and the area of attic or basement storeys in which there are dwelling or working rooms or other space conforming to the principal intended use of the building.

The gross floor area is the horizontal area enclosed by the outer surfaces of the walls of the storeys or their imagined continuation for openings and decorations on the surface of the outer walls.

Heating fuel/ source of heat

Heating fuel or source of heat refers to the main fuel or energy source used in heating a building. There are also data on the heating fuel of dwellings. Data on the heating fuel have been obtained from the Population Information System, which receives them from municipal building supervision authorities.

Information about change in heating fuel is mainly transmitted to the Population Information System only if such alterations have been done to a building which require a building permit.

The classification is as follows:

• district heating
• oil
• gas
• coal
• electricity
• wood
• peat
• ground heating
• other, unknown

Heating system

Heating system refers to the main method of heating used in the heating of a building. There are also data on the heating fuel of dwellings. Data on the heating fuel have been obtained from the Population Information System, which receives them from municipal building supervision authorities by way of building project notices. Information about change in the heating system is only transmitted to the Population Information System if such alterations have been done to a building which require a building permit.

The classification is as follows:

• central heating, water
• central heating, air
• direct electric heating
• stove heating
• no fixed heating installation
• unknown.

In a water central heating system, the building is heated with circulating water, and in an air central heating system with circulating air. In direct electric heating the building is heated with the aid of a fixed radiator, etc. connected directly to the electricity network.

In stove heating, heating takes place by burning wood or other fuels in a fireplace (stove) that stores heat. Stove heating also includes electric heating reservoirs, separate fixed oil heaters and heatpreserving fireplaces. Stoves used for heating saunas are not regarded as heating equipment. 

Intended use of building

The intended use of a building is determined according to the purpose for which the largest part of the gross floor area of the building is used. The categories are as follows:

• residential buildings
• free-time residential buildings
• commercial buildings
• office buildings
• transport and communications buildings
• buildings for institutional care
• assembly buildings
• educational buildings
• industrial and mining and quarrying buildings
• energy supply buildings
• public utility buildings
• warehouses
• rescue services buildings
• agricultural buildings and livestock shelters
• other buildings.

The classification of the intended use of buildings is given in Statistics Finland's Handbook Classification of Buildings 2018. Not all the classes in the building classification are included in the Statitics Finland's building stock.

Locality

An urban settlement is a cluster of dwellings with at least 200 inhabitants. The delimitation is based on the population information of the previous year. Urban settlements are defined and delimited in co-operation with the Finnish Environment Institute using geographic information methods that utilise the building and population data of Statistics Finland's 250 m x 250 m grid data. The population size of grids containing buildings and their neighbouring grids, as well as the number of buildings and their floor area, are reviewed in the definition. From the uniform clusters of dwellings generated in the defining stage, the ones with at least 200 inhabitants are selected.

Network connection

The following network connections are identified for a building:

• sewage
• running water
• electricity
• natural gas.

Number of storeys

The number of storeys in a building consists of all storeys that are primarily above ground level and in which there are habitable rooms or office space or other space conforming to the intended use of the building. If the number of storeys varies in different parts of the building, the number usually refers to the largest number of storeys in the building.

For buildings completed after 1980, the number of storeys is expressed as an average number that takes into account the whole building if the share of the gross floor area of a certain storey out of the gross floor area of the main storeys is very small. For instance, if a large industrial unit is mainly a one-storey building, but office space is located on three storeys, then the number of storeys is given as one.

Standard of equipment

As from 2005, only two categories are used to describe the standard of equipment:

• High standard of equipment: the dwelling has running water, sewage, hot water, toilet, washing facilities (shower/bathroom or sauna) and central or electric heating
• Other or unknown level of equipment.

Type of building

Residential buildings are classified according to type of building as follows:

• Detached houses: residential buildings containing 1 to 2 dwellings, including semi-detached houses and other comparable detached residential buildings (e.g. permanently occupied free-time residences)
• Terraced houses: residential buildings with at least three adjoining dwellings
• Blocks of flats: residential buildings of at least three dwellings in which at least two dwellings are located on top of each other and which do not belong to the previous categories
• Other buildings: also includes buildings whose type is unknown.

Type of ownership of building

Buildings are divided into the following categories by tenure status:

• private person/ death estate
• housing corporation or co-operative
• real estate corporation
• private company
• company controlled by the State or municipality
• State or municipal corporation
• bank or insurance company
• municipality
• State
• social security fund
• religious community, foundation, party, etc.
• other or unknown.

Year of construction

The year of construction refers to the year in which the building was completed and was ready for use. If the building was completed prior to 1980, the year of renovation may have been entered as the year of construction.

Activated repair costs

Activated repair costs refer to the costs arising from basic repairs or renovations that are not entered in the profit and loss account as expenditure for the accounting period. Activated repair costs are included in current assets and increase their value.

Annual repairs

Annual repairs refer to costs entered as expenditure in the profit and loss accounts of housing companies.

Basic renovation

Basic renovation refers to making a building or the condition of a building as good as when new. Partitioning of flats, insulation of walls, renewal of floor structures, and refitting of kitchens and bathrooms represent basic renovation.

Housing company

A limited liability company is considered to be a housing company if its purpose is the ownership and possession of one or more buildings in which ( not necessarily) over half of the total floor area is specified in the articles of association as residential apartments in the possession of shareholders; and each share in it confers the right, either alone or together with other shares, to the possession of an apartment or other part of the company's building or real estate in its possession.

Maintenance

Activity related to the maintenance of real estate in which the aim is retention of the properties of the real estate by renewing or repairing faulty or worn parts without changing its relative level of quality.

Modernisation

Modernisation is an operation which usually raises the value or quality of a building above its previous level.

Renovation

In broad terms renovation refers to all activity aimed at improvement and maintenance of the condition of an existing building or parts thereof.

Area of a dwelling

The area of a dwelling, i.e. a residential dwelling is the floor area that is limited, on the one hand, by walls surrounding the dwelling, on the other hand, by the main walls and the surfaces of building parts in the inside of the dwelling necessary for the whole building. NB The floor areas of auxiliary spaces (utility space, walk-in wardrobe, etc.), bathroom, hobby room, fireplace room, sauna in dwelling, washroom and changing room, and rooms used as working space if no hired employees work in them are also included in the floor area of a residential dwelling. Garage, cellar, sauna space in unfurnished basement, unheated storage space, balcony, porch, veranda, vestibule and unoccupied attic spaces are not included in the floor area of a residential dwelling.

Building

A building refers to any independent structure permanently constructed or erected on its site. It has its own entrance and contains covered space intended for different purposes, usually enclosed within outer walls or walls separating it from other structures.

A multi-purpose building is a building which has space for different use purposes, such as residential and business premises.

Caves and other subterranean spaces which are mainly enclosed within rock or similar walls and/or which do not contain structures comparable to the interior structures of buildings proper, for example, underground oil tanks, are not buildings. Stalls, kiosks and so on that do not contain space separated by closed walls, and transportable caravans, ships and so on are not classified as buildings.

Building permit

Depending on the size of the building project, a building permit is a permission for construction granted by municipal building supervision or environmental control authorities according to the Land Use and Building Act. A building project notification is made on projects requiring a building permit, on which data content the statistics on building and dwelling production are based.

Projects requiring a building permit are such as construction of a new building, building of an extension, renovation and repair work comparable to construction of a building, expansion of a building or addition of space calculated in its floor area, essential alteration of the building or its use purpose.

Building production

Building production refers to building construction production subject to a building permit, as a result of which buildings with different use purposes are produced.

Completed building

A building has been completed when municipal building supervision authorities have performed a final inspection of the building and recorded the date in question in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's register of buildings and dwellings (RH5).

Construction stage

The construction stage indicates the different stages of the construction of buildings: granted building permit, started building project and completed building.

Cubic capacity of a building

The cubic capacity of a building is calculated in accordance with the Finnish Standards Association's standard SFS 2460, RT 120.12.

The cubic capacity of a building is the space limited by the exterior surfaces of outer walls, the lower surface of the base floor (the base of the building’s lowest space with thermal insulation) and the upper surface of the roof (the building part limiting the building's uppermost heated space from above including thermal insulation and protection).

Dwelling

A dwelling refers to a room or a suite of rooms which is intended for year-round habitation; is furnished with a kitchen, kitchenette or cooking area; and has a floor area of at least 7 square metres. Every dwelling must have its own entrance. A single-family house may be entered through an enclosed porch or veranda. If a dwelling is entered through the premises of another dwelling, it is not regarded as a separate dwelling but instead those two constitute one dwelling.

Gross floor area of a building

The gross floor area of a building includes the floor areas of each storey measured to the outer face of the exterior walls, and the area of the basement storey, attic or loft in which premises for the building's principal intended use are located or in which such premises could be located on the basis of position, access, size, available light and other attributes. (Land-use and Building Act, Section 115, Paragraph 3).

The gross floor areas and the areas of parts included in the basement storey, attic or loft are calculated using the standard concepts as floor plates. Because in the attic, loft and basement storeys the floor area includes only the spaces according to principal use, the building’s floor area can be smaller than the gross area.

Newbuilding construction

Newbuilding is considered to be newbuilding subject to a building permit, extension of buildings and a change comparable to re-construction. Newbuilding produces new space either entirely in the form of new building construction, extensions made to existing buildings or a re-constructed building.

Construction, which produces new space, a new construction or a new building (Kira glossary).

Number of dwellings

The number of new dwellings or dwelling units used for permanent residence directed to building permits granted in a certain period.

Purpose of use of the building

The intended use of a building is determined according to the purpose for which the largest part of the gross floor area of the building is used. The statistics on building and dwelling production cover all categories according to the Classification of Buildings 2018:

01 Residential building

02 Free-time residential buildings

03 Commercial buildings 

04 Office buildings 

05 Transport and communications buildings 

06 Buildings for institutional care 

07 Assembly buildings 

08 Educational buildings 

09 Industrial and mining and quarrying buildings 

10 Energy supply buildings 

11 Public utility buildings 

12 Warehouses 

13 Rescue service buildings 

14 Agricultural buildings and livestock shelters 

19 Other buildings

Residential building

A building used for dwelling in which the dwelling area makes up at least one-half of the total floor area (Classification of buildings).

Started building

A building is registered as a started building into the Population Information System maintained by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency when municipal building supervision authorities have performed an initial inspection and recorded the starting date of construction work in the system (RH5).

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