Review of rents with the cost-of-living index
These instructions describe how you can calculate changes in rents tied to the cost-of-living index. The instructions are also suitable for calculating other changes that are tied to some index figure.
Index figures needed for calculation
To calculate changes in rents you need two index figures:
- The index point figure known at the time of signing the agreement
(subsequently: old point figure). - The index point figure valid at the time of the review
(subsequently: new point figure).
If your agreement is tied to the cost-of-living index (1951:10 = 100), you can get monthly index figures from the following table: Cost-of-living index 1951:10=100.
Calculation formula
new point figure / old point figure * original rent = new rent
Divide the index point figure at the time of the review (new point figure) by the index point figure known at the time when the rental agreement was made (old point figure) and multiply the original rent with the given coefficient.
You can use the same formula for checking other agreement sums tied to an index as well. Then use the point figures of the index mentioned in your agreement.
Example
The rental agreement was signed on 1 April 2018. The original rent sum is EUR 600. In the agreement, the rent of the dwelling is tied to the cost-of-living index, the base period of which is 1951:10=100. It was agreed that the rent would be reviewed annually.
The rent was reviewed for the first time on 1 April 2019, i.e. one year after the agreement was made. The most recent point figure for the cost-of-living index both at the time of the agreement and at the time of the review was the figure for February.
| time of index figure | index point figure |
|---|---|
| February 2018 | 1935 |
| February 2019 | 1959 |
The new rent sum was obtained by the following calculation:
new point figure / old point figure * original rent
= 1959 / 1935 * 600 € = 607,44 €
When the rent is reviewed in subsequent years, the point figure at the time of review is always compared to the point figure at the time of agreement and the original rent is used when calculating the change. Therefore, the following point figures were used in the rent increase in 2022:
| time of index figure | index point figure |
|---|---|
| February 2018 | 1935 |
| February 2022 | 2084 |
The rent increase calculated in April 2022 was obtained with the following calculation:
new point figure / old point figure * original rent
= 2084 / 1935 * 600 € = 646,20 €
If the original rent sum is in Finnish markka
If the agreement has the original rent sum in Finnish markka, before the calculation, convert the original rent in FIM into EUR with the conversion factor 5.94573:
original rent (FIM) * 5.94573 = original rent (EUR)
Then calculate the increase as follows:
new point figure / old point figure * original rent (EUR)
Last updated 26 Apr 2024