The government aims to shorten the amount of advance notice that a landlord must give when terminating a long-term rental agreement.
At present, a landlord must tell long-term tenants six months in advance if they have to move out.
That would be shortened to just four months under a bill that is expected to take effect later this year.
The longer notice period would apply to any tenancy that has lasted at least two years, up from the current one year.
Ministry: Changes will boost housing supply, facilitate sales
The government submitted the bill to Parliament on Thursday, calling for amendments to the Act on Residential Leases, which dates back to 1995.
The landlord's shorter notice period is to remain unchanged, at three months.
No change is proposed to the minimum notice period for tenants who want to move out. That will continue to be one month.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the changes are partly aimed at boosting the supply of rental housing, reducing the need for fixed-term contracts and facilitate housing sales.
Earlier this month, the Finnish Landlord Association complained about an oversupply of rental flats on the market.
The Finnish Tenants advocacy group has slammed the proposed legislation, arguing that it would significantly weaken renters' housing security and increase uncertainty, especially in long-term tenancies.
Landlords call for more flexibility
On the other hand, the Landlord Association says the proposed change is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough.
In particular, the organisation has expressed disappointment that tenants and landlords will not be able to agree in advance on a longer minimum period of advance notice by tenants who want to move out. It says that a mutual three-month notice period is standard in other Nordic countries.
"Increasing freedom of contract would have offered a new kind of flexibility to the rental market, so that, for example, by committing to a longer [tenants'] notice period, it would have been possible to get an apartment at a cheaper rent," the association’s legal director, Tarik Ahsanullah, says in a press release.
The bill is virtually certain to be rubber-stamped by Parliament. The government aims for it to take effect next autumn.
