The new Building Act, passed by the Finnish parliament in March, introduces regulations for monitoring carbon content in construction. In other words, maximum permitted emission levels will be set for new buildings, determining the total carbon dioxide emissions from the initial construction phase through to the end of the building's service life.
Such a system is already in use in the Netherlands, France, Sweden and some regions of Belgium. Norway and Denmark are likely to adopt similar legislation in the near future. According to Matti Mikkola, CEO of the Finnish Woodworking Industries Federation (Matti Mikkola), the new Building Act will encourage the growth of low-carbon construction.
“Legislation on new types of construction will accelerate the resolution of climate issues and circular economy processes. It must be remembered that the construction sector is one of the main sources of emissions,” reminds M. Mikkola.
The new Building Act will come into force at the beginning of 2025
M. Mikkola points out that construction and associated processes in Finland generate more than a third of all emissions. The construction sector consumes approximately half of all raw materials and produces one-third of the country's waste. To reduce construction-related emissions, measures with a rapid impact are needed if Finland wants to become carbon neutral by 2035. “Using wood in construction reduces direct construction-related emissions by 30-40%,” continues M. Mikkola.
The average service life of residential buildings is 58 years, while for other types of buildings it is 43 years. With proper management and maintenance, the actual service life of buildings can be extended by even up to several hundred years. As wooden construction is expected to consolidate in the future, this will increase carbon storage in the construction sector.
“Long-life wood products and timber construction are among the best ways to achieve long-term and sustainable carbon storage. Wooden structures slow down the carbon cycle, keeping carbon stored in the product for longer and thus removing the corresponding amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” explains M. Mikkola.
Building a sauna in the garden will no longer require a permit
In the future, Finns will not need a permit to build a shed or sauna smaller than 30 square metres in their garden, provided it does not conflict with building regulations, zoning rules or laws governing construction near waterways. A permit will still be required for buildings intended for residential use.
“Time will tell, but I believe that small, fully or partially prefabricated buildings will become more popular. We have observed this in Sweden since the revision of the famous Attefallshus* act in 2014,” says M. Mikkola.
According to Swedish statistics, the construction of single-family homes and outbuildings in Sweden has increased more than fourfold over seven years. The market size is estimated at 3.6 billion Swedish krona (320 million euros).
The so-called Attefallshus legislation was named after the then Minister for Housing, Stefan Attefall; the amendments to the law allowed Swedes to build a residential building of up to 30 m² without a building permit.
“We believe that the opportunity to build various types of wooden structures without a permit will also increase construction activity in Finland. Using wood for small outbuildings, such as sheds and saunas, is considered a tradition,” emphasises M. Mikkola.
Wood is a traditional building material in Finland. Almost 90% of new small-scale homes and practically all summer cottages are built of wood. Even if permit requirements are eased, some rules will still have to be followed, for example, the building rights defined for the plot must not be exceeded, and local building regulations must be observed.
Is there ambiguity in the Building Act?
The new Building Act is being criticised for its lack of precision. It is expected that many of the new rules included in the law will be defined (clarified) later by separate decisions. One of the critics of the law, the Rakli association, which represents property owners and clients in the construction industry, points out that the actual impact of the law cannot yet be precisely determined, as there are gaps in the impact assessment.
Under the new legislation, all building permit applications must be accompanied by reports on environmental impact and the environmental impact of the materials used. Henna Helander, President of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) in 2022, explained to Tekniikka & Talous magazine last autumn that, despite the good intentions of the new law, it can be interpreted in very different ways.
“We do not see any ambiguity in this legislation,” M. Mikkola is convinced. “It must be remembered that the current law, passed in 1999, is still interpreted differently by building inspectors. It is precisely these differences that cause enough problems in planning and industrial implementation. We believe that the new legislation will resolve many of the ambiguities we faced with the previous law,” he believes.
M. Mikkola hopes that the new legislation will further increase the interest of investors and construction clients in industrial timber construction. A steady growth in demand will allow for long-term production development in this sector.
The need to develop individual solutions for each site is sometimes seen as a disadvantage of using wooden structures, as it increases costs compared to, for example, concrete structures. M. Mikkola hopes that the new law will encourage construction companies to invest in design, which would increase the availability of standardised solutions.
“Our message to the next Finnish government: a strategic programme for low-carbon industrial construction in Finland must be launched to support the implementation of the new law. Such a programme would promote solutions for industrial construction and secure a leap in productivity. This is necessary if Finland wants to ensure the availability of low-carbon construction,” says M. Mikkola.
* Since 2014, a building code has been in force in Sweden that allows homeowners to build, without a building permit, a 25 m² liarge additional house not exceeding 4 metres in height. These buildings are called Attefallshus, named after the Swedish Minister for Housing, Stefan Attefall.