The reason was a journalistic investigation by Yle, which revealed that thousands of apartments in Finland are being sold on Russian websites, and Russians continue to actively purchase housing, including in the capital region.
Among the buyers there are dubious individuals with low or no income who managed to purchase dozens of apartments. Although Finland has banned Russians from buying real estate for security reasons, the ban does not apply to apartments purchased through housing cooperative shares.
According to the minister, one purchased apartment does not pose a serious threat, but the massive purchase of housing in one house or area, especially in strategically important places, can create risks. There are plans to tighten legislation during the current election period.
Control of such transactions is complicated by their scale: hundreds of thousands of transactions with housing cooperatives are carried out annually. Nevertheless, the authorities intend to consider this issue. A number of politicians believe that there are serious gaps in the current legislation.
The investigation also showed that many Russians are trying to sell their homes due to the border closure and have actually abandoned their apartments. In a number of cooperatives, owners have not paid fees for a long time, which is why some associations have begun the process of forced purchase of such apartments, especially in areas near the eastern border.
