Changes to the rental law from 1 October 2026

The Act on Residential Leases will change on 1 October 2026.

The new law will mainly apply to both new tenancy agreements and tenancy agreements that are already in force. We have collected the most important changes on this page and explained what they mean for you.

Most residents do not need to do anything because of the change in the law.

Smoking will be banned in all Lumo homes from 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, smoking will be prohibited inside all Lumo Homes, on balconies and in any outdoor areas that form part of the home. Smoking will only be permitted in a designated smoking area marked by the property. If there is no designated smoking area, smoking is not permitted anywhere on the property grounds.

The smoking ban applies to all Lumo residents, regardless of when their tenancy agreement was signed. The ban also applies to visitors. As a resident, you are responsible for ensuring that your guests comply with the smoking ban.

If you notice repeated smoking that breaks the ban, please report it as a disturbance in the My Lumo service. In your report, describe as clearly as possible where, when and how often the smoking or related nuisance happens. A written report helps us look into the situation and take the necessary action.

Continuity of living will continue to be protected at Lumo

Under the new law, the landlord’s notice period will become shorter in some situations. If the tenancy has lasted for at least two years, the statutory notice period will be four months. If the tenancy has lasted for less than two years, the notice period will be three months.

At Lumo, however, we intend to keep the landlord’s six-month notice period when the home is used in line with the house rules. We want to offer our residents security and continuity in their own home. At the same time, we will take stronger action against disturbances when necessary.

The resident’s own notice period will not change. It will still be one month. For tenancy agreements signed before 1 October 2026, the previous rules will usually apply in these matters.

Read more on how we handle disturbance reports >

There will be a deadline for handling rental deposits

Oftentimes, no rental deposit is needed to rent a Lumo home. However, if you have paid a deposit and you move out of your Lumo home, we will process the deposit within 14 days of the end of your tenancy agreement.

During this time, we will either return the deposit to you or let you know if some or all of it will be used, for example, for unpaid charges or repair costs for the home.

If the home is returned to us after the end date of the tenancy agreement, the 14-day period will start from the date when the home has been returned to us.

If only part of the deposit is used, we will return the remaining amount to you. We will also tell you how much of the deposit is used and why.

Electronic notices and the resident’s duty to keep contact details up to date

We have invested in the digital customer experience for a long time so that dealing with us is as smooth as possible.

The change in the law will further support the use of digital channels by allowing electronic notices with the resident’s consent. The change will also make residents responsible for informing us of any changes to their contact details. We will inform residents separately about the introduction of electronic notices.

A one-year residence requirement will be introduced for transferring the tenancy right

In certain situations, the tenancy right can be transferred without the landlord’s permission to a spouse, a child who is part of the family, or a parent of either spouse, if they live in the same home.

In future, the general requirement will be that the family member has lived in the home without interruption for at least one year before the transfer. With the landlord’s permission, the transfer may also be possible earlier.

This page summarises the most important effects of the change in the law on living in a Lumo home. The other changes to the law mainly apply to individual situations or are in line with practices that we already follow. We will inform residents separately if any change requires action from them.