Lease agreement

The lease agreement is the most important document in your tenancy. By signing the lease agreement, you commit to all responsibilities and obligations related to your tenancy in a Lumo home. It is important to familiarise yourself carefully with its contents so that you understand how the tenancy operates in different situations.

A non‑fixed term lease agreement is the most common type of lease agreement. It remains valid until either the resident or the landlord submits a notice of termination.

For the resident, the notice period is one calendar month, and the lease agreement always ends on the last day of the month. The easiest way to submit a notice of termination is via the My Lumo service. Alternatively, a written notice of termination can be submitted to the Lumo Home Centre in the Helsinki metropolitan area (Mannerheimintie 162a, 00300 Helsinki). A lease agreement cannot be terminated by email alone.

Most agreements include a minimum stay period, which means that the lease agreement cannot be terminated before a certain date without a contractual penalty. The most common minimum stay period is six months, in which case the lease agreement can be terminated at the earliest five months after its start. In some properties, the minimum stay period is twelve months or three months. The exact earliest possible termination date is always stated in your lease agreement.

The lease agreement may, however, be terminated before the minimum stay period is fulfilled by paying a contractual penalty equal to one month’s rent.

In Lumo apartments, it is also possible to move to another Lumo apartment. Once you have lived in your current home for at least six months, you may move to another apartment without a notice period or contractual penalty. However, a new minimum stay period will apply to the new lease agreement.

Read more on changing apartment >

If the landlord terminates a non‑fixed term lease agreement, the notice period is three months during the first year of the tenancy and six months thereafter. In practice, lease agreements are only terminated in exceptional situations, for example if the rent is not paid or the resident repeatedly causes disturbance.

Example of a 12‑month minimum stay period

Your lease agreement begins on 1 June 2026, so you may terminate it at the earliest on 30 April 2027, in which case it will end on 31 May 2027.

A fixed-term lease agreement is valid until the end date stated in the agreement. During this period, neither party may terminate the lease agreement without a specific reason. The lease agreement ends automatically at the end of the fixed term.

A security deposit may be included in the lease agreement unless otherwise agreed. The security deposit may be used after the tenancy ends to cover unpaid rent or consumption-based charges, cleaning costs, possible damages, or debt collection costs.

When the tenancy ends and all obligations have been fulfilled properly, the security deposit will be returned within one month from the end of the lease agreement.

If the lease agreement has been concluded directly through the Lumo online store, no security deposit is required.

As a resident, you may under certain conditions transfer the use of the apartment or part of it to another person.

Subleasing refers to a situation where part of the apartment is assigned for use by another person for housing purposes in exchange for rent or other compensation.

You can sublease up to half of your apartment without separate notification. Please note that this refers to at most half of the rooms in the apartment, not the floor area. Therefore, signing a sublease for a studio apartment is unfortunately not possible. The sublease agreement is made between the primary tenant and the subtenant, and the primary landlord is not a party to the agreement. Please note that the main tenant is responsible to the landlord for rent payments and the condition of the apartment.

In secondary leasing, the tenant transfers the entire apartment to one or more tenants. Secondary leasing is prohibited under our lease agreements.

As a rule, tenancy rights cannot be transferred to another person without the landlord’s permission. Exceptions apply in certain family situations, where the tenancy rights may be transferred, for example, to a spouse living in the same apartment, a child belonging to the family, or a parent of either spouse. Individual cases are always assessed separately.

If you wish to transfer your tenancy rights to another person, submit a notice of termination in the My Lumo service and indicate your wish to transfer the tenancy in additional information. Include the details of the person to whom you wish to transfer the tenancy. Once the transfer has been agreed, we will conclude a new lease agreement with the incoming resident.

As a rule, you may temporarily assign the entire apartment to another person for up to two years if you reside in another location due to work, studies, illness or a similar reason.

Temporary assignment must be reported to us in writing at least one month before the assignment begins. You must submit the completed temporary assignment of a residential apartment form by email. Emails containing personal data must always be sent securely.

Please note that during the temporary assignment, both you and the occupant are responsible for rent payments and the condition of the apartment.

Sharing an apartment means that several people live in the same apartment. In Lumo apartments, this can be arranged either through a shared lease agreement or through a sublease agreement. The type of agreement has an impact, for example, on housing benefits granted by Kela and the distribution of responsibilities within the tenancy.

We do not make separate lease agreements.

A lease agreement may be concluded jointly with a maximum of two tenants. In such cases, the entire apartment is in shared use, and the tenants agree among themselves on the use of spaces and room allocation.

Under a shared lease agreement, tenants are jointly responsible for the apartment and for the obligations of the lease agreement. This means that all parties to the agreement are jointly liable, for example, for rent payments and compliance with the terms of the agreement.

A Lumo lease agreement can be concluded jointly with a maximum of two persons. Please note that Kela considers residents who have concluded a shared lease agreement to form one household, which may affect, for example, the amount of housing allowance. Please review Kela’s guidelines.

If an apartment is jointly rented by two people and additional residents move in, the tenants may enter into a sublease agreement with the additional residents.

A sublease agreement is an alternative way to arrange apartment sharing. In this model, one or two main tenants conclude a lease agreement with Lumo and sublease parts of the apartment to one or more subtenants.

If more than half of the apartment is subleased, the landlord’s permission is required.

The sublease agreement must always be made in writing. Its content largely corresponds to a standard lease agreement, but the parties are the main tenant and the subtenant.

The main tenant alone is responsible to the landlord for rent payments, the condition of the apartment and compliance with the lease agreement. The subtenant pays rent to the main tenant in accordance with the sublease agreement. If the main tenant terminates their own lease agreement, the subtenants’ agreements also end at the same time.

Home insurance is an essential part of living in a rented apartment. In apartment-sharing arrangements, it is important that each tenant has their own valid home insurance. A subtenant must have their own valid home insurance already when concluding the agreement, as the main tenant’s insurance does not cover the subtenant’s share.

Our customer service is happy to assist with any questions related to shared living.

Lumo apartments are gradually becoming smoke-free. In new lease agreements concluded on or after 1 June 2024, smoking is prohibited in apartments and on balconies or private yards.

Please note that a property may not yet be completely smoke-free for all apartments. Some apartments may have older agreements without a smoking ban. In such cases, the resident is responsible for ensuring sufficient ventilation and that smoking does not disturb other residents.

All properties completed since 2017 are completely smoke-free. In these properties, smoking is allowed only in designated areas or outside the yard area. In all Lumo buildings, smoking is prohibited in shared indoor spaces, shared balconies and near children’s play areas.

If a new resident moves into the apartment, a new lease agreement is not required. However, the change must be reported in the My Lumo service if water charges are based on the number of residents, and a notification of change of address must also be submitted to Posti and the Population Information System. In the My Lumo service, you can also request that a new name is added to the door.

A separate notification to the maintenance company is not required. However, please note that the maintenance company may only open the apartment door at a resident’s request for people who have been registered as residents by the person who signed the lease agreement.

If one of the parties to the lease agreement wishes to withdraw from the agreement, they must submit a personal notice of termination via the My Lumo service. The minimum stay period and one-month notice period apply to the withdrawing party, during which they remain responsible for the obligations of the lease agreement.

Submitting a notice of termination is easiest via the My Lumo service. The lease agreement may also be terminated by submitting a completed notice of termination form to the Lumo Home Centre. Please note that termination by email alone is not possible. Emails containing personal data must always be sent securely.

The notice period begins and becomes binding once the written notice of termination has been submitted via the My Lumo service or delivered to the Lumo Home Centre. You will always receive a confirmation letter. The letter will be sent by post to your home address and by email if you have provided your email address. If you have not received the letter, please contact our customer service.

You may authorise another person to manage matters related to the lease agreement on your behalf. The authorisation must always be made in writing and signed personally by the person granting it.

In the event of a tenant’s death, the tenancy continues under the same terms and the estate becomes the party to the lease agreement. All decisions related to the lease agreement, such as termination, require the consent of all parties to the estate. The estate may, if necessary, authorise one party to manage tenancy matters by power of attorney.

Download the printable power of attorney template and send the completed form to us by email. Emails containing personal data must always be sent securely.

If a dispute related to the lease agreement cannot be resolved through negotiation with the landlord, you may seek a resolution through consumer advisory services. Consumer advisory services help assess the situation and provide guidance on how to proceed.

If the matter cannot be resolved through consumer advisory services, you may refer it to the Consumer Disputes Board.