Ministry of the Environment Decree on living, accommodation and working areas

The Ministry of the Environment Decree on the planning of residential buildings and their construction sites and on the characteristics of living spaces would replace the provisions of the current Ministry of the Environment Decree on housing design (Finnish Building Regulations, part G1). The new decree would, in terms of its content, be largely based on the aforementioned decree and on the instructions issued alongside it that have already been observed as if they were a regulation. The structure of the decree to be replaced and its instructions have caused divergence in their practical interpretation. The often authoritative wording of the instructions and their status as a part of the decree have led to a situation in which they have been read as mandatory, which has actually been the intention. The decree and its basis do not meet the requirements of the Constitution of Finland in other aspects, either. The aim is to remedy this with the redefined building regulations.

The content of the draft decree is based mainly on the current regulatory controls, i.e. the regulations and instructions of the Ministry of the Environment Decree on housing design (G1, 2005). The draft decree includes regulatory controls that are related to the suitability of a building and its courtyard for living, accommodation and working.

The essential content of the decree that has been proposed to be replaced has not been changed, with the exception of a regulation related to the orientation of a dwelling in accordance with the cardinal points, which relates to a standard being prepared on the access of natural light in living spaces. Otherwise, only a number of fine-tunings and minor additions have been made to the regulatory controls.