Planning and Starting a Building Permit Process

It is advisable to use an expert (principal designer) when writing the permit application.

To Hire a Principal Designer

It is important to hire a qualified principal designer already at the beginning of the construction project. This will guarantee a high-quality result, and often also lead to savings in overall costs. The principal designer will also help you in the different stages of your permit process. According to the Finnish Land Use and Building Act, all construction projects must have a principal designer. In addition, it may be necessary to hire a building designer and other special designers.

It is important to consult the local detailed plan and construction instructions for the area in question already at an early stage of any planning process. Planning is one of the most important stages of the construction process, as it defines most of the object’s total costs for both construction and use. A plan made by a professional designer will cut down the overall costs, speed up the permit process and make the construction work run more smoothly.

Designer Qualifications

The designers’ qualifications are stated in the Land Use and Building Act, and in the Ministry of the Environment guidelines. A designer’s qualification is based on their training and expertise. A designer responsible for reparations or constructional alterations must have previous experience in planning reparations or alteration work on a building. A person without a degree in construction is allowed to act as a designer only in projects which are of minor importance. The building supervision authority determines whether the designer has the necessary qualifications for the task in question. Qualifications are project-specific.

The names of persons hired to act as the project’s principal designer and building designer, respectively, must be stated at the latest when submitting the building permit application via Lupapiste.

Duties of the Principal Designer

The principal designer is responsible for the project in its entirety. The duty of the principal designer is to ensure that the designers have adequate basic information and reports necessary to carry out the project, and to see to that all plans required for the completion of the project are drawn up. The principal designer is responsible for making sure that the construction plan and eventual special plans form a coherent whole in accordance with the provisions and regulations concerning building and a good construction practice.

Do the following

The municipality of Sipoo Construction Supervision Department provides service via email and telephone. Our services are available in two languages, Finnish and Swedish. We recommend that the contact person assigned to your construction project is your principal designer or architect, and that they speak either Finnish or Swedish fluently.