Renovation supervision: did the housing company get what it ordered?
In this article
In a repair project, the housing company is the client, and the board must make sure that the work is done as agreed.
A tidy end result does not tell you whether the agreed materials and working methods were used or whether inspections and documentation were carried out as ordered. That said, supervision does not mean a board member has to stand on the building site. The board’s job is to organise supervision, inspections, documentation and handover to suit the scale and complexity of the project.
What supervision is
Through supervision, the client makes sure the work is carried out in line with the agreed plans, contracts and technical requirements. Things to monitor include quality, materials, work stages, schedule, additional and variation work, defects, handover and matters arising during the warranty period. A small maintenance job needs very different supervision from a facade renovation, a pipe renovation or a roof replacement.
In renovations, the word “supervision” can refer to three different roles:
- Building control is a municipal authority function. It does not check on the housing company’s behalf whether the contract is being fulfilled for every work stage, material or instalment.
- The responsible site manager is a role under the Building Act for work that requires a building permit. They direct the construction work and ensure that legal requirements are met, but they do not automatically look after the client’s contractual interests.
- The client’s supervisor is an expert hired by the housing company who, in line with their brief, monitors that the contract is carried out as agreed.
What the law requires
Limited Liability Housing Companies Act
The board must ensure that the implementation of the project is properly organised. The law does not require a board member to act as technical supervisor themselves, nor does it require a separate external supervisor to be appointed for every renovation.
Maintenance that is far-reaching or significantly affects living in the building or housing costs is decided by the general meeting. Once the general meeting has decided on the project and its financing, the board sees to its implementation, and that includes organising supervision.
Building Act
If a repair requires a building permit, the housing company becomes the party undertaking a construction project within the meaning of the Building Act (rakentamislaki, 751/2023). It must ensure that the building is designed and built in accordance with the regulations and the permit, and that the project has qualified designers and that the other parties also have the expertise their tasks require (section 91).
Work requiring a building permit must have a responsible site manager (section 96), and a construction inspection record must be kept on site, in which those who have inspected the work stages confirm their inspections (section 118). The inspection record is an important part of quality assurance, but it does not replace the client’s contract-based supervision.
Supervision starts with the request for quotation
If the request for quotation just says “facade repair”, it leaves open whether the work covers the whole facade or only the damaged areas, what materials and methods will be used, what counts as an acceptable result and what needs to be documented. What has not been defined is hard to supervise. Requests for quotation and construction contracts are covered in the article on competitive tendering in a housing company.
While work is under way
In a significant repair project, things to monitor include whether the work is being done according to the plans, whether the agreed products are being used, whether surrounding structures and apartments are being protected, whether deviations are being handled as agreed and whether the correction of defects is being followed up.
Work stages that will be hidden
Waterproofing is covered by tiles, pipes by boxing and the facade’s backing structures by cladding. Once the work is finished, they cannot be inspected without opening up the structure. Critical stages must therefore be inspected and documented while they are still visible. A photo of a finished bathroom does not show how the waterproofing was done.
Additional work and payment instalments
There are always surprises when repairing an old building, and additional work does not in itself mean a project has failed. Problems arise if additional work is approved without a clear procedure. Before approving it, establish why the additional work is needed, whether it was already part of the original contract, how the price is made up, who approves it and how the change is recorded.
Payment instalments are often linked to the progress of the work. Before approving an instalment, make sure that the corresponding stage of work has been done as agreed. The board should not follow progress on site through invoices alone.
Handover and documents
When the contractor announces that the work is finished, depending on the contract a handover inspection is held at which the result is checked and any defects are recorded. Building contracts often use the General Conditions for Building Contracts YSE 1998, but these are binding only if they have been made part of the contract. As well as the surfaces, the documents are checked:
- as-built documents and drawings
- photos of work stages that have been concealed
- measurement and inspection reports
- operating and maintenance instructions and product information
- warranty terms and the end date of the warranty period
- documents from the authorities, such as the minutes of the final inspection
When a defect appears in the structure ten years later, resolving it depends on knowing what was done, with what materials and by whom. Keeping documents is covered in the article on housing company documents.
Practical advice
Assess whether you need an external supervisor. A qualified supervisor is particularly justified if the project is financially significant or technically demanding, parts of the structure will be concealed, there are several contractors or the board lacks the necessary technical expertise.
Agree on the supervision model in advance. Define which stages are inspected, who inspects them and when, what is documented, how defects are recorded and how the board is kept informed.
Ask for a short status update. The board does not need to read long technical reports, but it does need to know where the project stands. A one-page update is enough: progress, schedule, open defects, approved additional work, cost forecast and the next critical stage of work.
Keep track of the warranty period. Some defects only show up during the first winter, in heavy rain or in the heating season. The board should know when the warranty period ends, which complaints are still open and when outstanding warranty defects will be reviewed with the contractor.
Questions for the board during a renovation
- Is the work being done according to the plans, and if not, why not?
- Have changes of material been properly approved?
- Which work stages will soon be concealed, and have they been inspected?
- What defects are open, and who is following up their correction?
- How much additional work has been approved, and how does it affect the budget?
- Does the progress of the work match the next payment instalment?
- If the contractor left today, would we know exactly what has been done on site?
When expectations are clear, defects are spotted in time and changes are recorded, there are fewer disputes. Well-organised supervision therefore benefits the contractor too.
Frequently asked questions
Is renovation supervision compulsory?
The Limited Liability Housing Companies Act does not require a separate supervisor for every renovation, but the board must ensure that property management is properly organised. For projects requiring a building permit, the Building Act also requires, among other things, a responsible site manager and an inspection record.
Does building control replace the housing company’s own supervisor?
No. Building control is supervision by the authorities, whereas the client’s supervisor works on the housing company’s instructions and monitors the fulfilment of the contract.
Does YSE 1998 always apply to a housing company’s building contract?
No. The YSE 1998 terms are binding only if they have been agreed in the construction contract.
Sources: Limited Liability Housing Companies Act 1599/2009 (opens in a new tab) (chapter 1, section 11; chapter 6, section 30; chapter 7, section 2); Building Act 751/2023 (opens in a new tab) (sections 91, 96 and 118), Finlex (in Finnish).
This article provides general information and does not replace case-specific legal or technical advice.
