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Electricity contract, broadband and the Yle tax – setting up your home in Finland

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

The keys are yours, but the flat stays dark until you have an electricity contract, and it must be signed two weeks before you move in. Here is how power, broadband, mobile, the Yle tax, insurance and waste sorting work in Finland in 2026, and which rules are national and which are local.

Smiling woman carrying a cardboard box among moving boxes and plants
Photo: simona/Adobe Stock

Two figures frame the year for anyone setting up a home in Finland. The electricity tax for households is 2.325 cents per kilowatt-hour from 1 April to 31 December 2026, and the public broadcasting tax, the Yle tax, is 2.5 per cent of income above €15,150, capped at €160. Neither matters until you have an electricity contract, so start there.

How do I get an electricity contract in Finland?

Electricity is a national market supervised by Energiavirasto (the Energy Authority). You choose the supplier freely, and the timing rule is strict: the new contract must be concluded at the latest two weeks before the date you want it to start. During those 14 days the new supplier cancels any previous contract and arranges the network contract for your new home on your behalf. In a rental flat you normally sign the electricity contract yourself; central heating is usually included in the rent, according to InfoFinland.

The Energy Authority recommends comparing every offer valid in your area in its own comparison service, which needs your postal code and an estimate of your annual consumption; the contract itself is signed with the supplier. Three pricing models exist: fixed-price, spot-priced, which follows the power exchange hour by hour and is usually cheaper outside the weekday peaks of 8–9 and 17–19, and hybrid, a basic charge plus a fixed kilowatt-hour price plus a monthly consumption impact based on spot prices.

ContractHow it worksYour notice as a consumer
Valid until further noticeRuns until cancelled; the supplier may change prices and terms with one month's noticeTwo weeks
Fixed-termPrice fixed for the whole term, most commonly one or two yearsNot before the term ends; a term longer than two years can be ended after two years with two weeks' notice

Source: Energiavirasto and InfoFinland, read 24 September 2026.

What is on a Finnish electricity bill?

About 40 per cent of the bill is the electricity itself, about 30 per cent is distribution and about 30 per cent is taxes, according to the Energy Authority. Distribution is a legal monopoly: one of 77 network companies serves your area, you cannot switch it, and the Energy Authority supervises its pricing. A network company may not raise its tariff by more than eight per cent compared with the charges collected over the preceding 12 months.

Every part of the bill carries VAT at 25.5 per cent. The electricity tax and a strategic stockpile fee are billed with the network charge; for households they add up to 2.325 cents per kilowatt-hour from 1 April to 31 December 2026, that is 2.24 cents of tax plus 0.085 cents of fee. You usually get two bills, one from the supplier and one from the network operator. If you cannot pay, the Energy Authority advises contacting Kela (the Social Insurance Institution) and telling your supplier and network company.

Broadband and a mobile subscription: what do you need?

Every consumer has a right to a basic connection at their permanent home at a reasonable price: a telephone connection and 5 Mbps broadband, under rules supervised by Traficom (the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency). A subscription agreement must be made in writing, electronically is fine, and only a person aged 18 or over can sign one. A subscription valid until further notice can be terminated with two weeks' notice; the operator must announce changes at least one month in advance, and if the change is to your detriment you may terminate at once. Since 4 May 2026, identification of SMS senders has been stricter, a Traficom measure against scam messages.

SubscriptionPersonal identity code and address needed?Good to know
Post-paid contractYes, both; the operator normally checks your payment historyWithout a clean credit record you pay a deposit or advance
Prepaid SIMNoSold at R-kioski shops, some supermarkets and online; an anonymous prepaid number cannot be ported
Mobile certificate (mobiilivarmenne)A DNA, Elisa or Telia subscription plus Finnish online banking codesCannot be activated on a prepaid subscription

Source: InfoFinland, Traficom and DVV, read 24 September 2026.

The Yle tax: no licence fee, but a line on your tax card

Finland has no separate television licence. Public broadcasting is funded by a personal tax that Vero (the Tax Administration) collects through the withholding rate on your verokortti (tax card). In 2026 it is 2.5 per cent of the part of your net earned and capital income above €15,150, with a maximum of €160 a year; below €15,150 you pay nothing. It applies to residents of mainland Finland aged over 18, and non-resident taxpayers are exempt.

Home insurance and motor insurance: what is compulsory?

Home insurance is not required by law, but most landlords require it when you rent, and InfoFinland recommends it even when the tenancy agreement does not: without it you pay for damage you cause to the dwelling yourself, and water damage can cost tens of thousands of euros. Motor insurance (liikennevakuutus) is compulsory by law if you use your own car, and a Finnish insurer normally wants to see a Kela card. Free advice on banking and insurance comes from FINE, the Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau, on 09 6850 120, Monday to Thursday 10.00–15.00.

In a detached house you also need a water connection contract and a waste management contract; in a rental flat the water charge, often set per resident, is usually paid with the rent. Whenever you move within Finland, file a notification of move with DVV (Digital and Population Data Services Agency; Myndigheten för digitalisering och befolkningsdata in Swedish) at the earliest one month before and at the latest one week after the move, and tell the isännöitsijä (house manager) if you live in a block of flats or a terraced house.

Waste sorting: national minimums, local bins

The Waste Act reform in force since 19 July 2021 and the Government Decree on Waste (978/2021) set national minimums, and since the reform your municipality, not the property owner, organises the collection of separately collected waste. Municipalities may impose stricter rules in their own waste regulations, so the instructions posted at your bins are the ones that count. Household waste is sorted into biowaste, paper, carton, glass, metal, plastic and mixed waste; batteries go to the red boxes in shops.

Property in an urban areaBiowastePackaging and small metal
Terraced or apartment building with at least five dwellingsSeparate collection since July 2022 at the latestSince July 2023 at the latest
Detached house or fewer than five dwellingsOnly in urban areas of more than 10,000 inhabitants, since July 2024; home composting may replace it if municipal rules allow and you notify the municipal waste authorityRegional collection points
Helsinki region and Kirkkonummi (waste authority HSY), one to four dwellingsBiowaste collection or a registered home composter; a 140-litre bin costs €7.56 per emptying in 2026 including VAT and bin rental, emptied every four weeks for one to eight residentsRegional collection points

Source: the Ministry of the Environment and HSY, read 24 September 2026.

Use only your own housing company's bins; taking rubbish to another company's containers is not allowed. Return empty bottles and cans with the cap on to the reverse-vending machine at the grocery store: you get the deposit back, and more than 90 per cent of beverage packages in Finland come back that way.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Compare offers in the Energy Authority's comparison service and sign the electricity contractAt the latest two weeks before you move in
2Order broadband in writing; a prepaid SIM until you have a personal identity code and an address, then a contractAround moving day
3Take out home insurance and, if you drive, motor insuranceBefore you collect the keys
4File the notification of move with DVV and tell the house managerFrom one month before to one week after the move
5Read the sorting instructions at your binsYour first week
6Check the Yle tax on your tax card: 2.5 per cent above €15,150, at most €160When your 2026 tax card arrives

Source: Energiavirasto, Traficom, InfoFinland, DVV and Vero, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.