Resident activities

Resident activities are an important part of the collaboration between Espoon Asunnot and its residents. They help promote a safe, functional and pleasant living environment.

Resident activities can be many kinds of shared activities and influencing.

Some of the resident activities are based on the law and follow the guidelines set by Espoon Asunnot. This type of activity is referred to as formal resident participation, and it is carried out by resident committees and other people elected at residents’ meetings.

Resident activities can also be informal, such as events organised by residents in the building where they live.

Guidelines for Espoon Asunnot resident activities

The Guideline for Resident Activities (attached below in Finnish) explains how Espoon Asunnot puts into practice the legal provisions concerning residents’ meetings, residents’ committees, the cooperation body, resident members of the Board of Directors and the monitoring of finances and administration.

Asukastoiminnan ohje 1.1.2024 alkaen

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Resident administration

The structures of resident activities include property-specific residents’ committees and residents’ meetings, regional meetings, a cooperation body and two residents as members on the board.

Resident activities are coordinated by the Espoon Asunnot contact person for resident activities.

Residents’ meeting

If you want to know what is going on in your building, attending a residents’ meeting is a good idea. All residents of the building are welcome to the residents’ meetings.

Residents’ meetings are held at least once a year. The residents’ meeting elects the residents’ committee for the property. Instead of a residents’ committee, the residents’ meeting can elect a representative for the residents of the property.

Residents’ committee

The residents’ committee convenes and organises the residents’ meeting.

The committee can submit requests to Espoon Asunnot regarding purchases to be made for the property.

Espoon Asunnot provides uniform rules for the use of parking spaces, saunas, laundries and club rooms for all properties. The residents’ committee may draft additional rules specific to their property.

The aim is for the residents’ committee to foster a sense of community within the property. The committee may organise community efforts (talkoot), celebrations and other activities. We allocate an annual budget for resident activities at each property, and its use is decided by the residents’ committee.

The residents’ committee has 3–9 members.

Regional meetings

The property managers of Espoon Asunnot invite the chairs of residents’ committees and resident representatives from the properties in their area to regional meetings about four times a year. These meetings focus on current topics of shared interest.

Cooperation body

The cooperation body is a group consisting of representatives from Espoon Asunnot and resident members selected from different regions.

The group meets regularly to discuss issues related to housing, maintenance and repairs. The resident members bring forward the views of the residents.

The cooperation body may also deal with matters related to finances, procurement and house rules. Based on these discussions, Espoon Asunnot formulates policies and operational guidelines.

The chair and members of the cooperation body receive an annual fee for their service.

Resident members of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Espoon Asunnot includes two resident members. They are selected every four years during the municipal election year through the following process:

The selection process begins at residents’ meetings, where candidates are nominated for the preliminary election.
In the preliminary election, the chairs of the residents’ committees or the resident representatives from the properties vote to select six candidates.
The City of Espoo selects two resident members for the Board from these six candidates.
The official appointment of the members of the Board of Directors is made at the General Meeting of Espoon Asunnot.

The resident members of the Board receive a fee for their duties.

Tasks in resident activities

The meetings of the residents of the properties appoint representatives for residents’ committees and other tasks in resident activities. If you're interested in a resident activity role, feel free to express your interest.

3–9 members are selected to the residents’ committees of the properties. Instead of a residents’ committee, the residents’ meeting can select a representative for the residents of the property.

There may also be other tasks in resident activities. Espoon Asunnot decides on them annually. At the moment, residents’ meetings can appoint, in addition to the residents’ committee, a safety person, a civil defence shelter caretaker and an eco-expert.

We provide training and events for those involved in resident activities. We also produce guidelines and tips to support resident activities.

Chair of the residents’ committee

The chair of the residents’ committee organises and leads the meetings of the residents’ committee. The chair also keeps in contact with Espoon Asunnot.

The chair participates in training, events and regional meetings organised by Espoon Asunnot.

The chair receives an annual fee for their service.

Vice chair of the residents’ committee

The vice chair of the residents’ committee takes over the chair’s duties if the chair is unable to perform them or resigns during the term.

Secretary of the residents’ committee

The secretary of the residents’ committee prepares the agendas and minutes of the residents’ committee meetings together with the chair. The secretary is also responsible for the proper storage of documents.

The secretary delivers copies of all minutes of the residents’ committee to the property manager within two weeks of each meeting.

It is common for the residents’ committee to agree that the secretary prepares and distributes meeting invitations and notices.

The secretary receives an annual fee for their service.

Residents’ committee members

Members of the residents’ committee take part in the committee’s meetings. In the meetings, the members participate in discussions and decision-making. They are involved in carrying out the decisions made at the meetings.

Other tasks of the residents’ committee

The residents’ committee may assign specific areas of responsibility to its members. These may include, for example, monitoring purchased services, communication, organising community efforts and managing club and excursion activities.

The residents’ committee can invite residents to its meetings. Meetings can also be open to all residents if desired.

Residents’ representative selected instead of a residents’ committee

Instead of a residents’ committee, the residents’ meeting can select a representative for the residents of the property.

The representative of the residents of the property must listen to the residents and represent their common opinion. The representative is a contact person for Espoon Asunnot in matters common to the residents of the property.

The representative of the residents of the property receives an annual fee for their service.

Safety person

The safety person makes safety-related observations about the property where they live and reports to Espoon Asunnot or service partners. However, they are not officially responsible for the safety of the building.

The safety person can also contribute to improving the property's safety and inform other residents about related matters.

Each year, we organise training for safety persons in cooperation with rescue professionals.

Civil defence shelter caretaker

Most of our properties have a civil defence shelter. For these properties, a civil defence shelter manager is selected. The position is based on the Rescue Act.

Together with property maintenance and safety experts, Espoon Asunnot takes care of civil defence shelters and their equipment. The civil defence shelter caretaker regularly checks that the civil defence shelter and its equipment remain in good condition. The civil defence shelter caretaker can also propose any improvements related to the shelter and protective equipment to Espoon Asunnot.

If a crisis were to occur in society that required the use of the civil defence shelter, the shelter caretaker would lead its use and guide other residents in how to take shelter.

We organise annual training for the shelter caretakers in cooperation with civil defence professionals.

Eco-expert

An eco-expert is a resident who is interested in the sorting of waste, recycling and other sustainability topics. The eco-expert can promote environmentally friendly living in the building where they live and also collaborate with other eco-experts. In particular, the eco-experts can help improve the efficiency of waste sorting.

The eco-experts report their sustainability-related observations to Espoon Asunnot. In matters related to waste management and recycling, they also report to HSY.

We organise annual training for eco-experts in cooperation with recycling professionals.