Buying a Cabin in Lapland: Prices, Rules, Northern Lights

In Finland, a mökki (cottage, often by a lake) or a detached house is usually bought as real property (kiinteistö, a registered land parcel including its buildings), and in Finnish Lapland, as elsewhere in mainland Finland, the law as a rule requires a permit from the Ministry of Defence (Puolustusministeriö) when the buyer of real property does not hold EU or EEA citizenship or is one of certain companies and other entities; the permit law does not cover housing company shares or Åland, which has its own rules. According to the National Land Survey of Finland (Maanmittauslaitos), built holiday properties on the shoreline in Lapland sold for a median of €60,000 (about £51,000 / $68,000) in 2025 in areas covered by a local master plan or a detailed shore plan (purchase price per property). If you are searching for a Lapland cabin for sale, this article sets out what the statistics show, who needs a permit and what renting out a cabin involves.

Finnish Lapland at a glance: where it is and what the year looks like

Lapland is Finland's northernmost region. This article is about Finnish Lapland only; it does not cover Swedish Lapland.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Ilmatieteen laitos), the day in Helsinki is almost 19 hours long at the summer solstice. The limit of the midnight sun runs along the Arctic Circle at Rovaniemi, but the nightless night is also experienced south of the Arctic Circle, along the Tornio–Kuusamo line.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, in Nuorgam the midnight sun period begins on 16 May and ends on 29 July, while kaamos (dark season of very short days), the period when the sun does not rise at all, lasts there from 25 November to 17 January. These dates apply to Nuorgam only.

Over the Finnish Meteorological Institute's 1991–2020 reference period, the mean July temperature was 15.6 °C in Rovaniemi (Rovaniemi Airport observation station), compared with 18.1 °C in Helsinki (Kaisaniemi).

For the same reference period, the mean July temperature was 14.3 °C at the Ivalo Airport observation station in Inari, with an average daily maximum of 19.1 °C, and 16.0 °C at the Kemi-Tornio Airport observation station, with an average daily maximum of 20.6 °C.

Northern lights in Finnish Lapland: where and how often

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the northern lights are seen most often in Finland in northern Lapland. Based mainly on observations from the 1990s, on clear, dark nights they are seen on average on three nights out of four in the Kilpisjärvi area and on every other night in the Sodankylä area. The frequency varies with solar activity.

These proportions refer only to nights that are both dark and cloudless, not to all nights of the year.

The institute also notes that in the very south of Finland, around Helsinki, the northern lights can statistically be seen on only one night a month. In Lapland, the likelihood of the northern lights occurring peaks at around 23:30 Finnish winter time.

Tourism in Lapland through the year

According to Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), accommodation establishments in Lapland recorded about 3.4 million overnight stays in 2025, of which about 62% were by foreign tourists. The busiest month was December, with about 622,000 overnight stays, and January–March and December together accounted for about 57% of all overnight stays in 2025.

It is worth noting what these figures cover. The statistics are collected from accommodation establishments with at least 20 beds or at least 20 caravan or motorhome pitches with electrical hook-ups, and they do not cover intermediary services. The figures therefore do not show how much demand there is for renting out cabins.

What can you buy in Lapland: real property or housing company shares

For a buyer from abroad, a key question is what exactly is being bought.

Someone buying a flat in a block of flats or a terraced house usually buys shares in a taloyhtiö (housing company that owns the residential building). These shares (asunto-osake, shares giving the right to occupy a flat) entitle the owner to occupy a specific flat. The company owns the building, and the plot is either the company's own or leased. Someone buying a detached house or a mökki, on the other hand, usually buys real property: the land and the buildings. The form of the sale, the taxes and the registration differ between the two.

The difference also matters for the Ministry of Defence permit. The permit concerns only real property, such as a detached house with its plot or a cabin property, and not housing company shares. The permit law does not apply in Åland, which has its own land acquisition legislation.

For scale, according to Statistics Finland, there were 485,475 leisure residential buildings – in other words, cottages – in Finland at the end of 2025. This figure covers Finland as a whole, not Lapland alone.

Building a cabin on an unbuilt plot

Some buyers consider building their own cabin. Under section 45 of the Building Act (751/2023), a building site outside a local detailed plan area must be at least 1,000 m², the buildings must be at least 4 m from the boundary, there must be an access road and arrangements for water, waste water and stormwater, the building must not cause harm to neighbours, and it must suit the landscape. In areas where planning is required, section 46 of the Act applies as well. This article does not cover the building permit procedure or whether an unbuilt plot falls under the permit law. The Ministry of Defence provides current information on the permit process.

What does a cabin or house in Lapland cost?

Prices in Lapland can be compared with Finland as a whole using official statistics. This article does not describe individual resorts; price statistics are shown for the region of Lapland and for Rovaniemi.

The table combines three different sets of 2025 statistics. They measure different things: Statistics Finland's figure for flats is an average price per square metre, while the National Land Survey's figures for real property are median purchase prices per property. The rows should therefore not be compared directly.

All figures are for 2025. Rows 2–5 do not include flats in housing companies; they cover only properties on own land (not leased plots). A dash means that no figure is shown: in row 2, Rovaniemi had fewer than 30 sales, and Rovaniemi figures for rows 3 and 5 are not included in the statistics used here.

Flats in housing companies

According to Statistics Finland, the average price of old flats was €1,547 per m² (about £1,300 / $1,700) in Lapland in 2025, compared with €2,594 (about £2,200 / $2,900) in Finland as a whole. In the same year, the average was €4,270 per m² (about £3,600 / $4,800) in the Helsinki capital region and €1,860 per m² (about £1,600 / $2,100) in the rest of Finland. In Rovaniemi, it was €1,953 per m² (about £1,600 / $2,200). These are averages, not medians, and they cover flats in blocks of flats and terraced houses, not cabins.

According to Statistics Finland's municipal table, there were few sales of old flats in 2025 in, for example, Kittilä (26 sales), Inari (45) and Sodankylä (47), so their average prices per m² are not presented here as the price level of the area.

Holiday properties on a shoreline

The National Land Survey's statistics cover built holiday properties of less than 2 hectares on the shoreline. According to the National Land Survey, the median price of a built holiday property on the shoreline in Lapland was €60,000 (about £51,000 / $68,000) in 2025 in areas covered by a local master plan or a detailed shore plan, and €50,000 (about £42,000 / $56,000) outside such areas. In areas covered by a local master plan or a detailed shore plan, the median for the same kind of property was, for example, €183,000 (about £150,000 / $210,000) in Uusimaa, €90,000 (about £76,000 / $100,000) in Etelä-Savo and €57,000 (about £48,000 / $64,000) in Pohjois-Karjala.

The median is the purchase price per property, not a price per square metre, and the size and condition of the properties vary. The holiday property figures shown cover shoreline properties only.

Small residential properties

For built small residential properties, a statistical category that is not the same as a detached house, the median price in Lapland was €121,000 (about £100,000 / $140,000) in 2025 in local detailed plan areas and €80,000 (about £68,000 / $90,000) outside them. In Rovaniemi, the median in local detailed plan areas was €169,000 (about £140,000 / $190,000). Across Finland as a whole, the median outside local detailed plan areas was €107,000 (about £90,000 / $120,000); by region, it ranged from about €54,000 (about £46,000 / $61,000) in Satakunta to €210,000 (about £180,000 / $240,000) in Uusimaa.

Who can buy a cabin in Lapland, and is a permit needed?

The permit rules depend on two things: what is being bought, and who is buying it.

Buyers with and without EU or EEA citizenship

If you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country, the law does not require a Ministry of Defence permit for buying real property. According to the Ministry of Defence, no permit is needed if the buyer holds the citizenship of an EU or EEA state, even if they also hold the citizenship of another country. For a person without EU or EEA citizenship, and for an entity in which a party from outside the EU or EEA holds at least 10% ownership or corresponding influence, the law requires a permit to acquire real property, with exceptions set out in section 2 of Act 470/2019. The permit is not required for housing company shares, and these rules do not apply in Åland, which has its own rules.

What the permit involves

Under the law, the permit is to be applied for within 2 months of the purchase. In 2026, the fee is €210 (about £180 / $240) when paid online and €280 (about £240 / $320) when invoiced, per property identifier. A permanent residence permit in Finland does not remove the need for the permit. If the permit is not granted, the law requires the property to be transferred to someone else within 6 months of the decision becoming final.

Citizens of Russia and Belarus

A separate rule has applied since 15 July 2025. The Ministry of Defence does not grant a permit to acquire real property to a person whose only citizenship, or all of whose citizenships, are Russian or Belarusian. Nor is the permit granted to an entity domiciled in these countries or to an entity in which such parties hold majority control (Act 470/2019, section 5 a; Government Decree 840/2025). This bar does not apply to a person who, both when acquiring the property and when the permit application becomes pending, holds a valid permanent residence permit in Finland or an EU long-term residence permit issued by Finland. The list of countries may change.

Åland has its own rules

Åland is an exception. There, acquiring real property, including a cabin property, usually requires a land acquisition permit from the Government of Åland (Ålands landskapsregering) if the buyer does not have the Åland right of domicile. According to the Government of Åland, buying housing company shares does not require a permit unless the company's own land acquisition permit requires it. The rules in Åland differ from those in mainland Finland, and it is advisable to check them with the Government of Åland. Only a Finnish citizen can obtain the Åland right of domicile.

Owning a cabin does not grant a residence permit

According to the Finnish Immigration Service (Maahanmuuttovirasto, Migri), owning land, real property or housing company shares in Finland is not, on its own, sufficient grounds for a residence permit or for citizenship. It is advisable to check the rules for your situation with the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri).

The purchase and its costs in brief

How a real property sale is made

A sale of real property is made in writing. The deed must be signed by the parties and confirmed by a public purchase witness (kaupanvahvistaja), or the sale is made in the National Land Survey of Finland's electronic Property Transaction Service. The deed of sale (kauppakirja) must state the purpose of the transfer, the property, the seller and the buyer, and the purchase price and any other consideration.

Logging in to the Property Transaction Service requires Finnish strong electronic identification. Foreign identification methods cannot be used in the service. Without Finnish identification, the sale is made in the presence of a public purchase witness or through an authorised representative.

Transfer tax, lainhuuto and fees

The transfer tax on real property, such as a cabin or a house, is 3%. The buyer is required to apply for lainhuuto within 6 months of signing the deed of sale, and the transfer tax must be paid before lainhuuto is applied for.

According to the Finnish Tax Administration's instructions, a foreign buyer who does not have a Finnish personal identity code (henkilötunnus) registers as a customer of the Tax Administration before the purchase. Registration is requested with a free-form written application, accompanied by a copy of the buyer's passport and, where needed, a power of attorney; a representative authorised by the buyer can also request it. After registration, the buyer receives an artificial personal identity code for the transfer tax return and a personal transfer tax reference number. The transfer tax can be reported and paid only after registration.

The National Land Survey's fees as at 1 October 2026 are:

• lainhuuto: €172 (about £150 / $190)
• public purchase witnessing: €143 (about £120 / $160)
• mortgage registration, if the property is pledged as loan security: €47
• extracts from the e-service: €16

(National Land Survey of Finland, price list, checked October 2026.)

If you buy housing company shares instead

For housing company shares, the transfer tax is 1.5%. The law change took effect on 1 January 2024, but the reduced rate applies to contracts signed on or after 12 October 2023. The tax is calculated on the debt-free price (velaton hinta, sales price plus share of company loan): the purchase price and any other agreed consideration, plus the share of the housing company loan allocated to the shares, under the conditions set out in law. Here, “other consideration” means other payment agreed in the sale, not the vastike (monthly charge paid to the housing company).

Annual real estate tax

The owner of real property pays an annual real estate tax. The tax for the whole year is paid by whoever owns the property on 1 January, and if the tax is €170 (about £140 / $190) or more, it is automatically divided into two instalments. For 2026, the ranges relevant to a cabin are 1.30–2.00% for land and 0.93–2.00% for other residential buildings, a category the Tax Administration says is used, for example, for leisure properties; for an unbuilt building site, the range is 2.00–6.00%. Current municipal rates are published by the Finnish Tax Administration.

Financing

Whether you can get a loan from a Finnish bank while living abroad depends on the bank's own assessment and on your ties to Finland. It is worth asking more than one bank.

The purchase process as a whole, including what to check before buying, is covered in our guide to buying property in Finland.

Renting out your cabin to tourists: the basics

Under section 13 of the Health Protection Act and its annex, a notification concerning a furnished flat, holiday home or other premises offered for accommodation is made in writing to the municipal health protection authority at least 30 days before the activity starts. Whether an individual activity is subject to the notification requirement is worth confirming with the municipal health protection authority. The notification is also required when the activity changes significantly or ends.

For someone living abroad, rental income from a home in Finland is usually taxed in Finland as capital income. Income from short-term and occasional renting is taxable. The Finnish Tax Administration recommends applying for prepayment tax when renting starts, to avoid residual tax; rental income is reported in MyTax (OmaVero) or on a paper form, for example form 7H for flats. It is advisable to check the tax treatment with the Finnish Tax Administration.

Rental income varies by location and season. Tax rules in your country of residence may also apply; it is advisable to check with your own tax authority.

Regulation of short-term rentals is currently being prepared in Finland, so it is worth checking the current rules before starting to rent. Tax rates and the rules on renting out and selling a home are covered in our article on renting out and selling property in Finland.

What comes next

Buying is only the first step. Owning a cabin from abroad, renting it out and selling it later, and the costs of ownership each have their own rules; we cover them in separate articles, alongside our guide to the purchase itself.

Home Of Homes aims to make buying, owning and renting out a home in Finland simpler – in one place, also when you live abroad.

FAQ

How much does a cabin in Finnish Lapland cost?

According to the National Land Survey of Finland, the median price of a built holiday property on the shoreline in Lapland was €60,000 (about £51,000 / $68,000) in 2025 in areas covered by a local master plan or a detailed shore plan, and €50,000 (about £42,000 / $56,000) outside such areas. These are purchase prices per property, not per square metre, and the size and condition of the properties vary. For built small residential properties (properties with a detached or similar small house), the Lapland median was €121,000 (about £100,000 / $140,000) in local detailed plan areas and €80,000 (about £68,000 / $90,000) outside them, while old flats in housing companies cost on average €1,547 per m² (about £1,300 / $1,700) (Statistics Finland, 2025).

Can I rent out my Lapland cabin to tourists?

Under section 13 of the Health Protection Act and its annex, a notification concerning a furnished holiday home offered for accommodation is made in writing to the municipal health protection authority at least 30 days before the activity starts; whether an individual activity is subject to the notification requirement is worth confirming with that authority. For someone living abroad, rental income is usually taxed in Finland as capital income. Rental income varies by location and season.

When can you see the northern lights in Finnish Lapland?

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the northern lights are seen most often in Finland in northern Lapland. On clear, dark nights, based mainly on observations from the 1990s, they are seen on average on three nights out of four in the Kilpisjärvi area and on every other night in the Sodankylä area. The figures apply only to clear, dark nights, and the frequency varies with solar activity.

Do foreigners need a permit to buy a cabin in Lapland?

That depends on citizenship and on what is being bought. For a person without EU or EEA citizenship, or an entity in which a party from outside the EU or EEA holds at least 10% ownership or corresponding influence, the law requires a Ministry of Defence permit, with certain exceptions, to acquire real property such as a cabin property in mainland Finland; holders of EU or EEA citizenship do not need it, and housing company shares are not covered. In Åland, acquiring real property usually requires a permit from the Government of Åland if the buyer does not have the Åland right of domicile.

Related articles

• Buying a summer cottage (mökki) in Finland
• Owning a holiday home in Finland from abroad
• Airbnb in Finland: rental rules and tax for owners
• Where to buy a house in Finland: cities and regions compared

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Sources

• Finnish Meteorological Institute: Tähtitieteelliset vuodenajat and Aurinko ja kuu (in Finnish)

• Finnish Meteorological Institute: Missä ja milloin revontulia näkyy (in Finnish)

• Finnish Meteorological Institute: Jokinen et al. 2021, Finnish Meteorological Institute Reports 2021:8

• Statistics Finland: Accommodation statistics, StatFin table 11iz, table 11j1 and documentation (in Finnish)

• Statistics Finland: Prices of old dwellings in housing companies, StatFin table 13mw

• Statistics Finland: Prices of old dwellings by municipality, StatFin table 13mx (in Finnish)

• Statistics Finland: Kesä tilastojen valossa (in Finnish) and StatFin table 15f7

• National Land Survey of Finland: Apartments

• National Land Survey of Finland: Purchase price statistics 2025, press release 25 February 2026 and description of the statistics service (in Finnish)

• National Land Survey of Finland, purchase price statistics service (REST), Lapland 2025: indicator 5113, indicator 5313, indicator 2313 and indicator 2503

• Ministry of Defence: Authorisation to non-EU and non-EEA buyers to buy real estate and Kiinteistönostajien luvat (in Finnish)

• Government of Åland: Jordförvärv på Åland and Åländsk hembygdsrätt (in Swedish)

• Finnish Immigration Service: FAQ on residence permits

• National Land Survey of Finland: Public purchase witnessing and Property Transaction Service

• Property transaction service help: Authentication and payment

• National Land Survey of Finland: Price list, real property (in Finnish)

• Finnish Tax Administration: Transfer tax, buying real property and Transfer tax, buyer of a flat

• Finnish Tax Administration: Buyers from outside Finland and Ulkomaisen ostajan varainsiirtovero (in Finnish)

• Finnish Tax Administration: Real estate tax rates and Paying real estate tax

• Finnish Tax Administration: Rental income from property abroad, Occasional rental income from property and Taxation of income received by non-residents

• Finlex (legislation in Finnish or Swedish): Act 470/2019, Act 328/2025, Government Decree 840/2025, Act 1599/2009, Act 751/2023, Health Protection Act 763/1994

Information checked: October 2026. Rules and prices change; check current details from the sources above.

Currency conversions are approximate and based on the European Central Bank's reference rates of 16 October 2026.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Home Of Homes is a platform, not a real estate agent.