Living in a SATO home
Tiny home, big apartment, new customer, long-term resident, homebody, world traveller - living in a SATOhome is as diverse as the life itself. And we have assembled all sorts of rental living related questions below.
If urgent repair work is needed in your apartment, contact the maintenance company. You will find the contact details by writing your street address on 'Contact details of your home building' box at Contact us -page. If the need for maintenance is less urgent, you can send us a message at OmaSATO. OmaSATO knows who to forward you message to, so you don't have to worry if you know the responsible actor.
Some wear and tear in your apartment is normal. However, sometimes it is sloppiness that causes an extra reason for cleaning or repairs. In these situations we will invoice you in accordance with the List of customer charges.
Whatever home-related issue is on your mind, don't hesitate to contact our customer service for advice.
We have assembled a division of responsibilities table for you to see who is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of your home. For example changing the batteries of the equipment in your home, including the fire alarm, is your responsibility.
Normal wear and tear of an apartment is a part of living. However, sometimes an accident or sloppiness can cause an extra need for repair. In these situations we will invoice you in accordance with the list of customer charges.
SATO's Service Manager (in some houses Building Manager) helps you
- in administrative and financial issues related to the property (such as maintenance contracts and waste management)
- if the maintenance company has not responded to your request for repair work within a reasonable period of time
- any disturbance issues
- residential cooperation
- apartment repairs and inspections
- if you would like to renovate your home by yourself or make amendments or extra installations
- if you think there may be damage to your home caused by moisture or other defects or omissions that may pose a risk to residents or the property, please report this without any delay to the maintenance company as well as the building management company
You can find the name of your home building's Service Manager at OmaSATO or by typing your address on Contact details of your home building at Contact us page. The easiest way to contact your Service Manager is via OmaSATO.
Contact the maintenance company
- in all urgent cases, such as if there is a water leak in your home or in a communal area of your building
- if you would like to have changes made to the nameplate on your door
- if you would like to hire a car parking space or sauna turn
- you have forgotten your key
- if your home is too cold or warm or if the ventilation system is not working
- if you notice a defect or other problem in your home, the building's communal areas or equipment or the upkeep of the outdoor areas
In case of any emergencies regarding the functioning of a lift, do call directly to the lift servicing company (see the lift wall for contact details).
You can find your home building's Maintenance company at OmaSATO and by typing your address on Contact details of your home building at Contact us page.
A drain smell is usually caused by either a dirty floor drain or a dried-out stench trap. Make sure to clean the floor drain, including the grate and stench trap, regularly to prevent odours. You can find clear cleaning instructions, for example, on SATO's YouTube channel.
If the drain hasn’t been used for a while, for example, during a vacation, the water in the stench trap may have evaporated, allowing sewer odors to enter the indoor air. In this case, simply pouring water down the drain should eliminate the smell.
If the odor persists despite these efforts, please submit a defect report via OmaSATO so we can investigate and fix the cause of the odour.
You can hang, for example, paintings, shelves or a television onto the walls of your SATOhome, as long as you remember these basic rules:
- When mounting anything onto a wall, make sure you take the wall material
into consideration to ensure the drilling and mounting are safe and tidy. Instructions are available e.g., in hardware stores. - Do not not mount anything heavy onto the light dividing walls.
- Do not make holes or mount anything onto the bathroom walls (inside or outside) or the walls that have a flue behind them.
Do not mount anything else than fire alarms on the ceiling.
Holes or mountings are not allowed in the fixtures, such as cupboards, or balcony.
If you forgot your keys at home, you'll find the phone number for requesting a door opening service on OmaSATO or the notice board of your home building.
SATO House Experts handle door openings in buildings fully owned by SATO on weekdays between 8:00 and 16:00. The price for the House Experts' door opening service is €50 per occasion (including VAT). Maintenance companies take care of door openings in other buildings and at other times, charging for the service according to their own price list.
Please note that we can only open the apartment door for residents living in the apartment, and we always check the identity document before opening the door.
You can order extra keys at OmaSATO (check the price on Customer charge list). When moving in or out, you must not receive keys directly from the previous resident or give the keys to the next resident. The maintenance company keeps a record of keys and will charge you for any missing ones. If you lose a key, contact SATO hastily.
When you live in a SATOhome, you can feel at ease knowing that your housing provider will not visit unnecessarily. If we do need to visit, we will agree the timing with you at least 14 days in advance, unless there is a particularly urgent reason. If we are unable to reach you, we will assume that the proposed time suits you and will carry out the visit accordingly.
When we are coming to your home, please make sure we can access the apartment without difficulty and that arrangements have been made for any pets, especially if you are not at home to let us in.
Good to know
As a resident, you must allow the housing provider access to the apartment if the visit is necessary to monitor the condition and maintenance of your home.
The housing provider has the right to show the apartment to a new tenant (or to a buyer if it is a part-ownership apartment or, in rare cases for SATO, a home for sale).
The property owner, which in our case is usually SATO, meaning the same as your housing provider, has the right to enter the apartment to carry out emergency repairs, for example in the event of water damage.
When a tenant sublets the apartment to another person, we use terms subletting in part, subletting in full or temporary assignment.
Subletting in part
Subletting in part means a situation where the main tenant and the subtenant live in the same apartment. The main tenant assigns a part of an apartment rented by the tenant for residential use to another person against a fee or charge. Tenants may assign up to one-half of the apartment for residential use by another person without the lessor's permission provided that the subletting does not cause any considerable inconvenience or disturbance to the lessor. Subletting in part is not, however, allowed for studio apartments.
The main tenant is responsible for the apartment. When the tenancy of the main tenant ends, the subtenancy also ends.
Subletting in full
Subletting a SATO apartment is strictly prohibited.
Subletting refers to renting out the apartment via Airbnb or any other service, platform or channel. Short-term rentals are also considered subletting and are therefore strictly forbidden. Subletting a SATOhome is a ground for rescission of the lease agreement.
Temporary assignment
A tenant may assign the occupancy of the entire apartment to another person temporarily for a maximum of two years if the tenant moves away from the town or city for work, studies, ill health or other corresponding reason. The main tenant remains responsible for the apartment.
You as the main tenant must notify SATO in writing at least one month before any temporary assignment of the occupancy of your SATO rental home.
Rent, water and internet
At SATO we aim to reach a good balance between price and quality in the rents charged for our apartments. The rents of interest-subsidised and non-subsidised rental homes are determined on the basis of market rates and the rents of those financed on state-subsidised ARAVA loans on the basis of the cost correlation principle. In ARAVA buildings a rent equalisation model is used to determine the rents between the buildings.
Any long-term renovation needs are also anticipated in rents.
Our billing partner, Ropo Oy, is responsible for sending SATOs invoices, processing payments, and providing customer service related to payments.
We send all rented homes information about the rents for the next year by post. The letter will include a rent payment summary document that specifies all the necessary information relating to rent payments, such as the name of the lessor company, bank account number, reference number, payment date and amount of rent., its start date and more detailed information relating to rent payment (incl. bank account and reference number). We have decided with Ropo that the payment receiver (maksunsaaja) in your invoices is SATO Corporation (SATO Oyj).
Please note that we will not send you a new bill every month. Instead, the rent payment summary will serve as the invoice for the entire year. We will only send you a new summary if any of the details change. All the information in that summary will remain valid until you receive a corresponding new summary from us (usually once a year).
Make sure you comply with the due dates and information (such as the reference number) sent to you by SATO to ensure your payment is made correctly. The due date for rent payments is the 2nd day of each month.
With e-invoicing you will receive the information required for your rent payments directly into your own online banking service (web bank) every month. You can then pay the rent via the online banking service. The advantage of e-invoices is that your rent payment information is always up-to-date and ready for use in the e-invoice. You can order the e-invoices via your own bank’s online banking service. Remember to mark SATO-Konserniyhtiöt/SATO Oyj as the invoicing company ("laskuttajayhtiö").
In October 2025, a change was introduced to online banking payments, requiring banks to compare the payee name and account number you enter with the official account holder information.
SATO has several lessor companies, such as Sato-Asunnot Oy. However, all of their rent payment accounts are owned by SATO Oyj.
If you enter your lessor company’s name as the payee, your bank may notify you that the name does not match. This notification will not prevent the payment from going through. You can pay your rent with confidence: your payment will reach the correct account as long as you use the account number and reference number shown on the invoice.
To make the payment process clearer in the future, the top right corner of the latest rent invoices will show your lessor company as the invoicing company. In the actual payment slip, however, the payee is the account owner, SATO Oyj.
Your lease agreement specifies the principles of rent reviews. Your new rent is affected by issues including property maintenance costs and market prices. Each rent review takes into consideration issues including each property's own maintenance costs, apartment-specific differences and the local rent level in the area. Rent reviews are also based on the terms and conditions of your lease agreement.
Because there is a chance that the rent does not rise, we use the term ´rent review´ instead of ´rent increase´.
You should check if you are eligible to receive support towards your housing costs. To do this, you can use the calculator found on the Kela website. You can also fill in the benefit application form on the Kela site.
We can also agree under your lease agreement that any housing benefits will be paid by Kela directly to SATO. This means you will only need to pay the difference between the rent and the benefit to SATO.
SATO uses an electronic data transfer system with Kela regarding housing benefit issues. The system is used for all housing benefits. As a SATO customer you will not need to submit housing-related enclosures to Kela when applying for a new housing benefit or for benefit reviews. Kela will receive the necessary information electronically from SATO's information system.
Information transferred electronically includes information about the lease agreement, housing expenses and payment details for the payment of rent directly to the lessor. Kela will also receive information about any renovation or modernisation carried out on the property. Electronic data transfer helps ensure the information submitted to Kela is correct.
As a customer benefit around 22,000 SATO RentHomes have been provided with access to broadband services and connected to the Telia cable TV service. The basic speed of the broadband connection included in the rent is 50M. Most of these are based on Telia's optical fibre connections. The cable TV service covers the basic channels. Residents can order pay-TV channels from Telia as a supplementary service. In addition to this, residents may of course independently order extra broadband speed and services from Telia.
The agreement covers most SATO homes, but unfortunately there are still some buildings where the services cannot be accessed at the moment. This is due to technical or administrative reasons (for example for part-ownership homes and housing companies decisions on the introduction of the service are made by the Board of the housing company). SATO is making efforts to provide homes not covered by the agreement with access to corresponding services.
To start using the broadband access included in your rent, you must register the connection under your own name. You can register at telia.fi/sato or by calling Telia’s sales service on 0200 11611 (mcc/lnc).
In apartments that have a broadband connection operating over the telephone network you will need a VDSL2 modem. You must get your own modem.
If the apartment has data network cabling, you will not need a separate terminal device. To find out if this is the case, check if the apartment has a data socket with an RJ45 connector in one or more of the rooms. The apartment may also have an apartment distributor cabinet in which you should select which data socket in the apartment is active. Then connect the data cable directly to the data socket equipped with an RJ-45 connector.
To use the cable connection, you will need a cable modem. Connect the modem to the aerial wall socket and connect the computer to the modem, preferably using a network cable. If connecting a TV set or digibox to the same aerial socket, you will need to use a splitter to divide the signal between the devices.
When registering your broadband connection, it is a good idea to ask Telia for advice if you are uncertain about the technology used for your home's broadband connection.
To access cable TV services, you will need a digibox or digital TV that is compatible with cable distribution (DVB-C). Residents can get their terminal devices from whichever supplier they wish. Cable-ready digiboxes and digital TVs must also be tuned into the new TV channels.
In this matter we turned our ears towards the real expert, Telia, who's broadband is included in nearly every SATOhome's rent. Here are Telia's instructions especially concerning the router:
Router is a device with which you can use your broadband either via physical cord or Wi-Fi. The security of your router is influenced by its age, software updates and the security of your Wi-Fi as well as the password of its UI website.
In the older routers the updates do not necessarily upload automatically, and you will have to do them manually. In addition you need to change the password of the UI page of the router and make sure your Wi-Fi has a strong password. A router that is not properly maintained and updated poses a serious risk to your information security.
You can inspect the software version of your router from its UI website. If your router is bought from Telia, you can find the device manuals in Finnish on Telia's website (link below) or be in contact with their customer service. The instructions will advice you how to update the software of your older devices. The newer devices update themselves automatically. There are also instructions on how to change the Wi-Fi name and password, and the password for the UI website of the router.
If your router is over 5 years old or there has not been new updates offered within the last year, we advice you to update the physical router altogether. The device manufacturers do not publish new software on routers too old. A brand new router has better components and software updates are secured for the years ahead.
The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (SuPo) has published a recommendation in which it states that the safest way to acquire a router is to purchase it from your own operator. For example Telia tests all the devices they sell, and goes through their functionality as well as their capabilities to protect you from cyber attacks. When you get your router from your operator it makes it easier for you to take care of it and the security of your home network.
If you have the Telia broadband you can check the manuals of the devices (incl. the router) you have gotten from them below.
Painting kit and DIY renovation
Surface materials play a major role in the atmosphere of your home. If you wish, you can request a free painting kit from SATO and carry out a small-scale painting renovation in your rental apartment.
If you would like to carry out a more comprehensive do-it-yourself renovation in your rental home, you can request permission from your home building's service manager.
The quiet-time policy must be followed between 22:00 and 07:00, and this is when everyone's right to a peaceful night's sleep must be respected.
Do notify your neighbors well in advance if you are planning to have a party in your home or do something noisier than normal. Make sure you do not cause any unreasonable disturbance to your neighbors even when you notified them in advance.
If you experience disturbances in your home, we recommend acting like this:
- Try to discuss with those concerned. Your neighbor may not necessarily know that their music or movie sounds can be heard so clearly next door.
- If the neighbor does not change their behavior despite your discussion and if you are continuously disturbed, you can file a disturbance report on the basis of which SATO can take official measures to restore residential peace in the building.
File a disturbance report in OmaSATO » - If the disturbance is serious and if it takes place during the quiet-time policy hours between 10 pm and 7 am in particular, please do not try to sort them out by yourself. Instead you should contact the Police to calm the situation down as soon as possible. It is very important for the police to also receive information about a possible crime as soon as possible. You can reach the police by calling 112.
More information about the Finnish police »
Please take note that SATO does not automatically get informed by the police about the disturbances made straight to the police, and note that the general maintenance of order is ultimately the authorities' task.
SATO does not release the name or other information of the informant forward. However, if the disturbance is so severe that it leads to a police report, police and judiciary can require the information. Luckily the residential disturbance situations rarely escalate to that, and are usually resolved relatively easily.
Please take note that SATO does not automatically get informed by the police about the disturbances made straight to the police, and note that the general maintenance of order is ultimately the authorities' task.
SATO does not release the name or other information of the informant forward. However, if the disturbance is so severe that it leads to a police report, police and judiciary can require the information. Luckily the residential disturbance situations rarely escalate to that, and are usually resolved relatively easily.
Building-specific events are either official residents' meetings or communal tidying-up events, parties and other get-togethers based on residents' own activism. Many SATO buildings have a residents' committee or elected official. They cooperate with the building manager in issues related to the building's management and maintenance. The residents' committee is not, however, the only form of cooperation available. Instead, activities and events for the building can also be organised in other ways.
It is, however, important to agree with the building's Service Manager in advance about any events and activities. Best way to contact them is of course OmaSATO.
How to organise a yard sale at my building?
A yard sale is a great way to give your unwanted clothes and items a new life. And spend time with your neighbours at the same time!
Can I organise a yard clean-up happening at my building?
Residents in SATO buildings can organise a yard clean-up together to welcome either spring or fall.
For now we are not organizing big customer events. If the situation changes, we will let you know via Kotona newsletter and sato.fi.
Other events
Regional events
SATO residents have come up with ideas and organised their own regional customer events. With these it is always a good idea to contact us through our customer service and find out the ways we can take part.
Regional residents' meetings and national cooperation body
As regards rental homes, SATO also organises official regional residents' meetings and the national cooperation body meeting every year.
The regional meetings are usually held in September-October and the cooperation body meeting in November. Invitations to regional residents' meetings are sent to the chairs/elected officials of the residents' committees of those buildings the issues of which will be discussed at the meeting. Issues in accordance with the Act on Joint Management of Rental Buildings are considered at the meetings in particular.
Representatives to the meetings of the national cooperation body are elected at regional residents' meetings.
Safety is a right and obligation of all of us. An emergency plan has been drawn up for every SATO building, including yours. Make sure you read it to prepare yourself for a variety of situations that may take place in and outside your home.
The emergency plan of more and more SATO buildings is now available online. To find your building's emergency plan, enter your street address on Contact us page. You will find a link to the emergency plan under Building information.
If the emergency plan for your building is not yet available online and you have not seen the plan on paper, contact your building manager for a copy of the plan. The building manager is obliged to distribute the emergency plan on paper to all the apartments in the building.
We keep the emergency plans up to date so we recommend that you take a look at yours at regular intervals.
In most SATO buildings, you can rent a parking space for your car or motorcycle through the maintenance or parking company. In some buildings, parking spaces are rented directly via OmaSATO. You can always check how parking spaces are rented in your building in OmaSATO.
Parking spaces are subject to a fee, and a written lease agreement is always signed. Parking spaces are mainly rented to residents and commercial tenants of each building. As a rule, you can rent one parking space. If spaces remain available, we may also rent them to residents or commercial tenants of other SATO buildings, or two spaces may be rented to the same resident.
If parking spaces are not available right away, you can join a waiting list for spaces rented through the maintenance or parking company. For parking spaces rented via OmaSATO, you can use the parking space alert.
Please note that visitor parking spaces are intended for residents’ guests only.
Never park your vehicle on the emergency access routes, not even for a short time. Emergency access routes are marked in the yard with signs.
You can easily add or remove residents or update their details in the Agreements and Payments section of OmaSATO. Please note that you can only update the details of occupants who are not parties to the lease agreement.
You can also invite any occupant aged 18 or older to join OmaSATO. As an OmaSATO user, the occupant can, for example, view apartment details and message our customer service.