New land use act changes the planning system

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Finland’s land use planning system is undergoing significant reforms with new amendments to the Land Use Act currently being prepared. The Ministry of the Environment’s draft government proposal for a new Land Use Act was open for comments in the summer of 2025. The Land Use Act currently in force (formerly the Land Use and Building Act) would be amended by reforming the planning system and planning process as well as by introducing new specific provisions for wind and solar power projects. The proposal for a new Land Use Act containing these new specific provisions is currently being finalised by the Government, and the amendments are expected to enter into force in 2026.

Proposed changes to the development of renewable energy projects

Fixed distance for wind turbines

The new Land Use Act is proposed to include a fixed minimum distance between wind turbines and residential buildings. According to the proposed Section 68, when a wind power master plan is not located within the areas designated for wind turbines in the regional plan, each wind turbine would need to be placed at least eight times its total height away from existing residential buildings, residential building sites with granted building permits, and residential building sites designated in local detailed plans or local master plans.

In cases where only some of the wind turbines outlined in the wind power master plan are located outside the areas designated for wind power in the regional plan, the minimum distance requirements would apply only to those turbines situated outside those designated areas in the regional plan. The explanatory memorandum to the government proposal, however, states that the general nature of the regional plan must always be taken into account when interpreting the location of wind turbines in relation to the regional plan.

However, according to the provision, the minimum distance of a wind turbine from residential areas would not need to be adhered to if all landowners and leaseholders of residential buildings or residential areas within the specified distance provide written consent for the wind turbine to be placed closer to the residential site. The consent would be one-time, binding even in the event of a change of ownership and could not be revoked or used as grounds for appeal. The consent would, however, not affect participation or the right to appeal in the planning process. The consent procedure would only apply to the minimum distance requirement and could not be used to bypass other planning requirements, such as those regarding landscape, noise, or shadow flicker effects.

This procedure would only apply to new wind power master plans and would therefore not affect projects that have already been planned or affect the conditions for granting building permits.

A separate planning instrument for solar power construction

Another new proposal specifically related to renewable energy construction concerns solar power. The new Land Use Act proposes establishing a master plan for solar power as a basis for granting construction permits for a solar power plant. The solar power master plan would function similarly to the existing wind power master plan. In the case for solar power plants, the granting of a construction permit would not require a local detailed plan or the conditions for placement in a planning requirement area pursuant to Section 46(1) of the Building Act to be met. A provision to this effect would be included in the master plan, indicating the areas in which building permits for solar power plants can be granted directly on the basis of the master plan.

According to the proposal, when preparing the master plan for solar power construction, care for forest land should also be taken into account to ensure that solar power construction is not allocated to a significant extent of forest land. Forest land is defined as areas used or available for timber production, where the forest grows at an average rate of at least 1 m³/ha per year under optimal growing conditions. However, according to the explanatory memorandum to the government’s draft proposal, solar power could in practice be located on forested land, provided that only a small part of the area designated for solar power construction would be located in such forest land. Additionally, when preparing a master plan for solar power construction, care should be taken to ensure that solar power construction is not allocated to undrained natural wetlands.

As part of the reform of the Land Use Act, it is proposed that a provision be added to Section 46 of the Building Act, according to which a solar power plant with a surface area of at least ten hectares is always considered a significant construction project. Previously, solar power plants of different sizes could be built on a case-by-case basis through a planning decision (now a building permit), but in the future, the construction of solar power plants with a surface area of at least 10 hectares would always require a solar power master plan or local detailed plan.

Changes to the planning process

Influence of the Regional Plan is weakening

One significant change in land use planning concerns the legal effect of the regional plan. According to the proposed Section 21, the regional plan would outline the principles for land use in the region and identify areas necessary for regional development, but only to the extent and level of detail required to meet national or regional land-use objectives. The scope of the regional plan would thus be limited so that it would continue to address matters of national or regional significance but no longer cover matters such as the principles of community structure or the coordination of land use in more than one municipality.

The change would, however, not prevent, for example, the regional plan from addressing principles of land use related to the community structure and transportation systems in the region’s metropolitan areas, or their coordination, as long as these issues are of at least regional significance. This should, however, be done with the accuracy required by the regional plan.

Furthermore, according to the proposed Section 45, the joint municipal master plan would in the future guide the preparation of local master plans instead of the regional plan, and it would be possible for the joint municipal master plan to be approve by municipal councils. Previously, the joint municipal master plan has not had such a guiding role; instead, the regional plan directed land-use across multiple municipalities. Decisions regarding the joint municipal master plan have so far been made by the regional council, another applicable municipal association, or another joint municipal body.

This provision differs from the current situation because, as according to the proposal, a plan considered to be of equal value in the plan hierarch, i.e., another master plan, would guide the preparation of the other master plan in these situations. The aim of this provision is primarily to ensure the continuity of planning in situations where the joint municipal master plan has been prepared that deviates from the regional plan and a singular municipality decides to prepare a more detailed master plan for the area in question. In such situations, it would not be appropriate for the regional plan to guide the municipal master plan.

Joint processing of master plans and local detailed plans

A new provision is proposed for the Land Use Act whereby master plans and local detailed plans could be drawn up at the same time and approved in a single decision. This joint processing, as outlined in proposed Section 41, would introduce an entirely new procedure. The purpose of joint processing would be to streamline the procedures and administrative processes related to the preparation and approval of plans in situations where it is necessary to prepare both a master plan and a local detailed plan for the same area at the same time. This provision would, for example, enable the updating of specific themes from the master plan to be incorporated into the local detailed plans, or enable the revision of an outdated master plan alongside the preparation of a local detailed plan. Joint processing would thus be possible both in completely new planning areas and areas covered by existing plans that need to be amended. The section also stipulates that the master plan being developed would guide the preparation of the local detailed plan, rather than the master plan already in force.

Additionally, according to the proposed Section 41, the approval of the master plan and the repeal of the existing local detailed plan for the area could be done by the same decision. The aim is to simplify administrative procedures in situations where, in view of the need to guide land use and the obligations related to the implementation of plans, detailed planning at the local level can be considered unnecessary and can be replaced by master planning. When repealing a local detailed plan, the same procedural provisions would be applied as those applicable to the preparation or amendment of a local detailed plan.

Right to initiate the planning process to be written into law

The proposed amendment to the Land Use Act includes a provision concerning the landowner’s right to initiate a master plan and local detailed plan, as well as the municipality’s possibility to submit a proposal for a local detailed plan or master plan for the landowner to prepare. Although the provision primarily concerns landowners, they may also authorise, for example, leaseholders to act on their behalf. According to the proposed Section 90, the landowner, or their authorised representatives, would have the right to submit a justified initiative to the municipality for the preparation or amendment of a local detailed plan or a master plan directly governing construction on their owned land. The municipality would be required to decide whether to accept or reject the initiative within its multi-member body without undue delay and no later than four months from the date the initiative was received.

Additionally, according to the proposed Section 91, the municipality would have the option to allow the landowner to prepare a plan proposal under certain conditions. The landowner could authorise a leaseholder to prepare the plan proposal on their behalf. At the request of a landowner or a party authorised by them, the municipality could decide to allow the landowner to prepare a local detailed plan, wind power master plan, solar power master plan, coastal master plan, or any another plan directly guiding construction to be prepared on the area owned by them. However, Section 91, does not grant the landowner a subjective right to prepare a plan proposal; instead, the decision to initiate the planning procedure and to submit a plan proposal would remain within the municipality’s authority. The municipality would be required to decide on the approval or rejection of a request for the preparation of a plan proposal within its multi-member decision-making body.

Amendments to appeals

Changes have also been proposed to the provisions on appeals. The right to appeal under the Land Use Act in decisions concerning the approval of local detailed plans would be restricted in certain situations to only directly affected parties. According to the proposed Section 114, only those whose rights, obligations or interests are directly affected by the decision may appeal against a local detailed plan that is drawn up for an area covered by a valid local master plan without deviating from the guiding effect of the local master plan. If a local detailed plan is drawn up for an area where there is no local master plan in force or in deviation from the guiding effect of the local master plan, the right of appeal shall be governed by the provisions of Section 137 of the Municipalities Act (in Finnish: kuntalaki), i.e. in such cases, the right of appeal shall continue to be held by, among others, by all members of the municipality.

In addition to the above, the authorities generally have the right to appeal against a decision to approve a local detailed plan in matters falling within their administrative remit, as do the regional council and the municipality affected by the designated land use. The Finnish Forest Centre also has the right to appeal in matters within its administrative remit if the matter has a national or significant regional impact.

It is proposed that the right of appeal of registered local or regional organisations be restricted so that an organisation would have the right to appeal against a local detailed plan only if it has submitted an objection concerning the plan proposal. However, the organisation would always have the right to appeal if the proposed local detailed plan has been changed in a way that is less favourable to the organisation after the public display period, the appeal is based on a procedural error in the preparation or approval of the local detailed plan, or the approval of a local detailed plan whose implementation is likely to have significant environmental impacts, requiring an environmental impact assessment procedure. The purpose of the amendment is to encourage organisations to express their views, particularly on local detailed plans, at the plan preparation stage, when the plan proposal can still be amended.

Transitional provisions for the amendments

According to the proposed Section 126 of the Land Use Act, any plans for which plan proposals have been made available for public presentation before the new Land Use Act enters into force will be processed in accordance with the provisions that were previously in force. On the other hand, plan proposals that have not yet been made available for public presentation before the Act enters into force will be prepared and approved in accordance with the new provisions of the Land Use Act.

With regard to joint municipal master plans, Section 127 states that Section 45(1) of the new Land Use Act, which concerns the guiding effect of joint municipal master plans, shall only apply to master plans that are initiated after the Act enters into force. The difference in the transitional provisions between joint municipal master plans and other plans is justified by the fact that joint municipal master plans drawn up under the previous Act were not created with the intention of guiding the local master planning of individual municipalities.

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