As a rule, a DIAS transaction is ready to be signed approximately five full banking days after the transaction has been sent to DIAS. This always requires that the seller and buyer have agreed everything with their banks.
The banks cannot advance the transaction to the signing phase until the seller's bank can commit to the transfer of ownership and the buyer's bank has the funds necessary for the payment of the purchase price ready for withdrawal.
There is no target processing time by the banks for transactions involving an estate and for buyer-without-a-loan transactions. Individual cases vary greatly and often require a more extensive review by the bank and meeting the know your customer obligation before a transaction is approved.
Transaction phases and target processing times for housing company share transaction
| Phase | Handling (in brief) | Processing time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The real estate agent sends the transaction to DIAS | DIAS receives the transaction information and documents and sends them to the banks of the parties. | Automatic |
| 2. Start of preparation | The banks are informed of the transaction and start preparing the transaction. | Same day or next banking day |
| 3. Preparation and review by the banks | The banks check the prerequisites and prepare the transaction. | Average 5 banking days (if the transaction has a target processing time) |
| 4. Initiation of the signing phase | The real estate agent can initiate the signing phase after approval by the banks. | Decided by the real estate agent when the parties are ready. |
| 5. Signing | The parties sign the deed of sale in the e-service.dias.fi service. | 24 hours |
| 6. Payments by the buyer’s bank | The purchase price and transfer tax will be paid. | Same or next banking day |
| 7. Transfer tax return | The real estate agent submits the return to the Tax Administration. | 7 days after signatures |
| 8. Payments by the seller's bank | The seller’s bank pays the seller and any real estate agency fee after the bank's fees. | Same or next banking day |
| 9. Ownership registration | Registration depends on the share certificate and its Residential and Commercial Property Information System status. | 1–3 banking days |
| 10. Notification to the building manager | The real estate agent delivers the documents to the building manager. | Decided by the real estate agent |
| 11. Finishing off | The bank confirms the registration data as received in DIAS. | Following a decision in accordance with the processing times of the NLS |
Step-by-step information
Click on the desired step below to find out more about each step. During the housing company share transaction, DIAS communicates with the parties to the transaction in phases 1, 4 and 5. The contents of these messages are briefly explained in the additional information for these steps.
The transaction information and documents are received by DIAS through an agency system and sent to the banks of the parties.
The agency system shows that the transaction has been initiated in DIAS. If the transaction cannot be sent, the agency system will indicate the reason for the error and the transaction must be restarted after the error has been corrected.
Messages to be sent to the parties to the transaction at this stage
DIAS sends the parties to the transaction an email with the subject DIAS-kaupan aloitus (“DIAS transaction has been initiated”) when the transaction information has been sent to DIAS and processing by the banks. The email states that the bank will contact the party to the transaction if necessary to prepare matters related to the housing transaction.
The message also describes the DIAS online service, through which the party to the transaction can monitor the progress of their transaction. The message is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The seller's and buyer's banks receive information about the transaction and start preparing the transaction. The banks should confirm the preparation phase as started no later than on the next banking day.
The seller’s and buyer’s banks prepare the transaction and check the prerequisites from their point of view.
The seller’s bank gives the buyer's bank a commitment to deliver a share certificate or remove a pledging entry.
If the object has a paper share certificate that is not held as security for a loan by the seller's bank, the share certificate must be delivered to the seller’s bank during the preparation phase at the latest.
As a rule, this phase takes approximately 5 banking days. The duration of the preparation of an individual transaction varies depending on the customer and the bank. The duration may be extended, for example, by the reorganization of the seller’s loans, the buyer’s incomplete loan negotiations, the buyer’s need for other collateral in addition to the object to be purchased, or last-minute changes to loans. Please note that the calculation of the banking days will start on the full banking day following the initiation of the transaction, and the transaction initiation day is not counted.
The signature phase can be started immediately after approval by the banks. The real estate agent can start the signature phase at a time of their choice. There is no time limit set for this.
Once the signing phase has been initiated, a 24-hour window starts during which the deed of sale must be signed. DIAS sends the invitations to sign to the parties to the transaction.
Messages to be sent to the parties to the transaction at this stage
DIAS sends an email with the subject Allekirjoituskutsu (“Invitation to sign”) when the real estate agent has started the signing phase. The invitation to sign is valid for 24 hours, and the email contains a link to the online service where the deed of sale is signed. The message is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.
DIAS send the same invitation to the parties again as a reminder if the signatures have not been made within 12 hours from the start of the signing phase.
Signatures are made at e-service.dias.fi. In the online service, the parties sign the deed of sale and grant the banks the necessary authorizations and consents to handle the matters related to the transaction. More instructions for the signing phase can be found here.
Ensure that the signatures are completed within 24 hours.
Emails sent to the parties to the transaction when the signatures are completed in phase
When all parties to the transaction have signed the deed of sale, DIAS sends an email with the heading Allekirjoitettu kauppakirja ladattavissa (“Signed deed of sale for download”). The email states that the signed deed of sale can be downloaded from the e-service. The message is available in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The buyer's bank transfers the purchase price and pays the transfer tax.
The payments will be made on the same banking day if the signatures have been made before 2 p.m. If the signatures are completed after 2 p.m. on a banking day or on a weekend, the payments to the buyer’s bank will be made on the next banking day.
The real estate agent must submit a transfer tax return to the Tax Administration within 7 days from the signing. The transfer tax payment receipt will be uploaded to DIAS once the transfer tax has been paid by the buyer's bank.
The buyer’s bank always pays the purchase price to a clearing account in the seller's bank. The seller’s bank carries out its payment phase on the same banking day if the buyer’s payments have been completed by 2 p.m. on a banking day. If the payments by the buyer's bank are completed after 2 p.m., payments by the seller's bank will be made no later than the next banking day.
In the payment phase of the seller’s bank, the bank pays the real estate agent’s commission, if any, and the share of the purchase price transferred to the seller.
| Type of transaction | Ownership registration steps |
|---|---|
| Paper share certificate, housing company not in the Commercial Property Information System | The seller’s bank makes the transfer, scans the share certificate and submits it to the buyer's bank. The scanned share certificate will be available for download in the agency system once it has been added to DIAS by the seller's bank. |
| Paper share certificate, housing company in the Commercial Property Information System | The seller’s bank makes the transfer entry, scans the share certificate and delivers it to the National Land Survey of Finland. Applications to the Commercial Property Information System are made automatically via DIAS using the interfaces. The share certificate will be canceled by the National Land Survey of Finland when the ownership has been registered electronically. The scanned share certificate will be available for download in the agency system once it has been added to DIAS by the seller's bank. |
| Electronic registration of ownership | The banks automatically send the necessary applications to the Commercial Property Information System via the interfaces, which significantly reduces the registration time. See NLS's processing times (applications sent by a bank, via the interface). |
| A company or an estate as a party to the transaction | Applications are always made manually, in which case the registration time is in accordance with the processing times of the NLS. |
| The banks’ processing time for making a transfer entry/applications | The share certificate transfer entry or manual applications to the Commercial Property Information System should be made after the payments have been completed. |
If necessary, the real estate agent delivers the documents related to the transaction to the building manager. The documents will available for download in the agency system according to the progress of the transaction phases.
The buyer’s bank confirms NLS's registration notification or the share certificate (if the housing company is not in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System) as received in DIAS as received and the transaction is marked as completed.