Private Roads
A private road is a road maintained by the property owners and other road shareholders. The use and management of private roads are governed by the Finnish Private Roads Act and related regulations. Private roads are located outside areas covered by a local detailed plan.
Road shareholders are responsible for the maintenance of the road. When a road has several shareholders and requires regular maintenance, a road association (tiekunta) may be established.
Private roads with an established road association are entered into the National Land Survey of Finland’s Private Road Register. The register includes information such as the name of the road association, the road identification number, contact details of the association, and the properties through which the road passes.
Municipalities and the Finnish Government may contribute to the costs of maintaining, improving, and constructing private roads by granting annual subsidies within the limits of their available funding and based on submitted applications.
Maintenance of Private Roads
The primary responsibility for maintaining a private road rests with the road association. If no road association has been established, responsibility lies with the road user or, by agreement, with several road users jointly.
If desired, the road association may enter into a maintenance agreement with the City of Kuhmo. In this case, responsibility for maintaining the section of the road serving permanent residents is transferred to the city, provided that the maintained section is at least one kilometre long.
Road shareholders may apply annually for a municipal maintenance subsidy. The subsidy system is based on the City Council’s decision of 23 January 2018 (§7), which was updated on 17 February 2020 to comply with the current Private Roads Act.
Maintenance Categories under the City’s Subsidy Scheme
Maintenance Categories 1–4
Roads must meet all of the following criteria:
- A road association has been established.
- At least one permanently occupied household is located along the road.
- The road serves as the access road to permanent residences for a distance of at least 1 kilometre.
Maintenance Category 5
Under the Private Roads Act, roads must meet the following criteria:
- A road association has been established.
- At least one permanently occupied household is located along the road.
- The road serves as the access road to permanent residences for a distance of at least 100 metres.
Under the Local Government Act, roads must meet the following criteria:
- No road association has been established.
- The road serves one permanently occupied household.
- The road is located entirely on the owner’s property (no other parties have an official right of access).
- The road serves as the access road to the residence for a distance of at least 100 metres.
No other maintenance activities are eligible for municipal subsidies.
Improvement and Construction of Private Roads
Financial assistance for improving private roads may be granted by both the Finnish Government and the City of Kuhmo.
Municipal funding is available only if the project has already been granted state funding and an appropriation has been allocated for the project in the city’s budget.
Further information on applying for state funding is available from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre).
If a road association has a maintenance agreement with the City of Kuhmo, it may also, by agreement, assign the implementation of road improvement and construction projects to the city.
