Residential renters may be eligible for partial rent reimbursement if their homes get uncontrollably hot, according to the Finnish Landlord Association, a group which supports landlords and real-estate investors.
The group said that tenants may be entitled to discounts on their rents if their homes are warmer than 32 degrees Centigrade.
The association also noted that tenants are entitled to rent reductions if their apartment is in poor condition, and that excessive heat qualifies for discounts.
An appropriate rent reduction in a high-heat situation would range between 10-20 percent of the rental price, according to the association.
However, an association board member and real estate investor, Riitta Kokki, said that she's never heard of a single case where a tenant demanded a rent decrease due to excessive heat in her 30 years of being a landlord.
A/C likely more common
But, as temperatures across the country continue to rise, Kokki said if tenants feel their flats are uncontrollably warm, they should contact their landlords.
"They should be able to prove in some way that the apartment is really hot. Then they could negotiate and see how the matter is handled, and whether something can be done about the heat," Kokki said.
In the longer term, Kokki said that landlords will likely begin to offer air conditioners as part of rental agreements in the homes they rent out.
According to Finnish law, the maximum temperature a residential dwelling is permitted to reach is 32 degrees Celsius. The same temperature applies to day care centres, schools and other educational institutions.
Meanwhile, senior citizen service and retirement homes are permitted to reach a maximum of 30 degrees in the summer. During winter, the maximum air temperature level drops to 26 degrees.
Temperatures set to rise
Meteorologists expect that temperatures could breach 30 degrees Celsius on Friday in some areas of the country and that the weekend will be even warmer across Finland.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued heat advisories across much of the country all week, and has issued a heat wave warning in southern Finland for Friday and Saturday.
The FMI's heat warnings are largely directed at those particularly sensitive to high temperatures, including the chronically ill and the elderly.
However, the institute warned that high heat can also limit the capabilities of people in good health.