Grants for private roads

Maintenance grants for private roads

The new Private Roads Act (560/2018) came into force on January 1, 2019, and it limits the municipality’s right to assist private roads.

Private road subsidies are a voluntary form of assistance from the municipality for the maintenance of private roads serving permanent residences within the municipality of Tervola.

The Technical Director grants the subsidies mentioned herein within the framework of annual appropriations and in accordance with the allocation criteria approved by the Technical Committee on April 27, 2022. These subsidy criteria are effective from October 1, 2022, and will be applied for the first time when processing subsidies granted for the 2022–2023 snow clearing season and for the summer of 2023.

Permanent habitation refers to a dwelling that is lived in year-round and is registered in the population information system as the official residence of its occupants (permanent address).

Recovery:

Grants paid based on incorrect information provided by the applicant or otherwise on erroneous grounds may be reclaimed. In the case of winter maintenance (municipal snow plowing), the reclaim amount is calculated in proportion to the length of the road relative to the total contract length, or if the unit price of plowing is based on length, the reclaim amount is determined directly based on the unit price.

General information on defining types

An unorganized private road is formed by road shareholders who are entitled to use the road, where road easements/rights are recorded in the National Land Survey’s property information system, but no separate road association has been established to manage and maintain the road. The municipality cannot provide assistance for such roads.

An organized private road is formed when the road users who are entitled to use the road establish a road association for road management and maintenance. The road association is established once it is registered in the National Land Survey’s real estate information system.

The road association can apply for grants only for the section of the road registered in the aforementioned real estate information system as belonging to the road association and leading to permanent residences.

A private road that is organized and meets all the conditions set out in sections 50 and 84 of the Private Roads Act (560/2018) can be granted road maintenance subsidies.

A private road can be subsidized in accordance with sections 50 and 84 of the Private Road Act only if

The road association may not prohibit the use of the road for purposes other than traffic benefiting the road owners during the period covered by the grant. (see YksTL § 85).

If there is even a single road burden/right on the road, it is considered a private road under the Private Roads Act, and the maintenance of the road is determined by the Private Roads Act 560/2018.

Section 3 of the Private Roads Act defines certain concepts:

Contract and yard roads (so-called private roads) are roads that are not subject to registered easements in the land register. The Private Road Act does not apply to these roads, but their maintenance can be carried out based on the Municipal Act 10.4.2015/410.

Assistance can only be granted if the entire road section meets the conditions set out in the Private Roads Act and these granting criteria. Both snow removal assistance and snow removal performed by the municipality cannot be granted for the same road or road section.

Approval of the road for the municipality’s snow plowing program

Private roads included in the municipality’s snow plowing program, as well as so-called private driveways, are plowed by the municipal winter maintenance contractors using available equipment (there is no separate, smaller equipment for driveways). Snow plowing does not include anti-slip treatment. Driveways are plowed along with the plowing of other roads in the area, and this does not involve extensive plowing of yards or yard paths. Yard areas are plowed only if necessary to provide space for turning cars, approximately 50–100 m² depending on the nature of the yard.

The plowing program can approve the main access road to permanent residences based on the following criteria:

1 . The applicant is:

• an organized road maintenance association that meets the requirements of the Private Roads Act or
• contract or private road user (an encumbrance registration cannot be made on the road)

2. Other conditions:

• The road length is at least 100 m. The road length is measured using the shortest route as a one-way road up to the last permanent dwelling.
• An application concerning a private road, driveway, or contract road of less than 100 meters can only be approved for special reasons (e.g., advanced age, use of home services, disability). The applicant must provide the reasons in their application.
• If plowing the road provides a general societal benefit, it can be included in the plowing program, even if the road is not the main access route to permanent residences, as long as the road is not an unmanaged road. Such roads may include, for example, significant thoroughfares.

A road cannot be included in the snow plowing program if there is even a single road burden/right, but a road association has not been established to manage it and maintain the road, or if the road information in Digiroad is not up to date, or if the road association’s information in the land surveying authority’s register is not up to date. All three of these conditions must be met in addition to the approval criteria set by the municipality.

Application for acceptance into the snow plowing program must be submitted using a form designed for this purpose. There are separate application forms for private individuals and road associations. The application must include a map excerpt showing the section of the road serving permanent residences. There is no deadline for submitting applications (i.e., the application period is continuous).

The approval decision for the plowing program is valid until the end of the maintenance period. The length of one maintenance period is 4 years, and the first maintenance period is from October 1, 2022, to May 31, 2026.

The maintenance of the road is always the responsibility of the road association or the property owner (driveways). The person responsible for maintenance must put up snow plowing markers and remove any obstacles to plowing (tree branches, stumps, stones, etc.) before the plowing season begins.

The road will be removed from the snow plowing program, and plowing by the municipality will cease if there is no permanent habitation on the road, if the reason for inclusion in the plowing program no longer applies, or if the road cannot be plowed with the available equipment. If the grounds for inclusion in the plowing program are no longer valid, the technical department must be notified of this.

Snow plowing subsidy for municipalities

Snow plowing assistance is a one-time financial aid for a single plowing season, intended to support the independent plowing of a road leading to permanent residences in winter.

Assistance can only be granted to organized private roads (road associations) that meet the conditions of the Private Roads Act, if the length of the road eligible for assistance is at least 100 meters. The length is measured using the shortest route in a straight line to the last permanent residence.

The subsidy amount is a maximum of €0.70/m. If the appropriations allocated for the year are not sufficient to subsidize the roads at the above maximum amount, the unit price of the subsidy will be reduced.

Assistance is applied for using a form prepared for this purpose, and a map excerpt indicating the section of the road with permanent settlement must be submitted as an attachment. Applications must be submitted to the technical department during the annual application period. The annual application period is determined by the technical director and is announced on the municipality’s website and in the municipal notice paper. In 2025, applications concerning financial snow plowing assistance must be submitted by 30 September 2025 at the latest. Applications received after the deadline will not be processed.

A snow plowing subsidy and municipal plowing cannot be granted for the same road or road section.

The grant will be paid to the road association’s account once the approval decision has become legally valid.

Summer maintenance grant for road associations

The summer maintenance grant is a monetary subsidy based on expenses, which can only be granted to organized private roads that meet the conditions set out in Sections 50 and 84 of the Private Roads Act.

The actions eligible for support may include annual summer maintenance measures (e.g., surface graveling, maintenance of ditches and culverts, grading, dust control, verge mowing, clearing, and maintenance of traffic control devices). Volunteer work, etc., is not eligible for support.

The grant is only provided for the portion of the road serving permanent residences, and the length of the road eligible for support is calculated using the shortest route in a straight line up to the last permanent residence. Support can be granted for up to 50% of the project-specific costs presented in the application. If the budget allocated for that year is not sufficient to support roads at the 50% level, the grant percentage will be reduced.

Assistance is applied for using a form prepared for this purpose, and the application must be submitted to the technical department during the application period announced annually. Applications received after the application period will not be processed. The application must present the measures and their costs. A map excerpt showing the section of road serving permanent residences must be attached to the application. The annual application period is determined by the technical director and announced on the municipality’s website and in the municipal bulletin.

The granted subsidy is payable until the end of the year of the grant and will be paid in a single installment to the account of the road maintenance association against submitted invoices. For payment, a payment request must be submitted to the technical department (provided with the decision) along with copies of invoices and payment receipts (e.g., bank statement). Invoices must detail the actions so that they can be allocated to the subsidized measures. The subsidy will cover a portion of the eligible and realized measure-specific costs according to the subsidy percentage stated in the grant decision, provided that the subsidy does not exceed the maximum measure-specific subsidy amount stated in the grant decision.

In 2025, the application period for these subsidies ends on 13 May 2025. Applications received after the deadline will not be processed.

Winter Maintenance Contractors 2025 – 2027

Area 1: Ylipaakkola, Paakkola, Kaisajoki, Kuusikko
– OV Urakointi Oy,  040 708 3382, ovurakointi@gmail.com

Area 2: Varejoki, Kätkävaara
– Mikko Juujärvi, 0400 180 044,  mikko.juujarvi@pp.inet.fi

Area 3: Loue, Peura, Koivu
– Mikko Juujärvi, 0400 180 044,  mikko.juujarvi@pp.inet.fi

Area 4: Vähäjoki, Suolijoki, Suukoski
– Tmi Sauli Saari, 040 7743582, saulisaari@hotmail.fi

Area 5: Pahtaoja, Runkaus, Mattinen
– Tmi Jorma Kaasila, 0400 926 316, jorma.kaasila@luukku.com

Area 6: Zoning roads
– Tmi Jorma Kaasila, 0400 926 316, jorma.kaasila@luukku.com