Residents’ democracy - active neighbour relations

Each building must have at least one residents’ meeting per year. All residents aged 18 and over, as well as those who are 15 years of age or older and have their own lease, are eligible to stand for election and have the right to speak and vote at the meetings. A meeting invitation is sent to each resident via email and placed on the notice board in the building 14 days prior to the meeting. 

Residents' meetings can be held throughout the year. The ordinary residents' meeting, which is held at the end of the year, addresses matters outlined by the Act on Joint Management and elects the residents' committee and the chair of the residents' committee for the following year. Furthermore, the ordinary residents' meeting nominates a resident candidate for the committee responsible for real estate finances and reviews issues related to the comfort of living.

The residents' meeting is held by the chair of the residents' committee or the castle warden of the building. If there is no representative elected for resident activities, AYY holds the meeting. 

The residents' committee is responsible for promoting the comfort of living and the sense of community in the building. The residents' committee can arrange, for example, yard cleanup events, recreation, board game or cooking evenings, and renovate the residents' club room. During its term of office, the residents' committee draws up a budget plan for the use of the money reserved for resident activities. 

Residents can decide for themselves how many residents will be elected to the residents' committee. During their term of office, the residents' committee decides how many meetings they hold and when. Minutes are kept for the meetings and submitted to AYY without delay.

When residents have elected the residents' committee at the residents’ meeting, they vote on which of the members of the residents' committee will be elected as the chair of the residents' committee. if there are not enough volunteers to join the residents' committee (minimum of 2 persons), the residents can choose a representative called the castle warden. If the building only has a castle warden, the budget for resident activities is not available. The term of office of the chair of the residents' committee and the castle warden is one year.

If they wish, the duties of the chair of the residents' committee or the castle warden include monthly building rounds determined by AYY to check the condition of the building. AYY pays a separate fee for the building rounds.

At the ordinary residents' meeting, residents can nominate one resident candidate to the AYY body addressing the preparation and implementation of the financial management of rental buildings. The 7-9 members of the body and the chair meet about once a month to discuss current issues typically related to the following decisions of the Representative Council or the Student Union's operations management.

The candidate is entered in the minutes and AYY is in contact with each resident candidate. The candidate is required to submit an application and a CV. Of these candidates, AYY selects one resident representative. The term of the resident member in the body is two calendar years, and the member must be a member of the student union. The housing cooperative body appoints the resident representative and the appointment is confirmed by the Representative Council at the December meeting.

The housing cooperative (ASY) consists of resident representatives who are elected from among the chairs of the residents' committees and castle wardens at the beginning of the year. ASY meetings address matters related to the property and the finances of the entire rental stock.

ASY is formed at the beginning of the year by inviting all the chairs of the residents' committees to the first meeting of the housing cooperative, where representatives, chair, vice chair, and secretary are elected. ASY meets at least four times a year. 

Each building has a budget that the residents' committee can decide to use for residents' recreation and purchases. Residents can purchase, for example, furniture or games for a club room, a bike pump for shared use, or a barbecue. They can organise board game evenings, working bees, Christmas parties, or plant useful plants together in the garden in cultivation boxes. The residents' committee must consult the residents when preparing the budget. 

At the beginning of the year, the residents' committee prepares a budget, which is approved by AYY. We recommend that the budget is used for both recreation and purchases.