Govt moves to ensure balcony railing safety requirements

The Ministry of the Environment recommended that the ongoing construction projects should ensure safety requirements while constructing railing structures, including the fibre cement board structures.

The Ministry on Tuesday informed the Finnish Supervisory Agency and, together with the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, the municipal building control authorities about the accident in Helsinki in September 2025 and the progress of the investigations, said the ministry in a press release.

Earlier on May 21, The Safety Investigation Authority (Otkes) warned that using fibre cement boards as protection barriers on balconies is not suitable as fall protection or for preventing falls.

The authority made the advisory following an investigation into an accident took place in Helsinki in September 2025 where one person died after falling through a balcony railing board of an apartment building to the ground.

According to the Construction Act, the building and its surroundings must be kept in such a condition that it meets the requirements of health, safety and fitness for use at all times. The maintenance of the building is the responsibility its owner. The owners of buildings, including housing companies, can commission an expert to explore the situation in terms of their buildings. General advice is available from the relevant municipal building control authority.

According to the Act, those undertaking a construction project must ensure that the intended use of the building is accounted for in its design and construction in such a way that its structures are strong and stable, suitable for the conditions on the construction site and durable enough to last throughout the planned service life of the building.

The planning and design of load-bearing structures must be based on the principles of structural mechanics and generally accepted design principles, or on reliable test results or other available data.

Construction products that are suitable for the strength and stability of the structures must be used in the construction of a building.

The Decree of the Ministry on the Safety of Use of Buildings lays down provisions on the general requirements concerning buildings and on the height and protective part of the railing.

The railing must be safe and it must sustain the loads imposed on it during the whole service life of the structure.

The Ministry said that the municipal building control authority has a duty to, in the public interest, supervise construction activities referred to in this Act and, for its part, ensure compliance with the relevant legislation in construction.

It is also the duty of the municipal building control authority to provide general guidance and advice for construction as required in the municipality.

Besides the reviews, the building control authority may order that other inspections be conducted to supervise compliance with permit regulations, designs, or provisions and regulations concerning construction.

The building control authority may give orders concerning inspections when issuing a permit for construction at the kick-off meeting or, for a specific reason, while the construction is in progress.

When processing a permit application or when construction work is in progress, the building control authority may require that the party undertaking the construction project obtain the opinion of an independent and competent expert on whether a planned solution or the construction meet the requirements set for it.