Stormwater fee

With the reform of the Land Use and Building Act and the Act on Water Services (2014), the responsibility for organising stormwater management in urban development plan areas was transferred from water utilities to municipalities. This is why the Porvoo City Council decided to introduce a stormwater fee under public law. The fee is based on the property area and starts from 1 January 2025. The City of Porvoo will send an invoice to all properties in the development plan area during the autumn of 2025.

The stormwater fee is used to fund the design, construction and maintenance of the stormwater management system. The stormwater system includes stormwater drains, roadside ditches, ditches, retention structures for stormwater, and structures for infiltration and purification of stormwater. The stormwater fee was earlier included in the wastewater charge.

According to the Land Use and Building Act, the municipality is responsible for managing the stormwater in urban development plan areas. The stormwater fee is charged to all property owners or occupiers within the area affected by the stormwater fee. This is the case even if there was no stormwater sewer in the area, or the property in question cannot be joined to an existing stormwater drainage for some reason. With this stormwater fee, property owners/occupiers contribute towards covering the costs caused by stormwater systems in public areas, such as parks and streets. Every resident in the municipality benefits from the municipal stormwater drainage system.

According to the Land Use and Building Act, the stormwater fee can only be charged for built areas. In connection with the stormwater fee, a property refers to built-up plots or other pieces of land. The stormwater fee is, hence, not charged for vacant plots. If a building is only under construction on the property, a fee will not be charged for it. The property will be subject to invoicing when a commissioning inspection has been carried out on the building situated on the property.

The person who is marked as the owner of the property according to the land register or as the tenant according to the city’s invoicing system is responsible for paying the stormwater fee from 1 January.
For the payment of the stormwater fee, an invoice is sent once a year to the owner or the occupier of the property.
The stormwater fee is sent to only one owner or party. However, all occupiers or owners of the property are jointly and severally responsible for the payment of the stormwater fee. This means that the owners/occupiers are obliged to pay the stormwater fee in relation to their ownership rights.
In areas rented by the city, the tenant is responsible for the stormwater fee. The invoice will be sent to the same recipient as the land rental invoice. The owner of the property is responsible for the invoice if there is no information about the tenant.

The collection of the stormwater fee is subject to the provisions of section 103 of the Land Use and Building Act. The stormwater fee is a fee under public law and directly subject to enforcement, without a court decision or order. An overdue invoice is subject to interest on overdue payments, as well as a reminder fee for sending a written payment request. The stormwater fee is not subject to VAT.

Stormwater fee fixed by category

One-family/detached house or semi-detached houses

less than 3000 m² : 50 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 50 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 50 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 60 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 60 euros
over 99 999 m² : 60 euros

Terraced houses

less than 3000 m² : 150 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 250 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 400 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 600 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 700 euros
over 99 999 m² : 900 euros

Apartment blocks

less than 3000 m² : 400 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 600 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 800 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 1000 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 1100 euros
over 99 999 m² : 1600 euros

Industrial and office buildings

less than 3000 m² : 400 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 600 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 800 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 1200 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 1400 euros
over 99 999 m² : 2000 euros

Free-time residential buildings

less than 3000 m² : 50 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 50 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 50 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 50 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 50 euros
over 99 999 m² : 50 euros

Others

less than 3000 m² : 200 euros
3000 – 4999 m² : 300 euros
5000 – 9999 m² : 500 euros
10 000 – 24 999 m² : 700 euros
25 000 – 99 999 m² : 800 euros
over 99 999 m² : 1000 euros

The stormwater fee can be reduced under the following conditions:

A reduction can only be granted on one basis at a time

A method for managing stormwater is implemented on the property to even out or handle stormwaters that build up on the property. A system that is entitled to a reduction in the stormwater fee must be at least 50 per cent better than required by the urban development plan, the city’s instructions on stormwater management or building regulations. A relief (30%) can only be obtained from a system for which plans have been submitted to the building inspection authority. For example, if the detention order in the town’s urban development plan is 1 m³/100m² of impervious surface, the solution for relief must be at least 1,5 m³/100m² of impervious surface. Just leading the stormwaters to a stormwater sewer, for example, which is mandatory in the property’s catchment area, to a rock pocket or to an open ditch is not considered as reducing, equalising or treating stormwaters generated at the property.
At least 50 per cent of the area of the property, which is zoned for industrial or business use, is covered by vegetation.

The person who applies for the relief must provide the necessary report and documents to obtain the relief based on the property’s stormwater management.

The stormwater fee may be exempted under the following conditions:

Over 50 per cent of the property is used for the common good when considered either temporarily or spatially.

Conditions for being used for the common good: The use of the property for the common good is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and the degree of common good is defined in accordance with section 22 of the Income Tax Act.

The person who applies for the exemption must provide the necessary report and documents to obtain the exemption based on the property’s use for the common good.

When is an association or foundation a non-profit organisation? (vero.fi)

Frequently asked questions about the stormwater fee

Why do you have to pay a stormwater fee?

The stormwater fee is based on the Land Use and Building Act. The Act was amended on 1 September 2014, after which stormwater management was no longer included in water management. A stormwater fee was introduced in Porvoo at the beginning of 2025 in accordance with the decision of the City Executive Board.

The stormwater fee covers the costs to the municipality caused by building and maintaining the municipal stormwater system. The stormwater fee is used to cover the costs of managing stormwater in such public areas as streets and parks. Stormwater systems that are functional and in good condition allow for minimising urban flooding.

Who has to pay the stormwater fee?

All built properties in the urban development plan areas need to pay the stormwater fee, even if your property is not attached to the stormwater system. The affected area covers the street plan areas that benefit from the city’s stormwater system.

Why is the fee charged even if no stormwater contract is made?

A stormwater fee is a fee under public law. Hence, it is based on legislation and is not a contract.

How is the stormwater fee invoiced?

The stormwater fee is invoiced once a year, so it covers the entire year. The invoice for the stormwater fee is sent to the property owner. In case of properties leased by the city, the invoice is sent to the tenant.

Do I have to pay if I let the stormwater absorb on my property and nothing goes outside my property?

Even if the stormwater on your property is not led to a stormwater system and is absorbed in the ground, some of the stormwater may be conducted outside your property and flow into stormwater systems managed by the city as ditches or sewers in the area. This means the stormwater may not remain only on your plot. The absorption and conduction of stormwater is affected by, among other things, the soil structure, landform, rainfall intensity and seasons (meltwaters from snow while the ground is still frozen).

Do I have to pay if the stormwater runs to a lake or a ditch?

The stormwater fee is applied to all built properties in the urban development plan area, regardless of whether the stormwater is absorbed in the soil or led to a ditch or a stormwater drain.

The building on the property is unoccupied. Do I have to pay the stormwater fee?

The stormwater fee is billed regardless of whether someone lives in the building or not, and even when the building is in bad repair.

I have sold my property, and I am moving. Do I need to pay the stormwater fee for the whole year?

The stormwater fee is an annual fee that is billed once a year. The stormwater fee for the current year is always charged to the owner who, according to the property register, is the owner of the property at the beginning of the invoicing cycle. If the deed of sale agrees on payment of fees under public law in more detail, the buyer and the seller must agree on the payment of the invoice.

A semi-detached house is on the property. How is the stormwater fee determined?

Semi-detached houses belong to the category of detached and semi-detached houses, with a stormwater fee total of €50 / year. Joint and several liability mentioned in the invoice means that more than one person is responsible for fulfilling the same payment together.