Housing companies must be supported in the supervision of construction projects to prevent serious errors

The Safety In­ves­ti­ga­tion Au­thor­ity, Fin­land com­pleted its in­ves­ti­ga­tion into the col­lapse of the thick in­su­lated ren­der façade of the end wall of an apart­ment block in Kon­tula, Helsinki on 30 July 2024. The ac­ci­dent did not cause any per­sonal in­jury. How­ever, it caused sig­nif­i­cant costs to the hous­ing com­pany.

The collapse was due to shortcomings in the supervision of the construction project. The necessary measures and schedule for the construction of the thick insulating render system, which was built in 2010 and renovated in 2023, had not been agreed upon in detail. As a result, the responsibility for the management of the project had, to some extent, shifted from the housing company to the contractor. The collapsed insulated rendering façade structure had been, during the construction phase, subject to installation errors. The installation would have required careful following of installation instructions, and the monitoring from the constructor’s side failed to cover all critical implementations of the structure.

“It is often difficult for a housing company to supervise the technical implementation of a renovation project without expert assistance, as housing company boards and shareholders typically lack sufficient competence in the field. In addition, the property manager’s competence plays a key role in the success of renovations. Housing companies and property managers should ensure that, as construction clients, housing companies have sufficient technical competence to supervise the intended renovations,” says Dr. Hannu Hänninen, Head of the Investigation Team.

As a result of the investigation, the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland recommends that the Finnish Real Estate Federation advise housing companies in the supervision of construction projects and that the Finnish Real Estate Management Federation guide property management companies to ensure that technical property managers and consultants have sufficient expertise in the intended renovations. In addition, the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland recommends that Rakennusteollisuus RTT, raise awareness among construction sector operators of the criticality of the structural load-baring capability of thick insulating renders. Finally, the The Ministry of the Environment is recommended to ensures that the building control authorities intervene in construction projects through supervisory measures if the building permit conditions set for the projects are not met.