There are different ways to become a shareholder in a jointly owned forest. The most common is to buy, receive as a gift or inherit a forest property that includes a jointly owned forest share. It is also possible to acquire a separate share of a jointly owned forest without the main estate. Separate jointly owned forest shares are not for sale very often.
You can also become a shareholder in a jointly owned forest by attaching all or part of your forests to the jointly owned forest against shares. The property to be attached can already be owned or the person who wants to join the jointly owned forest can buy the property and offer if to be attached to the jointly owned forest. The acquisition of the property can be discussed in advance with the jointly owned forest representatives.
Note! The property or part of it can be attached to the jointly owned forest. For example, the farmstead and fields can be left out of the jointly owned forest and only forests or part of the forests can be included in the jointly owned forest.
Joining the jointly owned forest based on jointly owned forest shares is provided for in section 35 of the Act on Jointly Owned Forests and chapter 10 of the Real Estate Formation Act.
Attaching the area to the jointly owned forest based on shares is carried out by means of a mutual agreement between the forest owner and the jointly owned forest. The agreement must specify the contracting parties, the areas to be attached and the jointly owned forest to which the areas will be attached. The agreement should also include other terms and conditions, the most important of which is the amount of the total forest share to be transferred against the areas to be attached or the criteria for determining it. The part to be transferred may also be left to be determined in the process of attachment. The value of the shares to be transferred must correspond to the value of the areas to be attached.
After signing the agreement, an application must be made to the National Land Survey of Finland to attach the area to the jointly owned forest. The attachment is free of charge.
The attachment is not subject to transfer tax and does not give rise to any other tax consequences of the transfer. The unused forest deduction right is transferred to the shareholders’ association of the jointly owned forest together with the area to be attached.