Land Use & Planning

Land Use & Planning

Real estate is a highly regulated field, which requires solid legal expertise.

Whether you are dealing with a particular real estate law question or are planning a more extensive project, using us as a sounding board is well worth your while. You will get insights from the best experts in the field.

Our team has advised clients in many of Finland’s largest real estate development projects and industrial projects involving complex real estate regulatory and permitting aspects. However, your question does not always need to be highly complex or difficult, as our large team can also handle your day-to-day real estate law matters.

Our services include:

Planning and building permits
Judicial proceedings in the administrative courts
Negotiating land use agreements with local authorities
Land lease agreements
Property formation, including three-dimensional (3D) real estate formation
Cumpulsory land expropriation proceedings
Joint arrangement and easement agreements
Building conservation

Our clients include private and public sector real estate developers and operators as well as domestic and international companies with land use, planning or permitting issues.

You will get Finland’s largest team, which combines the most versatile range of real estate and environmental specialisations on the market. Depending on your needs, we can provide you with a single specialised expert or a large team of the best experts in the field.

Chambers Europe and Legal 500 rank our real estate services among Finland’s best.

Latest references

Terrafame – Environmental and water management permit processes concerning the company’s entire operations and the KL1 side rock area

Castrén & Snellman successfully assisted Terrafame Ltd in environmental and water management permit processes concerning the company’s entire operations and the KL1 side rock area, on which the Supreme Administrative Court issued its decision on 12 February 2026 (KHO 366/2026 and 367/2026). The changes made to the decisions of the Vaasa Administrative Court as a result of Terrafame’s appeals, enable the company to implement its new strategy and develop its operations as planned. The decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court brought the nearly ten-year-long permit process to a close.

Verne Global – Data center project in Mäntsälä

We are assisting Verne Global Ltd, the leading provider of sustainably powered HPC data centers in the Nordics, in developing a data center in Mäntsälä, Finland. We advised Verne in acquiring the real estate company managing the Mäntsälä site, as well as in the subsequent acquisition of the site itself. Our assistance extends beyond real estate transactions to include permitting and tax-related matters. Additionally, we advise Verne on grid connection and electricity supply matters. The acquisition of the project site in Mäntsälä marks Verne’s fourth data center in Finland, reinforcing its position as a leader in sustainable and scalable data center solutions. The Mäntsälä campus, spanning 10 hectares and located just a 40-minute drive from Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport, will initially offer a capacity of 70 MW. The facility is designed to support data-intensive enterprises and AI innovators running HPC, machine learning, and other high-intensity workloads, all while operating exclusively on renewable energy. Verne’s new facility will adhere to the company’s best practice design principles, focusing on maximizing efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. The campus will be powered entirely by renewable energy sources, and waste heat generated by the data center will be utilized for local community heating projects. The company is working closely with the Mäntsälä Municipality to ensure the new facility benefits the local area, including plans to harness waste heat for district heating. Construction of Verne’s Mäntsälä data center is set to begin in mid-2025 and is expected to take two years to complete. This expansion is a strategic move in Verne’s long-term plan to build out its sustainably powered data center platform, which was acquired by Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, in early 2024. Ardian has already invested over EUR 1.6 billion in the Nordics, focusing on energy transition and digital infrastructure projects, and is working with Verne to drive sustainable growth across the region. Read Verne Global’s press release.

Verne Global – Data center expansion in Helsinki region

We are assisting Verne Global Ltd, the leading provider of sustainably powered HPC data centers in the Nordics, in expanding a data center in Helsinki region, Finland. In the autumn of 2024, we acted as Verne’s advisor in acquiring the land at its existing Helsinki data center campus, securing room for future expansion. In addition to real estate development, our advice covers permitting and construction related legal matters. The expansion marks another milestone in Verne’s ambitious growth strategy for the Nordics, following the recent announcement of its new facility to be built in Mäntsälä, Finland. The land was acquired from Onvest, a family-owned company with a long history in the region. The site’s strategic location provides excellent connectivity to power and fibre networks, proximity to Helsinki Airport, and easy access to the city centre – making it ideal for organisations across industries looking for reliable, accessible, and well-connected facilities. Verne plans to develop the site further, leveraging its 70MW capacity to meet the increasing demand for sustainable, high-performance compute infrastructure. Designed with high-density compute in mind, the planned expansion will include two new buildings fully equipped to meet the technical requirements of AI, HPC, and other intensive workloads. Verne remains committed to sustainability, with the Helsinki campus running on 100% renewable energy. Waste heat generated by the data center is repurposed through a direct connection to the local district heating network. All new facilities will be built to support liquid cooling, enabling efficient management of the high heat levels generated by AI and other intensive compute workloads. Additionally, Verne uses renewable diesel for its backup power generators in Finland, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the generators by an average of 90%. News: Verne expands Helsinki data center campus with strategic site acquisition. Read Verne Global’s press release.

Fortum – AI workshop

We delivered two AI workshops for Fortum Corporation’s Mergers and Acquisitions team, with both legal and business professionals participating. The sessions combined fundamental AI principles with custom use cases for commercially available AI tools tailored to Fortum’s needs. We also presented a bespoke solution merging AI with a script-based tool developed by our Legal Tech team, enabling a more automated way of working. Our experts conducted the training drawing on their legal background and leading experience in this emerging field of legal technology. Participants particularly appreciated the clarity and relevance of the implementations demonstrated. ‘C&S delivered an excellent, well-structured series of workshops, with directly applicable takeaways,’ says Sabina Hautaviita, Legal Counsel for M&A at Fortum.

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