Restrictions and Requirements for DIAS Trades
Linear includes full DIAS support, which means you can initiate a DIAS trade directly in Linear as long as the trade meets DIAS requirements. DIAS and Linear are continuously developed, so you can always check the most up-to-date requirements and restrictions either on the purchase offer or on the settlement form via the info button above the DIAS field.
At the moment, DIAS trades can be carried out in Linear when:
- All sellers use the same bank (does not apply to estates of deceased persons or authorised signatories of companies).
- All buyers use the same bank (does not apply to authorised signatories of companies).
- The sellers are legally competent private individuals (not, for example, under guardianship, in debt enforcement or acting via an authorisation), limited liability companies (other company forms, associations or foundations are not supported), or estates of deceased persons.
- The buyers are legally competent private individuals (not, for example, under guardianship, in debt enforcement or acting via an authorisation) or limited liability companies (other company forms, associations or foundations are not supported).
- All signatories have personal online banking credentials. Signatories must be legally competent private individuals.
- The same person or company is not acting as both seller and buyer.
- The transaction is executed using a single deed of sale.
- The transaction includes one single payment instalment, to which the transfer of ownership is tied (a down payment mentioned in the deed of sale is sufficient).
- The unit is not a new development.
Note: The parties to the transaction may use different banks. In other words, a DIAS trade is possible even if, for example, all buyers use Nordea and all sellers use Aktia.
Note: Due to restrictions by the National Land Survey of Finland, it is currently not possible to submit an ownership registration application for a fractional apartment share. For this reason, starting from 16 January 2025, DIAS cannot be used to submit a trade involving a digital share certificate for a fractional share (less than 1/1) when all parties are private individuals. The bank will request a correction if a DIAS trade is initiated for a unit where the sold share is not the full 1/1 ownership.
You can find more detailed information about the requirements also in the DIAS support portal.
Good to know: In Linear, you can execute DIAS trades for multiple share series or share group identifiers (e.g., apartment and parking space) using a single deed of sale. This requires, among other things, that all parties to the transaction are the same (ownership shares do not need to match) and that all share series belong to the same housing company.
Before Starting a DIAS Trade
A DIAS trade requires completing the Settlement form, and you must select DIAS trade as the transaction type so that the DIAS-required clauses are generated in the deed of sale draft.
A DIAS trade does not require retrieving transfer tax payment references through the tax authority’s interface. This is handled automatically as part of the DIAS process. You can only complete the transfer tax declaration in Linear after the deed of sale has been signed in DIAS.
Before filling in the DIAS form:
- Verify that the housing company name entered on the property information sheet matches exactly the name shown in the Finnish Business Information System (see ytj.fi). The name must match letter by letter in both the deed of sale and the DIAS form.
- Create a commission invoice so that the commission amount and reference number populate automatically in the DIAS form.
- If a spouse’s consent is required for the sale, obtain it as a separate document. The consent must be written, valid, and properly formulated. The consent is sent as an attachment to DIAS when the trade is initiated.
Filling in the DIAS Form
You can start entering the DIAS trade by selecting Start DIAS trade on the property card’s Trading tab.
1. Property details are automatically populated from the property information sheet. If you notice an error, update the information on the property information sheet first and then return to filling out the form.
Note: Check the housing company name in YTJ, as it may be incorrectly written on the property manager’s certificate. The name must match letter by letter with the PRH record. Otherwise, the bank may reject the DIAS trade. If necessary, the name must be corrected on both the property information sheet and the deed of sale.
2. Type of shares is filled from the property information sheet, but you can modify it if needed.
Note: For a single DIAS trade, all shares being sold must have the same share type (paper or electronic).
3. Select Seller’s bank and Buyer’s bank from the dropdown list. You can search by bank name.
4. The sellers are automatically populated from the settlement form. Still, verify that all sellers are listed.
Note: The field also lists all authorised signatories acting on behalf of a company or an estate. Later (step 6), you can specify that they act only as authorised signatories.
5. If the client has multiple first or last names, make sure the name is entered exactly as it appears in the deed of sale.
6. You can mark whether the person acts solely as an authorised signatory (for example, a beneficiary of an estate or a company representative). If the person is both a seller and, for example, a beneficiary of an estate, leave the selection as No.
NOTE: See also how to proceed if the DIAS transaction involves a court-appointed estate administrator.
7. Select whether the seller pays the commission invoice (e.g. brokerage fee) and define the seller’s share of the total amount either as a percentage or in euros. If the property has multiple sellers, you can specify who pays the brokerage fee and divide the fee between the payers according to the client’s wishes.
NOTE: The amount automatically populated in the Total amount of the commission invoice field includes all invoices assigned to the sellers that are in Approved status under the listing (incl. brokerage fee and other charges). Please ensure that all charges are itemized on the invoice, that no invoices have been paid in advance, and that the shares are divided correctly. If there are no approved invoices for the listing, the Total amount of the commission invoice field will display the brokerage fee (incl. VAT) from the deal settlement.
NOTE: The invoice reference number is also automatically transferred to the DIAS form from the approved invoice. Alternatively, you may select Message as the reference type, in which case the system lists all invoice numbers of the approved invoices in the Commission invoice message field.
NOTE: The commission invoice does not need to be attached to the DIAS form, but you may send it beforehand to the seller(s) and inform them that the bank will process the payment on their behalf during the DIAS process.
8. Buyers are automatically imported from the deal settlement. However, please double-check that all buyers are listed.
NOTE: All authorised signatories for a company or an estate of a deceased person will also be listed. You can later (in step 9) define that they act only as authorised signatories.
9. You can indicate whether a person acts solely as an authorised signatory (for example, as a shareholder of an estate or a representative of a company). If a person acts both as a seller and, for example, as a company representative, leave the selection as No.
10. The system automatically calculates the transfer tax based on the information entered on the deal settlement (buyer’s ownership share x purchase price). The transfer tax invoice is not attached to the DIAS form, but it is advisable to inform the person(s) to be invoiced in advance.
NOTE: Please double-check the amount of transfer tax if several share series are being sold under one DIAS transaction.
11. Share numbers are automatically imported from the description appendix (property details). If multiple share series have been recorded in the description appendix separated by commas, each series will appear here in its own share number field. If necessary, you can add additional share series to the DIAS form, for example if a parking space is sold together with the apartment under the same DIAS.
NOTE: The share numbers must match those stated in the deed of sale.
NOTE: If multiple share series (e.g. apartment and parking space) are sold under one DIAS transaction, the sellers and buyers must be parties to all share series. For example, if a couple jointly owns the apartment but only one of them owns the parking space, a separate DIAS transaction must be created for the parking space.
12. The share group identifier is also automatically populated from the description appendix, but you can add it here manually if needed.
NOTE: The share group identifier is mandatory on the DIAS form and the deed of sale for housing companies that are registered in the Housing Information System (HTJ).
13. The location of the physical share certificate is important:
- If the physical share certificate is freely held by the seller or stored in the bank’s safe deposit box, the seller must deliver the certificate to their bank and provide a copy to the agent, who uploads it as a PDF to the DIAS form.
- If the physical share certificate is still at the bank awaiting pickup after loan repayment, the description appendix must indicate that the certificate is pledged as loan collateral.
NOTE: The seller does not endorse the physical share certificate; the bank will endorse it on the seller’s behalf and send the endorsed certificate to the National Land Survey of Finland for ownership registration.
NOTE: If multiple asset types are sold under one DIAS transaction (e.g. apartment and parking space) and one of the physical share certificates is held by the seller, the seller must provide a copy/scan of the certificate to the agent and confirm with their bank how the original certificate should be delivered to the bank (without endorsements). The agent must then combine the share certificates into a single file to be uploaded to DIAS.
14. A sales agreement is always a mandatory attachment for a DIAS trade, and it must be in PDF format before it can be added. The sales agreement may be drafted in Linear or using an external template, but it must fully match the information entered on the DIAS form, otherwise the bank may reject the DIAS process.
NOTE: If several types of property are being sold within the same DIAS trade (e.g. an apartment and a parking space), the transaction is completed with a single sales agreement.
15. When the apartment shares being sold are electronic, you must attach an apartment unit extract to the trade. In the sale of an electronic apartment share, the share group identifier is added to the trade details, and a separate apartment unit extract must be added for each share group identifier (section 12). The apartment unit extract must be dated on the same day the trade is sent to the banks for preparation. If an electronic apartment share trade is interrupted and later restarted, we recommend following the Good Brokerage Practice guidelines and using an extract dated on the restart date.
16. There are no mandatory attachments for the sales agreement in a DIAS trade between private individuals. However, you may add attachments to the sales agreement at your own discretion. If necessary, also check the instructions within your own brokerage chain regarding attachments for DIAS trades.
NOTE: All attachments to the sales agreement are visible to both the sellers and buyers during the signing stage. Exceptions to this are estate-related attachments (deed of estate inventory, inventory deed appendix, Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s certified list of estate shareholders) and company-related attachments (extract from the Trade Register, minutes of meeting). These are only visible to the banks.
NOTE: For each estate, the deed of estate inventory and any related appendices must be attached to the trade. You can read more about the required documents for estate sales here.
NOTE: When a company is acting as the seller or buyer, the broker must add an extract from the Trade Register to the trade. The extract must be no more than 3 months old. Minutes of meeting are an optional attachment that the broker may add if needed. You can also find more detailed information about companies as parties to a trade here.
17. The brokerage firm's bank details are filled in automatically based on the company settings. Here you can review and edit the information if necessary. These details are forwarded to the banks for commission payments.
18. The broker’s details are filled in automatically from the listing and are visible to the parties of the trade as well as to the banks throughout the DIAS process, should they need to contact the broker.
Progress of the DIAS process
Once the DIAS form has been completed and Start DIAS trade has been clicked, the inter-bank workflow begins according to a predefined process. The broker can follow the progress of the DIAS trade in real time in Linear.
The banks aim to complete the DIAS process within five banking days, provided there are no complications (sales agreement drafted correctly, loan agreements prepared, etc.).
More information on the steps of the trade and processing times can be found in the DIAS support portal here.
NOTE: If necessary, you can interrupt the DIAS trade by clicking the "Cancel" button, should you later notice an error in the trade details. However, the broker can no longer interrupt or cancel the trade in Linear once the signing phase has started.
At key stages requiring broker action, an email notification will be sent to the broker, for example when:
- The signing phase can be initiated (the broker must click the action button that appears on screen, which sends the signing requests to the parties to the trade). Signatures must be completed within 24 hours, so please make sure to contact the parties in advance if needed.
- The buyer’s bank has paid the transfer tax. At this point, the broker can begin completing the transfer tax notification in Linear.
Once the DIAS process is completed, the trade documents can be downloaded from the system. They are also automatically stored in the listing's archive.
Webinar recordings
Together with DIAS, we have organised webinars about DIAS trades. You can watch the DIAS training recording via the link below:
DIAS trades explained (apartment shares):