Enforcement

The National Enforcement Authority Finland is an impartial agency operating between a debtor and their creditors. The National Enforcement Authority Finland ensures that a debtor’s income or assets are used to pay the statutory share of the debts. Enforcement is part of legal protection and safeguards not only the rights of the debtor but also those of the creditor.

The National Enforcement Authority Finland is responsible for enforcement. The agency gives guidance and advice on its own services. Feel free to contact customer service of the National Enforcement Agency Finland or your own enforcement inspector for more information. The website of the National Enforcement Authority Finland provides information on enforcement. 

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What is enforcement and how does it work?

When does enforcement begin?

The start of enforcement depends on whether the debt is:

  1. civil-law. For a civil-law debt, you need a debt judgement from a district court before you can apply for enforcement.
  2. public-law. An application for the enforcement of public-law debt can be made directly without a debt judgement from a district court. Examples of public-law debts are hospital fees and taxes.

It is up to the creditor to decide on the timing of the application, which makes it difficult to predict when enforcement will start. When a new case is brought before the enforcement authorities, you will be sent a notification of the opening of the case and a payment reminder. You can pay off the debt with the payment reminder that you receive. If the debt is not paid at this stage, enforcement will find out whether you have the income or other resources to pay your debt.

Read about how debt collection proceeds on our website.

How much of your income is garnished?

The amount payable on income is calculated on the basis of net income and is affected by, among other things, the number of dependants that the debtor has. Garnishment cannot take everything, but a percentage of income is garnished.

Income during enforcement

After the start of enforcement, you may be entitled to social assistance. When you apply for social assistance, Kela will take into account that a certain proportion of your income is being garnished.

Expenses that can be taken into account in the social assistance calculation include prescription drugs and public health care costs, commuting expenses, electricity and home insurance. You can use the calculator to estimate the amount of social assistance.

Interest and charges on debt in enforcement

Typically, once a payment is overdue, the creditor is entitled to charge interest at the rate specified in the credit agreement for 180 days. The amount of interest is set out in the debt judgement. The debt is then subject to a general interest rate of around 7–10%. The general interest rate on arrears is reviewed every six months.

For the first 18 months after the garnishment of income has started, enforcement charges a scheduled fee. After that, the scheduled fee is cancelled if the garnishment of income continues.

What is garnished or distrained 

Ordinary household effects (e.g. furniture) are not usually distrained or sold. Garnishment applies to salary and other income and business income, and distraint to movable property (e.g. an apartment or terraced house and a car) and immovable property (e.g. a detached house).

A decision to distrain property means that the property cannot be sold or donated. The decision does not automatically mean, however, that the property will be sold.

Read about garnishment or distraint by type of property on the National Enforcement Authority Finland’s website.

Distraint of a vehicle

The value of a vehicle affects whether it can be distrained. In general, a cheap car may be kept. The use of the car is usually taken into account in the solution, for example if you need it to get to work.

How can garnishment or distraint be stopped? 

Pay new bills on time and ensure that they are transferred to enforcement. It is important not to create new debt. 

You can explore your possibilities for social credit, a restructuring loan from the Guarantee Foundation, suggest a voluntary settlement to your creditors or explore the possibility of getting a debt adjustment for a private person. Contact financial and counselling and we can work together to sort out your situation.