TOAS Property maintenance department (isannointi(at)toas.fi) handles all TOAS real estate. It focuses in general management of the properties & handles e. g. tenants requests for drilling holes into walls.

Maintanance company Kotikatu kiinteistöpalvelut performs typical property maintenance tasks (final inspections, responses to fault reports) and takes care of yard areas, hallways and common areas. Hallways are cleaned weekly.

Elevator maintenance is outsourced to KONE Hissit Oy. Elevator maintenance service number (open 24 h): 0800 150 63.

Tampere Regional Solid Waste Management Ltd. takes care of waste management.

Tenants are obliged to report all faults and malfunctions in the apartment or in the common areas. If you discover any fault, you must report it to TOAS without delay via fault report form.

In urgent matters such as water damages or vandalism, you must call the maintenance company's service number: 010 270 8888. Notice: The service number call costs 0,084 €/call + 0,167 €/min.

In case of fire or other emergency, you must call 112. Instructions on how to use emergency number 112 in Finland.

Locked out? Contact maintenance company's service number is open on weekdays 7-16 o'clock: 010 270 8787 and 16-7 and during weekends call 010 270 8888 The lockout service charges for opening the door (by bill or by credit/debit card at the door):

• Free of charge Mon-Fri 7—16 hrs
• 60€ at other times
• Correct prices if the prices have changed.

Notice: The service number call costs 0,084 €/call + 0,167 €/min.

Tenants may borrow a spare key at TOAS office during opening hours. (ID card required.) The key must be returned the same day before the office closes.

If you have lost your apartment key, contact TOAS office! Replacing the missing key costs 50€, change of locks 150€.

Sadly, theft and vandalism can happen in the TTornit neighborhood. Please protect your property and stay alert – if you detect vandalism or witness a theft, call 112. Instructions on how to use emergency number 112 in Finland.

If your bike is new and made of valuable parts, keep it locked indoors. Lock the frame of the bike to a bike rack. It is recommended to store expensive sports bikes in your own home rather than the bike storages.
TOAS offers some bike theft prevention tips.

Make your vehicle less attractive to car thieves: Avoid leaving valuables inside your car where passersby can see them. If your car stereos have detachable front panel, remove it when parking. Use a sturdy steering wheel lock. Car alarms are useful only if you can hear the alarm siren inside your apartment – otherwise they mostly annoy your neighbors.

Never admit strangers into the building. Keep the doors locked and make sure the doors close properly after you.

The laundry room is not a safe place to dry expensive brand/designer clothes.

Keep valuable items out of sight. It is not advisable to keep valuable items in the storage cages.

• Check second-hand furniture for pests before taking it to your apartment. Especially furniture with upholstery, such as sofa and armchair cushions & mattresses may be infested with pests.
• After traveling abroad, check your suitcase & go through the contents carefully, preferably outside your apartment.
• To prevent the infestation from spreading from one apartment to another, it is advisable to tell the neighbors about pest problems.
• Information and pictures to recognize and exterminate pests is available at Indoor pests website.

Every once in a while you can meet some unwanted visitors at your home. Usually performing a thorough cleaning can solve the problem, but sometimes a pest problem can get out of your control. If that happens, be in contact with TOAS or the maintenance company to avoid spreading the problem to other apartments. A weekly cleaning and an occasional thorough cleaning is enough to prevent pests. Below are presented five most common domestic pests.

• Silverfish
  Silverfish prefers damp, dark and untidy surroundings. An adult Silverfish is about 1 cm long and is covered by silver scales. This pest is usually met in the bathroom on the floor after suddenly turning on the lights. The silverfish moves fast and eats almost anything: moldy paper, photos, hair from the bathroom drain, dead skin cells and dirt. If you meet multiple Silverfish in your fiat, it may be a sign of a moisture problem in the apartment, but in general, this pest is fairly harmless. You can destroy this bug by pouring boiling water to the drains, vacuuming the floor surfaces carefully and using appropriate pesticide.

• Saw-toothed grain beetle
  Saw-toothed grain beetle access apartments through dry food, for example in grain, nuts or dry fruit packages. This beetle is small and flat and about 3 mm long with dark brown shell. You can identify saw-toothed grain beetle by its “teeth” that are visible on the back of the bug. If you meet these at your kitchen food cupboards, destroy all dry food packages and vacuum and wash the food cupboards carefully. Vacuum the entire kitchen and pay extra attention to the small cracks and places where you find bread crumbs. Do not forget to clean the back of the oven and the fridge. You can additionally spread pesticide to the kitchen. It is wise to store dry food in tight bags or jars. You can contact TOAS or the maintenance company in case you suspect the pest problem has expanded.

• Black garden ant
  This ant is black and about 4mm long and it has a nest usually outside in flowerbeds or nearby the building plinth. The ant usually enters apartments in early spring to search for food. Black garden ant prefers anything sweet but also dead insects. This pest is harmless, but rather unpleasant as it travels anywhere to get food. If you meet black garden ants in your flat, clean all the bread crumbs and other food away from the tables and surfaces, maintain general cleanliness in your apartment and use pesticide meant for ants. If you find several ants and these actions do not help, contact TOAS or the maintenance company.

• Attagenus woodroffei
  Attagenus woodroffei is a textile beetle that prefers warm surroundings. An adult beetle is about 4-5 mm long and the maggot about 10 mm long. The maggot usually hides in dark places such as behind floor boards and carpets and mainly eats textile dust and dead insects. The maggots especially prefer dirty clothes. The maggots leave behind light brown skins with a long hairy tuft at the other end. Attagenus woodroffei can access your apartment with e. g. clothing bought from flea markets. If you find this pest in your home, perform a thorough cleaning to the entire apartment: clean all dead insects from the lampshades, check and clean all textile closets, check and wash every second hand clothing you have, vacuum clean and wash closets, shelves, cupboards and keep them clean all the time. Also, store textiles always clean. During wintertime, airing the apartment is an efficient way to fight this bug as frost has a tendency to kill it. In case you find attagenus woodroffei in your flat, be in contact with TOAS or the maintenance company.

• Bedbug
  Bedbug is about 8 mm long, wide and flat bad smelling insect. It is usually brown, but if it has been long without food, the color can be fair. Bedbug sucks blood from a human by night. The bug does not spread disease but the bite can cause some people irritation, itching and slight swelling. Usually the bedbug is transferred to apartments from abroad through lugéage or with second hand furniture. The bedbug does not live in food items, but instead lives on beds, behind pictures on the walls or behind floor boards. You can identify the bedbug by the feces it leaves nearby its living area (dark spots). Additionally, you can find maggot skins and eggshells. Maintaining cleanliness and good hygiene are essential in preventing bedbugs. Be always in contact with TOAS in case you suspect a bedbug problem.

(Source: TOAS Asuntoasia magazine 1/2014)