A snow removal contract: what to read before you sign

A snow removal contract is best signed in October or November, before the first snow. What matters most is not the price but four clauses: when they come, after how much snow, which areas are covered, and what happens in an exceptional situation.

Why have a contract at all

A one-off job after snowfall is urgent work. On the morning after heavy snow everyone calls at once and the queue can be long. Contract customers are handled first, because their property is already in the calendar.

The second reason is that you no longer have to watch the weather. Under a contract the provider follows the forecast and comes on their own.

Four clauses to read

The trigger depth. After how much snow do they come? A common figure is 5 centimetres. If no threshold is written down at all, the first light snowfall produces an argument.

The time window. By when is the work done? For residential properties the usual wording is that entrances and the driveway are clear before eight in the morning. If no time is stated, in practice it means "when we get there".

The scope of areas. What exactly is cleared? Driveway, entrances, pavement, parking area, the space by the waste bins, the postbox. Each is worth naming separately, because assumptions otherwise differ.

Gritting. Is it included or billed separately? The usual model is that the labour is part of the hourly rate and the material is billed by usage.

Where disputes usually come from

Three things recur.

The first is where the snow goes. Snow has to be moved somewhere, and on a plot that means a pile. Agree in advance where it goes, or it ends up somewhere you consider wrong.

The second is ice. Clearing snow does not remove ice formed by repeated thawing and freezing. Ice removal is separate work and should be named in the contract.

The third is exceptional snowfall. When 30 centimetres fall overnight, everyone's schedule stretches. A good contract states what happens then: whether entrances are done first and the car park after, and whether the time window shifts.

What the law says about liability

The property owner or holder is responsible for maintaining their own plot: the yard, driveway, entrances and roof. For pavements, responsibility varies by municipality — many have taken winter maintenance in-house, in others it still rests with the property. Check your municipality's decision.

An important point: a contract with a service provider does not transfer the statutory liability away from the property. If someone slips, the owner remains liable even though clearing was outsourced. That is precisely why the time window should be written down precisely.

For housing companies: what a property manager should insist on

Reporting of visits. Without it the board does not know what was done and when.

A contact person and availability. Who to call when something has been missed.

The pricing model in writing: a fixed monthly fee, or billing by actual visits. Both work, but ambiguity comes back to bite in spring.

Termination terms. A seasonal contract usually runs to the end of March, but the terms are worth reading.

When to sign

October or November. By December there are few slots left, and by January essentially none — every calendar is already full.

Pricing is set per site. Our base is 45 €/hour for one worker, and for a seasonal contract the figure is calculated from the size of the site and the expected number of visits.

The tax credit

Snow removal on your own property qualifies for kotitalousvähennys. For 2026 the credit is 35 % of the labour cost, up to 1 600 euros per person, with a 150 euro own-liability.

An 800 euro seasonal contract returns 227.50 euros, making the real cost 572.50. The government has proposed raising this to 40 % and 2 100 euros for 2026–2027; as of July 2026 the bill had not passed.

A housing company does not receive the credit, because it is not a private individual. Nor can a shareholder deduct work paid for by the company.

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Want a contract for this winter? Tell us the property and the areas and we will price it. Contracts are signed in October and November.