New storage fee for the dead sparks debate in Pirkanmaa

YLE reports that Pirkanmaa welfare region (Pirha) introduced a fee for storing the deceased at the start of the year, and the charge for extra storage time has prompted debate among relatives, according to YLE.

Pirha charges a base fee of 100 euros for keeping the body in its cold storage facilities for two weeks, after which each additional day costs 10 euros. The tiered pricing is intended to encourage relatives to arrange funerals more quickly, since storage costs grow as more capacity is needed. In February, Pirha had to rent a container for storage, according to Liisa Niemi, who is in charge of funeral services at Pirha.

Niemi says the fee is a sensitive way to “nudge” relatives, describing invoicing as a kind of incentive aimed at completing arrangements within two weeks while still respecting the deceased. Pirha has sent more than 700 invoices for storage in early 2025, with about 500 covered by the 100-euro base fee and the rest tied to additional days, though some early storage periods have not yet been billed. Niemi adds that it is still too soon to judge whether the fee will ultimately shorten waiting times, and notes that Easter may provide clearer signals because many religious holidays limit services, according to YLE.

The article also says other regions and churches have begun charging for long storage. Tampere parish federation introduced a cold storage rental fee for everyone starting at the beginning of the year, with the first week free and 50 euros per week from the second week onward. Helsingissä, the city began charging in May last year when storage exceeds three weeks, with 10 euros per day afterward. In Helsinki, the head physician of the hospital leadership, Laura Pikkarainen, says the fee has not significantly affected the length of storage times, pointing instead to other factors such as downtimes in cremation kilns. The welfare region company Hyvil has asked about the fees from welfare regions, and Pirha has received many inquiries from other regions about how invoicing is handled, according to YLE.