Student Housing: Finding & Applying in Finland

• Student Apartments
• Types of Student Housing
• Finding & Applying for Student Housing
• Furnishing your Apartment
• Related Links

Student Apartments

Approximately one third of all Finnish students live in student apartments. Housing costs are reasonable, and applying for an apartment is simple. Furnishing an apartment is also simple. Student apartments are always either within walking distance of schools and universities, or easily reached by public transport.

During the beginning of the autumn semester there may be a shortage of student housing. There are student housing organisations in over 20 localities; in some localities exchange students have specific quotas for alotted housing, and in other localities exchange students take precedence over available apartments.

Lease, Deposit etc
Student apartment lease contracts fall under The Act on Residental Leases, which governs all housing rental contracts in Finland. See Renting Accommodation for further information.

Types of Student Housing

Student housing is available in several forms, and if your situation changes during your student years you can apply for a different type of housing.

• Shared apartment: A good choice for single students, usually shared by 2-4 students. Each tenant has his/her own lockable room, and the kitchen and bathroom are shared. Some have a shared living room. Basic furniture, such as a bed and desk in the tenants´ rooms, is usually included. Kitchens are usually furnished with basic appliances.
• Studio apartment: Also good for single students, but more expensive and not always easy to obtain. The number of studio apartments is limited, so you may have to queue.
• Group apartment: If you want to live with a group of your friends, you can rent an entire apartment together. In addition to individual bedrooms and the kitchen, most group apartments have a shared living room.

• Family apartment: Family apartments usually have 2-3 rooms and a kitchen or kitchenette. These apartments are intended for couples and families with children, and are usually located near services such as playgrounds and kindergartens.

Facilities
Student apartments generally have shared facilities such as saunas, laundry rooms with washing machines and tumble dryers, club rooms etcetera. They are equipped with telephone lines, enabling internet access, and an increasing amount of student apartments are linked to a computer network in a college/university.

Finding & Applying for Student Housing

To apply for a student apartment, you must be registered as a student in a post-comprehensive educational institution. All undergraduate students can apply for student apartments. Family apartments can be applied for by couples and families if one of the partners is a student.

To find an apartment:

The central organisation for student housing in Finland is SOA, the Finnish Association of Student Housing Organisations. Scroll down to "Find your new home here!" and from the map or the list you can find each of the 20+ regional student housing organisations Finland-wide.

1. Visit the site for the region in which you will be studying
2. Search the available apartments / accommodation. If you find something suitable,
3. Housing application procedures and application forms are included at each of the sites

The sites also include tips for both foreign and Finnish students, cultural information, and rules and guidelines for living in student housing.

Furnishing your Apartment

So you've found your student apartment - now you have to fill it! If you don't want to buy a whole apartment full of furnishings, you can rent appliances and furniture from a furniture rental service and take care of everything at once, quickly and easily.

Related Links
Links to other sites are direct to the relevant page, where possible

• Renting in Finland: General information, law, leases, tenancy agreements
• KELA, Social Insurance Institution of Finland PDF:
  • Benefits for students and conscripts
• Studying in Finland: Studying in Finland, programmes, Erasmus, scholarships, university admissions and more
• www.studyinfinland.fi: Discover what Finnish higher education can offer international students
• Finnish National Agency for Education: Internationalisation Services promote international cooperation and mobility with emphasis on education, training, employment and young people
• Suomi.fi: Information and e-services from Finnish government agencies and authorities, for residents, companies and organizations
• infofinland.fi: Information for immigrants, in 12 languages

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