Housing in Helsinki – tips for newcomers
Housing in Helsinki – tips for newcomersEvery neighbourhood in Helsinki is safe and clean.
Find the perfect home for you
Helsinki is growing quickly and its housing market is quite competitive, but compared to other European capitals, there are many options available. It is still relatively easy to find a comfortable and affordable home. There are no significant differences between neighbourhoods. Each promises high-quality local schools, services and public transport.
Renting a flat
Where to look and what to expect
Most flats in Helsinki are small by western standards, as the average apartment size is 63m2. Typically, a flat of this size has two rooms (a living room and one bedroom), a kitchen and a bathroom. Several private companies in Helsinki offer short-term and long-term housing, and institutes of higher education in Helsinki match their students with a suitable option in blocks of student housing.
Many newcomers who come to Helsinki to work end up renting a flat on the open market. The primary real estate websites are Oikotie and Vuokraovi. It is a good idea to apply for housing in several places at the same time, if you can.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| vuokra (€/kk) | rent (euros per month) |
| h, huone | room |
| kph | bathroom (includes toilet and shower, sometimes washing machine) |
| k, avok, kk | kitchen, open kitchen, kitchenette (includes refrigerator and stove, sometimes dishwasher and microwave) |
| vh, et, oh, s | closet, entryway, living room, sauna |
| sijainti | location |
| kerrostalo | apartment, flat |
| rivitalo | terraced house, row house (side-by-side homes that share one or more walls) |
| paritalo | duplex house (two homes under one roof) |
| omakotitalo | detached, single-family home |
| rakennusvuosi | construction year |
| asuinpinta-ala |
floor area (in square metres, m 2 ) |
| kalustettuna | furnished |
Average rent in Helsinki
In Helsinki, a one-room rental studio apartment with a kitchen and bath costs around 600-700 euros per month on the open market. In the same way, rent on homes with two rooms (a living room and one bedroom), a kitchen and bath is about 900–1,100 euros monthly. Furnished homes are rare and more expensive.
Rent in Helsinki normally includes water and property maintenance. Sometimes it also includes broadband service, but in most cases, rent does not include the cost of electricity, phone or cable services. In most cases, people that rent a flat must purchase home insurance before they can begin living in the space. In most cases, renters are also required to pay a security deposit of one or two months’ rent.
InfoFinland: About the tenancy agreement(Link leads to external service)
Rights and obligations
You will find a set of rules about living in your building posted somewhere near the entrance. These rules include specific instructions for using the shared laundry room or sauna, as well as how your building deals with things like noise, maintenance and recycling. Your neighbours will take these building rules seriously, so read them carefully before you move in.
InfoFinland: Rights and obligations of occupants(Link leads to external service)
InfoFinland: What should be taken into account when renting a home(Link leads to external service)
Low-cost rental housing from the city
The City of Helsinki owns 63 per cent of the city’s total land area. As a result, its main housing company Heka has over 50,000 government-subsidised flats in more than 500 locations around the city. Occupants of these flats pay a lower rent, meaning that these properties are in very high demand.
Tenant selection for these properties is based on applicants’ income, net worth and housing need. In other words, subsidised flats are offered to those who need them the most. As a newcomer to the city, you may well be eligible for subsidised housing, but keep in mind that availability is quite limited.
Buying a home
If you plan on living in the Helsinki area permanently, buying a home is often cheaper than renting. The most affordable homes in the city cost an average of 3,000 euros per square metre. The most popular websites for buying and selling apartments, row houses and detached homes in Helsinki are Etuovi and Oikotie.
Etuovi (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Oikotie (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Buying a flat in a housing cooperative
There are two forms of home ownership in Finland: a housing cooperative and owner-occupied housing. In a housing cooperative, you own a property in a block or flats or row house and run it as part of a housing company (asunto-osakeyhtiö or taloyhtiö) along with the other owners. When you buy this kind of housing, you become a shareholder in the company.
It is common in Helsinki for housing companies to take out loans to fix or update the building. The shareholders (owners) must then pay their share of this loan, which is determined by the size of their unit. Owners pay back this debt in one of two ways: one-time or monthly payments.
You will see two prices when you buy the flat. The selling price (myyntihinta) is what you pay to the former owner. The debt-free selling price (velaton myyntihinta) is the selling price plus the unit’s share of outstanding housing company loans. You can pay this as a one-time payment, or more commonly, as a monthly financing charge. If there is only one asking price, the housing company is either not indebted or will expect you to pay off the loan monthly. A monthly financing charge (rahoitusvastike) pays back the owners’ share of loan. Most housing companies also have a monthly maintenance charge (hoitovastike). The most common monthly fee is therefore a housing company charge (yhtiövastike), which is a combination of the two.
Hypo: What is a Finnish housing company?(Link leads to external service)
Buying a home outright
In the case of owner-occupied housing, the home buyers own the housing independently. When it comes to detached houses, there are two forms of property ownership: owning the land and the buildings on it, or owning the building and having a long-term lease agreement with the landowner. This second option is very common in Helsinki, as the city owns most of the land.
The website of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KVV) provides advice for people interested in buying a home in Helsinki. In addition, Finland's Ministry of Defence currently requires a permit from non-EU and EEA residents wishing to buy real estate in the country.
KVV: Consumer housing advice(Link leads to external service)
More things for buyers to keep in mind
If you are considering buying a home in a housing cooperative and the price seems too good to be true, it is a good idea to ask about future renovations. They might raise your monthly financing charge significantly. Real estate transactions are subject to an extra tax in Finland, but first-time home buyers are often exempt. The deed of sale should always be prepared in writing, with one copy for the buyer and another for the seller.
Keep in mind that even if you own your own apartment, your building will likely have rules about things like noise, maintenance and the use of shared spaces. Read the InfoFinland page on Buying a home below for a better idea of what to expect.
A third option for people living in Helsinki are right-of-occupancy homes. These kinds of arrangements require buyers to pay 15 per cent of the purchase price and a monthly maintenance charge in exchange for the right to live in the flat indefinitely. The 15 percent payment is refunded with interest if the tenant moves out.