Apply for job-related housing

Do you work for the City of Helsinki or are you looking for a job for the city? We offer job-related housing to our employees under a tenancy agreement that is valid until further notice.

On this page

Job-related housing is especially distributed to employees in the labour shortage sectors, but all employees can apply for and receive housing. The order of priority of occupational titles in the labour shortage sectors is reviewed every three months.

Application for job-related housing

Start searching for job-related housing by browsing the vacant apartments. Fill in a job-related housing application. You can add apartments you are interested in to the application.

After completing the application, prove your identity with online banking credentials or Mobile ID. Once you have confirmed the application, it will be stored in our tenant selection system.

If you cannot use strong authentication, please visit the rental apartment search customer service at Työpajankatu 8. Bring your driving licence, passport or identity card with you. Your apartment application will not be included in the tenant selection process until after you have confirmed your identity.

Validity period

The application is valid for three months (90 days) after its submission or most recent changes.

There are no application or brokerage charges, and the recipient of an apartment is not charged any rent security deposit or other deposit. The lease is invoiced.

Use the online service

More detailed instructions for applying for job-related housing

Start searching for job-related housing by browsing the vacant apartments on the job-related housing page (Link leads to external service) . Select the apartments that you would like to apply for on the page. Leave the information of the apartments you have selected open in the browser or write it down. You will need the information of the apartment when filling in the application.

We also recommend that you familiarise yourself with the instructions and frequently asked questions on this page as well as the residential areas(Link leads to external service) where the apartments you are interested in are located.  

Job-related housing is offered to employees of all of the City of Helsinki’s divisions, central administration and enterprises. Only Service Centre Helsinki provides its job-related housing itself, and its employees may ask the Service Centre’s HR unit for information on company housing.

Employees of the following entities can apply for job-related housing:

  • Education Division
  • City Executive Office
  • Urban Environment Division
  • Culture and Leisure Division
  • Rescue Department
  • Social Services and Health Care Division
  • Stara
  • Financial Management (Talpa)
  • Audit Department
  • Occupational Health Helsinki

Fill in a job-related housing application(Link leads to external service). You can add apartments you are interested in to the application on the apartment information (haettavan asunnon tiedot) page.

We recommend adding a personal e-mail address that only you use to your application.

The application is valid for three months. If you amend your application or submit a new one, it will replace your previous application.

Things to keep in mind

  • State your job title and the unit in which you work, or which job and unit you will be working in, as clearly as possible in the application.
  • Explain your need for housing in detail in the “Further information” field. Mention, for example, if you work shifts or if family members will be moving with you (how many children and adults).
  • Please be prepared to prove your employment relationship if you are offered an apartment. Bring your employment contract or other corresponding certificate of employment with you to the apartment showing.

After submitting your application, you will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of the application. Please note that you must confirm your application through strong authentication with online banking credentials or Mobile ID before will be included in the tenant selection process.

If you are unable to prove your identity through electronic authentication, you can visit the rental apartment search customer service and prove your identity with an official personal identity document (driving licence, passport or personal identity card).

Once you have confirmed your application, you can start waiting for an apartment offer.

If your situation or your preferences change, you can edit your application in the rental apartment search service(Link leads to external service). Please note that only you can modify the details in your application – our housing advisers cannot do so.

After being modified, your application will be valid for another three months. If your application has expired, submit a new application.

You can also withdraw your application in the same service. In this case, your application will cease to be valid immediately.

If you are selected, you will receive an apartment offer in your e-mail and also an SMS notification. 

With the apartment offer, you will get the lessor’s contact information so that you can schedule a showing of the apartment and signing of the lease agreement. You will have three weekdays to familiarise yourself with the apartment and decide whether you will accept it. The lease agreement always enters into force after ten weekdays from the offer at the latest.

How are tenants selected?

Job-related housing is offered primarily to employees in the labour shortage sectors, and certain occupational titles in the labour shortage sectors are given priority.  Priority is given to permanent employees and shift workers

The order of priority is reviewed every three months. Below you can see the priority categories and the titles we are prioritising.

  • employees in specified fields with labour shortages who are moving in from outside Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa,
  • employees in specified fields with labour shortages who are at risk of becoming homeless

  • employees in specified fields with labour shortages who are already living in Helsinki/Espoo/Vantaa
  • employees in specified fields with labour shortages who want to switch the city’s company-owned apartments for justified, health-related/financial/family-related reasons

  • any employee of the city, giving priority to those who are at risk of becoming homeless

  1. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: practical nurse

  2. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: nurse and public health nurse
  3. The Education Division: ECEC teacher in Finnish and Swedish daycare
  4. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: social worker
  5. The Education Division: psychologist
  6. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: doctor and health center physician
  7. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: fire fighter
  8. The Education Division: child minder in Finnish and Swedish daycare
  9. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: dental assistant
  10. The Education Division: special class teacher in Finnish and Swedish comprehensive education
  11. The Urban Environment Division: project manager (Buildings and public areas)
  12. The Education Division: special class teacher in Swedish comprehensive education
  13. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: psychologist
  14. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: instructor
  15. The Culture and Leisure Division: youth worker
  16. The Education Division: ECEC special needs teacher in Finnish and Swedish daycare
  17. Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division: family worker
  18. The Urban Environment Division: site supervisor (Buildings and public areas)
  19. The Urban Environment Division: architect (Services and permits + Land use and city structure)

Frequently asked questions

When a company apartment opens for application on the list of apartments, it has usually been renovated and is ready for a new tenant to move in. On average, apartments are available for application for few days to slightly over a week, depending on the apartment. Tenants are selected as soon as possible after applications have been received for the apartment.

Possibly. If there are no applicants who are employees in the priority sectors of the labour force, the tenant is selected from among all the city employees who have applied for the apartment.

Applicants who are moving to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area or are at risk of becoming homeless are given priority in the allocation of company housing. You should apply for as many apartments as possible and in multiple areas. If you are only looking for housing in the inner city or in only a few areas, we may not be able to offer you company housing in the time frame you want. You should also apply for other rental apartments and submit an application for Heka rental apartments and non-subsidised rental apartments

You can apply for an exchange among other applicants by filling in the application form. You must have a justified reason for switching apartments, such as a health- or family-related or financial reason. You can apply to switch apartments when you have lived in your current job-related apartment for at least a year.

Yes, you can. You can apply along with all other applicants by filling in the job-related housing application in the normal manner. Since you will be a summer employee, specify ‘summer job’ as the type of employment relationship in the application. 

You can search for rooms in a shared apartment when they are listed as open for application. All shared apartments are furnished, but there are no other furnished apartments among company housing.

There are shared apartments for men and for women, and you can find information on who can apply for the vacant room in the housing advertisement. The shared apartments are located on Hietaniemenkatu in Etu-Töölö and on Mechelininkatu in Taka-Töölö.

After receiving an apartment offer, you have three weekdays to contact the lessor (Housing Unit) in order to schedule a showing of the apartment and signing of the lease agreement. During the showing, you must prove your identity and present a proof of the validity of your employment relationship, for example, by means of an employment contract.

After the apartment showing, notify the Rental Apartments unit of Facility Services as soon as possible on whether you will accept the apartment. The lease agreement always enters into force after ten weekdays from the offer at the latest.

If the apartment offered meets the criteria specified in the application and you have no justified reason for turning it down, you will not be given priority in subsequent tenant selections and may not necessarily receive a new housing offer. Justified reasons include a change in the situation in life or the features of the apartment not being as advertised, such as the lack of a lift or wheelchair access.

It might. Rental debts and other housing-related debts to the City of Helsinki and its enterprises may be an obstacle to getting company housing.

You must submit a lessor’s certificate or receipts showing that any outstanding debts have been paid in full as an attachment at the latest if you are offered an apartment. If you do not submit the requested certificate of debt payment within three working days of the conditional offer, the offer will expire and the apartment will be offered to the next applicant. If the certificate or receipts submitted show that only part of the debt has been paid, we will unfortunately not be able to offer you company housing until the debt has been paid in full.

Default entries other than unpaid rental debts to the Helsinki Group and housing-related debts to the city are not an obstacle to getting company housing.

We check the credit record of all applicants who are of age from Suomen Asiakastieto Oy’s credit record register before offering them an apartment. You can check your own credit record once a year free of charge from Suomen Asiakastieto Oy or Bisnode.

Service points

Housing Services, rental apartment search advisory service

Address: Työpajankatu 8, 00580 Helsinki