Getting a rental apartment in Finland

It is said that finding an apartment and job are both difficult tasks. But, nothing is difficult if you do a bit of planning in advance. This page is an attempt to make the task of finding an apartment much more easier for foreigners in Finland.

Recently, there were some changes to the law regarding apartments on rent. First, Click Here to read a message about this.

Vocabulary for Apartment-Search

Since most of the related information is Finnish language, you will need to learn some basic words related to apartment-search. The best way to learn such basic words is to study the advertisement for apartment on rent. Here is a Sample Advertisement with the English equivalents in Red color:

Initial Planning

Checking Rent Agreement

Before moving into the new apartment, you will need to give the notice to your current owner. Usually, a notice of one month is given. However, please check your rent agreetment papers for more details. It is safe to give the notice after you have found the suitable apartment. Hence, search for the apartments which will be free after one month.

What is your budget?

Decide how much you can afford for the rent of an apartment. For this, browse through the classified sections of local newspapers. Look for rental apartment ads under the section titled Vuokra-Asunnot. You will get the idea about the current market prices for rental apartments. You will also need sufficient amount of money in order to change getting an apartment on rent. Suppose the rent of the apartment is 3500 FIM, then Initially, you will need to pay a total sum of 14770 FIM. Here is a break-up of the total sum:

 

Item	Amount
First month's rent	3,500
2 month's deposit **	7,000
Agent's fee + 22% tax	4,270
Total:	14,770

** The amount of deposit varies and depends on the owner. You might be asked for 3 month's deposit also. Based on your budget, calculate how much money you will need and make sure that you have the amount slightly more than your budget.

What are your priorities and preferences?

The next thing is to identify your preferences and set the priorities. What are you looking in the new apartment? What do you expect from the new apartment? A sample list of priorities is shown below:

Priority Number	Item
1	Location
2	Money
3	Good Bus Connections
4	Cable or Internet Connection

Based on the above table, make a list of your own priorities.

Decide the location

Identify the city areas which suits you. You might want to live in an area near to you work, so that you spend less time in commuting. Get a map of the area and make a list of such suitable areas. This helps to narrow-down your scope of the search. It also helps you to pick the suitable ads quickly.

How to search?

There are various ways to search for rental apartments. Below are some the ways to search. You may try all of them or the one that suits you the most.

Newspapers

Newspapers is the most common method for searching apartments on rent. Get newspapers such as Helsinki Sanomat, Asunot Pörssi etc. and under classfied ads, check out the section titled Vuokra-Asunnot.

Internet Search

If you have access to the Internet, you can also search for rental apartments through some websites. Check out the Vuokra-asunnot sections of following web sites:

• http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/oikotie
• http://www.dime.net/

Check out Sample Advertisement for more information.

Mailing Lists

Another way is to post an ad (like looking for an apartment on rent ....) in some mailing lists that you know. In your comany or university, there might be some mailing list. Find out about such list and post your ad in it.

Visiting and checking out the selected apartments

Once you find the suitable apartment from the advertisement, call the number given in the advertisement and setup a meeting to see the apartment. It is called as Show Flat 

Signing the agreement

under construction...

Items to check in the agreement.

under construction...

Moving to the new apartment 

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