Who can apply for a Hoas apartment?

You can apply for a Hoas apartment, if

you are a full time student,
you are a degree student,
you are entitled to student financial aid AND
your school is in the capital area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa or Kauniainen)
you are an exchange student in one of the cooperating schools.

The apartment offer cannot be accepted before school has started and you have enrolled for your studies. If you are just starting your studies and your term begins in January, you cannot accept an apartment in December. The summer months are an exception to this: if you are beginning your studies in the autumn, you can accept an apartment already in June.

Applicants who are of legal age must have an official identity document.

Students from outside the capital area or the surrounding municipalities can apply for a Hoas apartment if they have to stay in the capital area or surrounding municipalities due to work experience or their research or thesis, related to their current studies. In such cases, they may only apply for an apartment for the duration of the work experience, research or thesis work.

Schools for degrees completed remotely and through online must be located in the capital area.

Who has priority for being offered a Hoas apartment?

Construction of Hoas student housing is subsidised by the state. This is why Hoas apartments cannot be offered to just anyone; Hoas tenant selection is regulated by ARA, the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland. Hoas also has its own rules which affect the choice of tenants.

Priority will be given to applicants who are

homeless
of modest means and/or have a low income
otherwise in urgent need of an apartment
studying to complete degree

At the beginning of terms, from August to October and from January to February, any apartments that become available (excluding studios) are offered to new students as a rule. Priority is given to applicants who come from outside of the capital area.

Apartments located in Helsinki are primarily given to those who study in Helsinki. Find out more about setting the maximum rent and area requests.

Those aiming to complete competence-based qualifications are not prioritised for apartment offers.

In addition to this, some properties have their own specific rules that are based on the ownership of the properties and the conditions of land leases.

Basic degree students

Basic degree students are those who:

study to pass upper secondary matriculation examinations (Note: if you study in an upper secondary school for adults, check if you are entitled for student financial aid by Kela https://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students-eligibility)
study for a basic qualification in a vocational school
study for a bachelor or master level degree in a university of applied sciences
study for a bachelor or master level degree in a university
study for a licenciate degree in the faculty of medicine, veterinary science or dentistry in a university

Post-graduate students

Post-graduate students are those who:

Study at the university for their licentiate or doctorate (with the exception of the faculties of medicine, veterinary science and dentistry). Post-graduate students must have a right to study and they must be attending students.

Exchange students

Exchange students studying in one of the cooperating schools can apply for furnished apartments from Hoas. Exchange students can also apply for unfurnished apartments, but are not considered priority applicants for them.

Hoas follows the campus principle when offering apartments

We strive to find our applicants a housing solution that supports their studies. The apartments are rented out according to the campus principle. The applicants are offered an apartment that is preferably near their school and/or close to public transport and in the city where the applicant is studying.

Hoas considers the transport connections good if a one-way trip to school on public transport takes a maximum of 45-50 minutes.

Special conditions due to land lease contract

Some properties owned by Hoas have specific arrangements, for example with the land owner, which lead to exceptions in tenant selection.

The family apartments in the following properties are rented primarily to families with children: Harustie 7-8, Karstulantie 8, Katajannokanranta 21, Kilpolantie 16, Kurkisuontie 12, Muusantori 5, Myrttitie 2, Pallaksentie 4, Pekankatu 5, Rekipellontie 15, Rälssintie 16.
Kasperinkuja 13: Students of Snellman-korkeakoulu are given priority when selecting tenants. The priority is due to a joint land reservation together with the Ahtola Foundation.
Kilonrinne 10: The following priority rules are followed for this property: 1. members of the SSBS founding organisation, 2. Swedish-speaking members of Hoas’s Swedish and bilingual founding organisations, 3. members of Hoas’s other founding organisations.
Opastinsilta 2: 21 housing spaces have been reserved for Farmasiakunta Ry.
Apartments in Otaniemi (Jämeräntaival 9-11, Servin Maijan tie 3, Servinkuja 5-6): Apartments will only be rented to students of the Aalto University. In family apartments, it is enough for one tenant to study there.
Paraistentie 18: Medical students are prioritised in tenant selection.
Pitäjänmäentie 13: Music students are prioritised in tenant selection. Family apartments are rented primarily to families with children. There are sound-proofed apartments in stairwell C.
Talonpojantie 10: The following priority rules are followed for this property:
1. Students that meet the tenant criteria set by the Foundation, Stiftelse Latokartano – Vicus Agriculturae Studiosorumin (Latokartanosäätiö) and Housing for forestry students (Silvica).
2. Helsinki University students of the faculty of agriculture and forestry.
The priority rules are based on the conditions of the land lease contract between Latokartano sport- and house of culture foundation and Hoas.
Members of the boards in national student organisations like SYL and SAMOK can rent Hoas apartments for the duration of their term in the board of directors.
In the following properties, some apartments are still rented out by the city of Helsinki, because the properties have previously been owned by the city: Hakaniemenranta 12, Kirstinmäki 7, Kylmäojantie 4. As and when the tenants selected by the city terminate their tenancy agreements, the apartments will be rented to students according to Hoas’s normal rules.

In the spring and summer, Hoas apartments are also available to other people besides students

Hoas has furnished apartments available for the spring term from January to May and unfurnished apartments for the summer months from January to August. Anyone who has a temporary job or studies in the capital area or surrounding municipalities can apply spring and summer apartments. At other times, only degree students can apply for Hoas apartments.

Underaged applicants

An underaged person can apply for a Hoas apartment as long as the person’s guardian consents to it. When you fill in your application, please enter your guardian’s details carefully in the space reserved for them.

Guardian’s consent form can be found from Online services page.

Supervisor of interests

If the applicant has a supervisor of interests, he or she should provide Hoas with a copy of the court decision on supervision and a completed consent form from the supervisor.

There are no special conditions for signing a tenancy agreement with a person under supervision of interests, but a notification of the apartment offer and the tenancy agreement will also be sent to the supervisor.

Supervisor of interests’ consent form can be found from Online services page.

You cannot apply for an Hoas apartment

If you are completing a qualification:

by apprenticeship training (as a part of your basic degree you may complete a short-term, max 12 months period by apprenticeship training)

or if you are studying:

in comprehensive school
on a training course or preparatory training for vocational education
in an open university of applied sciences or open university
for a specialised vocational qualification
for further vocational skills
additional post-doctorate studies

If you are enrolled in a preparatory training course, you can only apply for an apartment once you have completed the preparatory classes and moved on to degree studies.

Hoas tenant selection criteria are not satisfied by all schools and types of study. Examples:

Doing an apprenticeship does not entitle the student to student financial aid from Kela.
Continued vocational training does not lead to a qualification but rather completes a qualification you already have.

Hoas keeps the list of schools approved for applications updated by adding and removing schools regularly. If you cannot find your school in the list of schools on the application form, you are not entitled to apply for a Hoas apartment.