Five tips for applying for student housing

What should you keep in mind when applying for an apartment from Hoas? And how could you speed up getting an apartment? In this article, you’ll find our five tips to give your housing application a boost!

Did you receive your acceptance letter? Congratulations, you have an exciting phase of life ahead of you! If your study place is in the Helsinki metropolitan area (and you also meet our other tenant selection criteria), you can apply for an apartment from Hoas.

At the beginning of academic terms, priority is given to students moving to the Helsinki metropolitan area to start their studies. Submit your housing application as soon as possible, as in addition to other priority criteria, we offer apartments to those who have been waiting the longest.

A shared apartment is a true student choice. The already affordable rent includes electricity and water, and you can often get a shared apartment very quickly — at least faster than any other type of Hoas apartment.

A shared apartment is therefore a good option especially when you need housing urgently. And if you later find that shared living is not for you, you can apply for another Hoas apartment.

Hoas apartments are located in a total of 43 different areas in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Our locations are close to schools or along good public transport connections. You can get help choosing a suitable area with the area test.

A convenient tool for finding suitable areas is also Hoas Maps, where you can see the locations of our properties, nearby schools, and transport connections.

Your preferred areas affect how quickly you can get an apartment. The more areas you select in your application, the wider the selection of apartments we can offer you!

We offer you an apartment that does not exceed the maximum rent specified in your application. If you want the best chances of securing an apartment, it’s worth setting the maximum rent carefully.

You can use the apartment search to help determine a suitable maximum rent. Select the apartment type and enter your planned maximum rent to see how many options are available within that amount.

For example, with a maximum rent of 600 euros, there are studios in 49 buildings – while with 630 euros, the number of buildings with studios increases to 65. The more buildings included in your application, the better your chances of getting an apartment!

The rent of an individual apartment depends on many factors: location, apartment type, size, age of the building, condition, and even the floor the apartment is on.

It’s therefore a good idea to familiarize yourself with the price levels in areas you are interested in, as well as the rent for your preferred apartment type, and based on that, set the best possible maximum rent so that getting an apartment doesn’t come down to just a few tens of euros.

You should update your application at least once a month when actively applying for housing. The application is valid for three months at a time, but frequent updates indicate to us that your need for housing is still current. Also remember to delete your application if you find an apartment elsewhere.

Edit your application as well if your situation changes. Modifying your application does not affect how long you have been waiting for a Hoas apartment.

It is especially important to keep your contact details up to date so that information about a housing offer reaches you. Update your application as well if your study place changes or your desired move-in date changes.