Renting in Finland works well once you are inside the system. This guide takes you from the listing to the keys to the day you give notice, and explains the words on the way.
Where apartments are listed
- Oikotie Asunnot and Vuokraovi: the two big portals, private landlords and companies, filters for size, price and pets.
- Tori.fi: private landlords, often cheaper, more competition, occasional scams (never pay before seeing the apartment and the landlord's ID).
- Rental companies: Sato, Lumo (Kojamo), Avara, Kiinteistömaailma. Slightly higher rents, no bidding, English service, apply online, often a queue for popular areas.
- Municipal rental housing: Heka in Helsinki, Espoon Asunnot, VAV in Vantaa, and equivalents elsewhere. Cheaper, long waiting lists, apply as early as you can.
- Student housing: HOAS in the capital region, TOAS in Tampere, TYS in Turku, PSOAS in Oulu. Apply the day you are admitted.
- Furnished short-term: Forenom, Flatta, Furent and Airbnb monthly rentals for the first weeks.
Winning the apartment
Landlords choose by reliability. Your message should say, in the first three lines, who you are, where you work or study, and that your income is steady. In Finnish or English; Finnish gets attention. A template is in with the landlord. Bring to the viewing: ID, employment contract or admission letter, and, if you have it, a credit record (luottotiedot) printout from Suomen Asiakastieto. A guarantor or a larger deposit helps if you have no Finnish history.
The lease
Finnish leases are short and standardised. Check these lines:
| Finnish | What to check |
|---|---|
| vuokra | monthly rent and the due date |
| vesimaksu | water fee, usually per person per month |
| takuuvuokra / vakuus | deposit, at most three months' rent by law |
| toistaiseksi voimassa oleva | open-ended lease, the normal kind |
| määräaikainen | fixed-term, cannot be ended early |
| vuokrankorotus | rent increase clause, usually once a year by an index or percentage |
| kotivakuutus | home insurance, often required |
| tupakointi, lemmikit | smoking and pets, allowed or not |
| irtisanomisaika | notice period, one month for you |
You sign electronically with bank credentials or on paper. Take photos of every room and any existing damage on the day you get the keys and send them to the landlord. That is your deposit insurance.
What the rent includes
- Usually included: heating (district heating in most apartment buildings), the building's maintenance, sauna slots, waste collection, often building broadband.
- Usually separate: water (fixed fee), electricity (your own contract, see electricity), home insurance, parking.
Your rights as a tenant
The Act on Residential Leases is on your side:
- The landlord may enter only by agreement, except in emergencies.
- Rent increases must follow the clause in the lease; there is no free increase.
- The landlord's notice period is three months, six if you have lived there over a year, and the reason must be lawful.
- Normal wear and tear is not damage. Small nail holes and worn floors are the landlord's cost.
- The deposit must be returned when the lease ends, minus documented damage only.
If something goes wrong, the Consumer Advisory Service and, for serious disputes, the Consumer Disputes Board are free. Tenant associations (Vuokralaiset ry) advise members.
Living in a Finnish building
Your building is a taloyhtiö (housing company) run by a board of owners and a property manager (isännöitsijä). Rules that matter: quiet hours (usually 22 to 7), booked sauna slots and laundry room, sorting waste, and the notice board in the stairwell for water cuts and renovations. Repairs go to the maintenance company (huoltoyhtiö), whose number is on the board.
Moving in, moving out
- File the muuttoilmoitus (notification of move) with DVV and Posti within a week of every move. Online in ten minutes.
- Set up electricity from the move-in date and home insurance from day one.
- To leave, send written notice; one month runs from the end of the current month. Clean thoroughly (Finnish landlords check the oven), do the inspection together, hand over all keys, and ask when the deposit returns.
Buying later
Most Finns own; most immigrants rent for the first years. When you buy an apartment, you buy shares in the housing company, pay a monthly maintenance charge (hoitovastike) and possibly a renovation charge (rahoitusvastike), and need a bank loan that requires a permanent job and some history. A separate guide covers it. Start by understanding the taloyhtiö you already live in; that is half of what a buyer needs to know.