In this blog post, we’ll introduce our newly released self-guided online video course “Renting a Home in Finland”. Before we get there, however, we’ll talk a little more about rental prices in Finland.
A few weeks back, we started this conversation with rental prices in Helsinki. This week we’ll focus on Finnish rental prices outside Helsinki.
Those who are interested in buying, rather than renting a home in Finland, should look at a couple of our very recent posts. In those, we discussed home purchase prices in Finland. We discussed the prices of one-family homes and apartments separately. We’ve also explained the Finnish apartment ownership system in some of our older blogs.
Before we get to the prices and our new video course, we’ll talk first about the two different types of rental homes in Finland.
Two types of rental homes in Finland
As we briefly discussed in a previous blog, the rental market in Finland comprises two different types of rental homes. Some rental homes are rent-controlled and some are not.
Rent-controlled homes are often owned by municipalities or rather real estate companies owned by municipalities, or NGOs. The owners of these types of homes have built them with the help of government subsidies. As a requirement for receiving that funding, the owners usually cannot charge market rent for these homes.
This state-subsidized housing is called ARA-housing. Entities that rent such housing often have to place different types of criteria for their tenants. These mostly have to do with wealth and income but also with housing needs.
This way cities and municipalities have been able to provide low-cost rental homes to their residents. In the largest Finnish cities, where housing costs are otherwise quite steep, the difference in rental prices between these apartments and apartments without rental control can be quite high. We’ll give you some examples of this below. But this varies, for example, based on the age of the property.
In fact, the largest rental property owner in Finland is the city of Helsinki through its real estate company. Helsinki owns over 56 000 apartments all over the city. Every 6th Helsinki city resident lives in one of their apartments.
In 2019 in Finland, out of the ca. 922 000 households living in a rental home, about 33.5 % lived in ARA or otherwise subsidized housing.
The rest lived in rental homes with market-based rental prices.
Are you looking for a rental home in Finland? Check out our “Renting a Home in Finland” online course!
Finnish rental prices
Statistics Finland reported in August that in the majority of the country rents in the free market had risen 0.9 % in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the year before.
Rent increases were higher than that in Turku (1.6 %) and Tampere (1.4 %).
The average square meter rental price in the country is 15.10 € but there are obviously considerable differences in rents in different parts of the country.
In the greater metropolitan area of Helsinki, the average rental price per square meter is 20.20 € while in the rest of the country it is 13 €.
Rents are obviously the highest in Helsinki. There, the average rent is 21.50 € climbing even higher in some areas of Helsinki. We discussed this in a bit more detail in a previous blog.
The next most expensive cities to rent a home are, predictably, Espoo (18.40 €/sq. m.) and Vantaa (18.10 €/sq. m.).
Renting a home is the least expensive in the cities of Kouvola (10.90 €/sq. m.), Rauma (11 €/sq. m.), and Pori (11.20 €/sq. m.).
In the second quarter of 2021, the average square meter rent for Ara-apartments was 11.90 €. The difference in the average rent compared to free-market prices was 3.2 €/sq. m.
In Helsinki, the difference is as high as 6.90 €/sq.m. The average rent per square meter for Ara-apartments in Helsinki is 13.30 €.
In Espoo, the difference is 4.90 €/sq. m and in Vantaa 4.30 €/sq.m. The average rent per square meter is 13.50 € in Ara apartments in Espoo. In Vantaa, it’s 13.80 €.
Here you can see comparisons between Ara and market rental prices in some specific areas of Finland.
Renting a home in Finland
When moving to a new country one of the most important, if not the most important task is to find a home to live in. Understanding the rental market, how to find a home to rent, and deciding the area in which to settle are important and stress-inducing questions. To help you with this decision-making, we have created a new online video course for you.
Our new self-guided video course is called “Renting in Finland”. In it, we
- introduce you to the kind of homes there are in Finland. We talk about the Finnish housing stock in general but also tell you what kind of homes you are most likely to find when looking for a rental home.
- give you tips about choosing a home in Finland. We talk about factors you may want to consider when you are choosing your new neighborhood. We also talk about floorplans. For example, how floorplans have changed in different decades.
- introduce you to Finnish landlords and how you can find their apartments for rent. We also tell you what to expect in terms of information your landlord asks from you when renting their apartment.
- take you through the Finnish rental agreement.
- give you moving tips and also talk about the official stuff of moving.
- talk about tenant life in Finland. We tell you, for example, what are your responsibilities and rights as a tenant. We’ve discussed tenant responsibilities briefly here but in the video course, we go more into detail. We’ve also created a downloadable chart on this division of responsibilities. Our course customers can download it for themselves and keep it. Naturally, we also talk about how you or your landlord can terminate your rental agreement.
New Essential Course Bundles
We have now also created two essential course bundles that give you access to a collection of our courses at a reduced price.
Our Starting in Finland Kit course bundle includes the basics. You get access to these self-guided online courses:
- Your Crash Course to Finland;
- Renting a Home in Finland; and
- Mini-course: Finnish employment contracts.
Our larger course bundle really allows you to hit the ground running when you are starting your life in Finland. This bundle includes the courses:
- Your Crash Course to Finland;
- Renting a Home in Finland;
- Working in Finland;
- Four Wheels in Finland; and
- Your Neighborhood Nature in Finland.
All of these courses can be purchased from our online store. You can also purchase these for your international employees or students. If you need more than one access code, contact us for further details. Our basic company pricing system is available here.
Looking for a rental home in Finland? We tell you what to expect and how to do it in our video course “Renting a Home in Finland”. Available in our online store.
The mission of Finnwards is to help internationals thrive in their life abroad. We provide coaching, consulting, and training services that help them do just that. Check out our Services for Businesses and Organizations or our Expat Inspiration Catalog for more information! While we serve internationals and their employers all over the world, our specialty is Finland. With our help, internationals can build a uniquely Finnish life for themselves and their family. In addition to the coaching, consulting and training services, we also offer a wide selection of self-guided online courses about Finland. Contact us and let us help you or your employees succeed in their professional and private lives abroad and in Finland.
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