Multala says government will not force income monitoring of tenants

Climate and Environment Minister Sari Multala says the Finnish government will refine a proposal concerning state-subsidised rental housing and will not require landlords to monitor tenants’ incomes. Yle reported that the government’s aim is to direct subsidised homes to those who need them most.

State-subsidised rental housing currently has income limits, which are checked when a resident applies for a home. The proposed changes would also allow tenants’ incomes and assets to be monitored during their tenancy.

Multala said the ministry is reviewing feedback received during a summer consultation. In addition to criticism of income and asset monitoring, the proposal presents technical legislative challenges that will require further examination.

Under the draft, landlords would monitor whether tenants continued to meet the criteria for selecting residents. Tenants would also have to provide information about the incomes and assets of people living in the home. For a single person, the current income limit for state-subsidised housing is 3,540 euros. Exceeding the limit could become grounds for terminating a tenancy agreement.

Helsinki City Housing, Finland’s largest landlord, has strongly criticised the proposed increase in landlords’ monitoring obligations. The company has warned that the changes could discourage people from applying for state-subsidised homes and make the resident population less diverse, increasing the risk of segregation between wealthier and lower-income neighbourhoods.

Multala said the government’s objective was to give landlords the option of directing homes to those most in need, rather than forcing them to do so. She said income monitoring would be intended for situations in which demand for homes exceeded supply. Where many municipal rental homes are vacant, there would be little use for the proposed changes, she acknowledged.

According to Multala, around 15 per cent of residents in state-subsidised homes in the Helsinki metropolitan area exceed the income limits, while some homes are vacant. She said the system needed اصلاحations, but added that the proposal would not address every problem.

The government also wants to prevent investment-related use of publicly financed homes. Short-term rental and transferring a home for professional accommodation use would be banned entirely. Multala said she hoped the proposal could move forward at least on those points. The bills are expected to be submitted to Parliament in the autumn.