Rovaniemi housing shortage pushes students onto emergency mattresses

Dozens of higher education students in Lapland are sleeping in temporary accommodation as Rovaniemi faces its recurring housing shortage, Yle reports. More than 600 university and university of applied sciences students are still waiting for housing from the student housing foundation Domus Arctica, known as DAS.

Students are sleeping on mattresses in the student union’s club rooms and on an office floor. The Lapland University Student Union and DAS have arranged 25 emergency accommodation spaces this autumn.

One of those students was 23 year old Jenna Närhi, who moved from Ylöjärvi to Rovaniemi in August to study administrative sciences and management at the University of Lapland.

She stayed for several days in a five person emergency accommodation unit set up in a student union club room.

“Without the emergency accommodation, I would not have been able to take part in what I consider the most important part of the academic year, orientation,” Närhi said.

The accommodation included a shared small kitchen, two toilets and four showers. Närhi said she was moved to tears when she opened a cupboard and saw that dishes were available.

Students stay in the temporary accommodation for an average of one or two weeks, according to Esa-Pekka Tuppi, secretary general of the student union. Some need it for only a few days, while others may stay throughout the autumn.

DAS is also converting an old office into a dormitory with space for 13 students. The facility is expected to be ready by the end of September and can be used for both short and longer stays, DAS chief executive Lauri Herva said.

For Närhi, the emergency accommodation period was shorter than expected because she got her own studio apartment. Some of her fellow students stayed in hotels or Airbnb accommodation at the start of the academic year, while others looked for shared homes with new acquaintances. Tuppi said he had also heard of students camping or sleeping in their cars.

The shortage returns each autumn and winter, affecting seasonal workers arriving in Rovaniemi for tourism jobs as well as students. Many homes are converted to short term rentals when the winter tourism season begins in October or November, because accommodation for tourists is more profitable for landlords than long term rentals for students.

The student union has prepared to provide emergency accommodation until November. Next year, 170 new student homes are expected to be completed near the University of Lapland and the university of applied sciences.

More than 11,000 people study at the University of Lapland and the university of applied sciences. Most rent their homes on the private market.