Vaasa and Rovaniemi have Finland’s tightest student housing market

Vaasa and Rovaniemi currently have Finland’s most difficult student housing situations, Yle’s review of student accommodation in cities across the country found. In Vaasa, 567 students are waiting for housing, while in Rovaniemi more than 600 applicants need a home within a month.

“It is stressful not knowing where you will live,” says Inkaliina Soini, 21, from Ilmajoki.

Soini learned in early July that she had been accepted to study in Vaasa and began looking for a rental home. Available properties have been taken within minutes, however, and she has not been able to attend a single viewing. One viewing had been arranged, but the listing was removed the day before.

If she cannot find a rental home, Soini’s backup plan is to stay on friends’ or godparents’ sofas. For orientation week, she has rented an Airbnb with a group of women.

Driving from Ilmajoki to Vaasa, a distance of about 70 kilometres, is another option.

“Especially when it comes to student events, you may not be able to join the group as well if you are not actually living in the city,” Soini says.

Student numbers have risen in Vaasa

Marko Ylimäki, chief executive of the Vaasa Student Housing Foundation, says the situation is worse than last year. The foundation has no vacant homes left, and 567 students are on its waiting list.

The foundation recommends that students also contact private landlords. Only a few studio apartments are currently available on the private rental market.

Vaasa’s housing shortage is linked to an increase in the number of students without corresponding housing construction. Relative to its population, Vaasa is Finland’s largest higher education city.

Rovaniemi’s student housing shortage is also worse than last year. Domus Arctica, the city’s student housing foundation, has more than 600 applicants who have said they need a home within a month.

The student unions of the University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences are arranging temporary accommodation for students left without housing in the club rooms of Domus Arctica’s buildings. Last year, the temporary accommodation was not closed until December.

Affordable homes are rented quickly

In many student cities, demand for rental homes is high, but more properties are also available than in Vaasa and Rovaniemi.

Pauliina Ketonen, marketing manager at Vuokraturva, says far more rental properties have come onto the market in Turku than previously. Around 1,000 studio apartments were available in the city in the spring. The surplus has now fallen closer to its usual level.

Students can still find an affordable home quickly in Turku. Some vacant properties could be available for move-in as soon as the following day, Ketonen says.

Although Turku’s housing situation is relatively good, affordable studios are still rented quickly. Rents are traditionally higher in the summer, when demand increases, but the high supply this spring prevented major rent increases.

In Joensuu and Kuopio, homes were rented rapidly in early July. Jarmo Ojalainen, chief executive of Joensuun Elli, which rents student housing in Joensuu, says a few homes are still available and there is no foreseeable need for temporary arrangements.

Small homes are particularly quick to rent in Kuopio, but accommodation is still available for students.

Henrik Laakkonen, chief executive of the rental listing services Vuokraovi and Etuovi, says that despite the broad supply, many tenants find it difficult to find a home. The condition and location of a property, transport connections and nearby services have become increasingly important to renters, he says.

Lappeenranta sees fewer applications

The Lappeenranta Student Housing Foundation received around 200 fewer applications than last year.

Temporary accommodation can be arranged in Lappeenranta if needed. Last year, the temporary accommodation reached its maximum capacity, housing 42 people.

High supply and longer marketing periods indicate that homes are being rented more slowly than before.