Wealthier applicants increasingly get right-of-occupancy homes

Applicants who exceed asset limits are increasingly being offered state-supported right-of-occupancy homes in Finland, Yle reports. The law allows exceptions when there are no other applicants for a home.

The trend comes as monthly charges for right-of-occupancy homes have risen, while rental homes are unusually widely available and rents have fallen. Uncertainty about the future of the system has also led residents to move out, making it harder to find new residents and leaving more homes vacant, Yle has previously reported.

Families accepted despite exceeding limits

A family of four in Helsinki secured a large right-of-occupancy home in the city centre before selling their nearby Hitas apartment, a price-regulated home. The right-of-occupancy payment was more than €70,000, and the family had listed its apartment for about €450,000.

The woman said the housing company told them they could apply because the new home had been made available to the general public. The company requested their queue number and an explanation of their assets, but accepted them despite their exceeding the limits. The monthly charge is about €1,600, in addition to the one-off payment.

A woman in Tampere said she and her husband recently sold their detached house for €600,000 and chose to try right-of-occupancy housing rather than buy another home. They secured a spacious three-room apartment by a lake near the city centre after other applicants declined it. Their one-off payment was about €30,000 and the monthly charge is about €1,300.

More homes are available immediately

Helsinki’s largest right-of-occupancy housing company, Haso, says it has seen an increase in residents who exceed the asset limits. It has averaged five such cases a month this year, compared with very few previously. Haso chief executive Harri Palviainen said the numbers remain small among the company’s 7,600 homes.

Homes that remain available after Haso’s offer process can be advertised on Oikotie and opened to anyone. Palviainen said the housing market has left the company with homes available immediately, making it possible for applicants over the asset limits to secure them. Haso currently has more than 350 homes vacant or becoming available.

At Asuntosäätiö, the share of residents exceeding the limits rose from 3.7% to 5%. The government-backed homes are intended for people who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market.

How the asset limits work

Under the Right of Occupancy Housing Act, applicants under 55 are generally considered not to need a right-of-occupancy home if they own a home in the application area that reasonably matches the one they are seeking, or have enough assets to finance more than half the value of an equivalent home. Debts are also taken into account when assets are calculated. The limits can be waived only when there are no other applicants for the home.