STUDENT ACCOMMODATION IN FINLAND EXPLAINED!
If you are considering moving to Finland for either your bachelor’s or masters’ studies, the best way for you to save money during your stay here is by renting a student apartment. In fact, in Finland, university students get to enjoy high quality and affordable student housing no matter where you live, and these apartments come in many forms and sizes. In this blog I will explain what kinds of student apartments are available for international students in Finland.
Types of student apartments in Finland
So what kind of housing options are there for students in Finland? Generally speaking, we can divide the different student apartments in Finland into 4 rough categories:
Shared apartments
Studio apartments
Two-room apartments
Family apartments
Let’s go through all of these one-by-one.
Shared apartments
The most common and the most affordable student apartment type is a room in a shared apartment. In shared apartments, you rent a private, room in a larger apartment that you share with one or more other people. However, before you think about movies about college in the US, it’s really good to understand that a shared apartment is not the same as a dorm room where you would share the bedroom with someone else. Rather in shared apartments, each tenant has their own lockable room that you do not share with other people. However, the kitchen, toilet and bathroom are shared between all the tenants.
Also good to note that most of the shared apartments in Finland come unfurnished, but each of the private rooms should have a wardrobe for your private storage. In addition, the shared kitchens are equipped with a fridge, freezer and a stove but if you want to get some other appliances like a water boiler, microwave oven or a coffee maker, you have to buy these on your own. Also, do note that the majority of shared student apartments in Finland are separated for men and women but there are also a growing number of gender neutral apartments. The availability of these will depend on each apartment provider. If you want to get an idea of what kind of apartments are available, check out the apartment tour video below 👇.
Check out this tour of a furnished shared student apartment 👆
Studio apartment
Next we have studio apartments. There are multiple types of studio apartments available and they are commonly called normal studios, studios with a mini kitchen and studios with a shared kitchen. Regardless of the type, all studio apartments consist of a single room with a private bathroom. However, depending on the type of a studio, it can either have a small kitchen with a fridge, a freezer and a stove, or a “mini kitchen” which is the same as before but it does not have a stove. Alternatively, a studio can also have a shared kitchen where all the apartments in the same floor share a large kitchen with multiple sets of fridges, freezers and other appliances. The idea here is to bring all the tenants together to enhance the sense of community between neighbours.
Regardless of the type of studio apartment itself, they are always rented to a single person and cannot be shared by other people. Just like in the shared apartments, studio apartments most often come unfurnished but with preinstalled wardrobes for storage.
What is really important to understand is that studio apartments are extremely popular and the waiting times for them can be anything between several months to even a year or two. So if you are interested in renting a studio apartment, please make sure to apply for them as early as possible!
Two-room apartment
Next we have two-room apartments that are rented for a single person. Simply put, two room apartments have a separate bedroom, a living-room and a bathroom with the addition of a cooking space, open kitchen or a separate kitchen. Most of these kitchens come equipped with a fridge, freezer and a stove, just like in most studio apartments.
Because these apartments are a bit larger than studios, they are often be a bit more expensive compared to studios. However, the waiting times for two-room apartments are also a bit shorter.
Family apartments
Family apartment are offered, for example, to couples or to families with children. There are a range of different types of family apartments from one-room studios to four-room apartments with a range of kitchen configurations. Do note that most family apartments come unfurnished, however, the standard wardrobes, fridges, freezers and stoves do come with the package. Family apartments are also often located in family-friendly locations where the needs of the children have been taken into account.
In addition to being designed for families, family apartments have one major difference to all other types of student apartments. This is that only one of the tenants needs to be a student. So, for example, if you move to Finland to study and your spouse comes with you with a work visa, you can apply for a student family apartment even if only one of you is studying full-time.
Family apartments apartments are rented on joint tenancy agreements, meaning that the tenants share the responsibility for the rent and other legalities. Just as an example, I have been living in a two room family apartment for quite a while now, and even though I have already graduated (at the time of writing this), we can stay here as long as one of us is studying full-time.
Furnished studio with shared kitchen
Furnished studios with shared kitchens are basically the same as the studios but with the difference that your studio does come equipped with basic furniture like a bed, a desk, a chair, work light and so on. Also naturally, just like with all the other apartments, wardrobes come as standard for storage. However what is really cool is that even though you share a kitchen with other tenants, many of the furnished studios also come with their own private fridges which allow you to store your food in your own room!
Btw, if you are interested in learning about some of the weird but GENIUS things in Finnish homes, do check out the video below 👇.
Genius things in Finnish student apartments 👆
Other notes about student apartments
Can you have pets in student apartments?
Whether or not you can have pets in your student apartment is dependent on the student apartment provider. However, as a general rule of thumb, pets are usually not allowed in shared apartments or in apartments with a shared kitchen.
How long can you live in a student apartment?
The amount of time that you can stay in a student apartment depends on the apartment provider and the type of apartment but most student apartments do have a limit to how long you can stay there. This means that you might have to change apartments at least once or twice during your studies.
Are student apartments in Finland obstruction-free?
If you need an obstruction-free apartment, for example, if you use a wheelchair, please make sure to add this information into your application so that the apartment provider can take this into account when offering you a place.
Next i recommend that you check out this video where I break down the cost of student apartments in Finland, including the rent, utilities, insurances and other mandatory payments 👇.
