Are you going on exchange? You can temporarily transfer the tenancy, for example, to another exchange student coming to Aalto University. You can look for a temporary tenant through Aalto’s community marketplace. AYY must approve the tenancy transfer at least one month before the agreement begins. Permission for the tenancy transfer must be applied for in the Domo system. 

Please remember the following:

• A transfer of tenancy is always a tenancy agreement between AYY’s main tenant and the temporary tenant. The main tenant is always responsible for handing over and collecting the keys when the temporary tenant moves out.
• When applying for permission, make sure to select the correct option for temporary transfer of tenancy. You can find the options here>
• Fill in the contract template carefully. For example, the rent must be the same as what you pay for the AYY apartment. However, you may charge a reasonable additional fee for things like the use of furniture.
• You can find the contract templates using the button below.
  

Compensation for the right of residence during temporary transfer of tenancy

If you are applying for a compensation for the right of residence during your exchange period, make sure the temporary tenant has paid the AYY membership fee. You can ask them for a receipt of the paid membership fee to attach to your application. If the temporary tenant has not paid the AYY membership fee, you cannot apply for compensation.

Fire alarm checks in properties during summer 2025 

AYY will conduct fire alarm checks and replacements in AYY’s properties during the summer from 15 June to 15 August 2025.

These measures are based on changes to the Rescue Act, according to which property owners will become responsible for the maintenance of fire alarms starting from 1 Jan 2026.  Specific visit times for each apartment will be announced separately in notices delivered to mail slots by the contractor.

Students, check your housing benefits (now)!

Housing benefits for students will change in August, when the majority of higher education students will be transferred from the general housing allowance to the student housing supplement on 1 Aug 2025.

The maximum amount of the student housing supplement is EUR 216–296 per month, covering up to 80% of your rent. Please check the amount you will receive, as the change may reduce your housing benefit by as much as EUR 100 per month. 
 
Since the housing supplement is part of student financial aid, the same income limits apply to both. However, the housing supplement is not affected by your partner’s income. The housing supplement is a personal benefit, which means that all students must apply for it separately. You can apply for the housing supplement in the OmaKela e-service starting in June, and the supplement can be paid starting from 1 August 2025 at the earliest. 
 
The housing supplement is only paid for the months when you also receive student financial aid. If you don’t receive student financial aid during the summer, you won’t receive the housing supplement either. Please note! This could mean you won’t receive the housing supplement for August. However, you may take out a student loan starting from 1 August. 
 
If you have children, have used up all your months of student financial aid, or your student financial aid payments have been suspended, this change will not affect you, and you can continue to apply for the general housing allowance. 
 
The Finnish Government decided on changes to housing benefits as part of public finance savings in spring 2024. Aalto University Student Union (AYY) has opposed the transfer from the general housing allowance to the housing supplement, as well as the cuts to housing benefits for students.

Exceptional opening hours:

The housing services are close on

• Wed 11 June 2025
• Wed 18 June 2025 the office closes at 14.30
• Fri 20 June 2025
• 3 July-27 July 2025

Exceptional telephone service hours:

Telephone service for housing services is closed on

• Wed 11 June 2025
• Wed 18 June 2025 the phone services close at 14.30
• Fri 20 June 2025
• 3 July-27 July 2025

Otherwise, we are available as usual on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:00 to 15:00. On Please note that on moving days (the first weekday of each month), we are open only for moving-related matters from 12 noon to 16.00.
Moving days for the autumn term 2025 are 1 July, 1 Aug, 1 Sep, 1 Oct, 3 Nov, 1 Dec.

You can find the contact details and more information about the service office below.

Is your student apartment affordable but beautiful? Take part in The Prettiest Student Home in Finland 2025 competition! 🏠

We’re looking for the prettiest, budget-friendly student home in Finland. The competition is organised by The Finnish Associations of Student Housing Organisations SOA ry and other student housing organisations in Finland.

Instructions for participants:
💜You live in an AYY student apartment
💜Send a picture, a set of pictures, or a short video of your home by 4 June 2025 via email to netta.savinko@ayy.fi Contestants’ pictures and videos will be published on AYY’s and the competition’s Instagram accounts @suomenkauneinopiskelijakoti
💜Please include information about your housing type, neighbourhood, and monthly rent. 

Among the participants, we will raffle four S-Group gift cards worth EUR 20! In addition, all participants will be entered into the national final, where the winner will be selected by a professional jury. The evaluation will focus on aesthetics, comfort, and price level. The main prize is a EUR 500 gift card to Finnish Design Shop. ✨

What does it mean to secondary lease your apartment? 

A secondary lease refers to a lease where the primary tenant temporarily rents the apartment to one or several secondary tenants, and the primary tenant does not live in the apartment during that period. During the summer period (1 Apr-30 Sept), AYY housing can be secondary leased for up to four months for anyone and for any reason. Secondary leases must be made for a fixed term.

If you want to secondary lease your apartment, you must request a permission to do so in Domo by submitting a secondary lease notice. The notice must be submitted at least one month before the beginning of the secondary lease. You must attach to the notice the secondary lease including the signature of the primary tenant (you) and the secondary tenant. In Domo, you can find the notice from your lease by clicking on the top corner of the lease under the heading “Sign a lease”. More detailed instructions for filling out the form can be found on the page. 

The apartment must be secondary leased under the same conditions and the same rent that are included in your own lease. However, you can ask the secondary tenant for a deposit and reasonable compensation for the use of your furniture, for example. Please add these issues in the secondary lease. For justified reasons, AYY may refuse a permission to secondary lease, even if the conditions above are met. If the apartment is secondary leased without AYY’s permission, AYY is entitled to terminate the lease of the main tenant.

Summer housing agreements are made starting from the beginning of May or June.

Anyone who needs short-term housing can apply for summer housing.
Summer apartments are well suited for those working or studying in the metropolitan area for the summer. 🏡☀️

The apartments are mainly shared apartments in Espoo or two-room apartments in Eastern Helsinki. All the apartments are unfurnished.

Agreements are made for a fixed term of two or three months, ending by the end of August at the latest. It is not possible to make shorter or longer agreements.

You can find more detailed information about the apartments at Domo: 

If you have any questions, please contact the housing services

Parliament has decided that students will transfer from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme starting from August. Please follow Kela’s website for up-to-date instructions on how to apply for the housing supplement. 

Students are eligible for the housing supplement if they live in rental or right-of-occupancy housing and receive student financial aid. Please note that this change will not affect students living with their child or their spouse’s child. They will continue to be eligible for the general housing allowance also in the future. If you live in a home owned by you or your partner, you are not eligible for the housing supplement. 

The housing supplement is only paid for the months when you are studying. Receiving the housing supplement and the amount of it depend on your housing costs and income. The same annual income limit applies to both the housing supplement and other forms of student financial aid. 

Everyone, including those already receiving student financial aid, must apply for the housing supplement separately from Kela. Applications can be submitted starting from June, using the notification of changes for student financial aid. New students can apply for housing supplement at the same as they apply for student financial aid.  

In the future, the housing supplement will cover 80 per cent of the rent or residence charge. However, the maximum rate of the housing supplement will be EUR 216, EUR 248 or EUR 296 per month, depending on the municipality in which the student lives. In Espoo, Helsinki, Vantaa and Kauniainen, the maximum amount of the housing supplement is €296/month. 

If living with friends, it should be noted that only a student’s own income affects eligibility and the amount of the housing supplement. The income of other people living in the same apartment will not affect the amount or eligibility for the housing supplement. Previously, a student may not have been eligible for the general housing allowance due to a spouse’s or roommate’s income. 

Learn more about how to apply for the housing supplement as a continuing or new student: