Reserve enough time for finding a rental flat. Some areas are extremely popular and any vacant flats are rented out very quickly. Once you’ve found a suitable apartment, you should decide quickly whether you want it.

You must pay rent for your dwelling every month. In addition, you must pay a rent security deposit at first. The deposit usually equals one to two months’ rent.

After you have found a flat to rent, make sure the rent is affordable and that the apartment is suitable for you. Please note that heating costs and waste charges are also part of your accommodation costs. Do not rent an apartment with a too high rent price or accommodation expenses.

You can apply for Kela assistance in paying security deposit if you do not have your own income or savings.  Housing costs and basic social assistance – kela.fi

When you move out of the dwelling, you can receive the rent security deposit back if you paid it yourself. However, the whole rent security deposit will not be paid back if you have broken something in the dwelling or failed to pay enough rent, in other words, you owe unpaid rent.

Kuluttajaliitto ry: Rental guide (pdf) Finnish | Swedish | English

Sininauhasäätiö: Vocabulary on housing and social security for immigrants who just moved to Finland PDF: Finnish | Arabic | Kurdish | Tigrinja | Swahili

Rental housing (video)

Source: Takuusäätiö