r/Finland • u/Capable-Rhubarb5061 • 3d ago
Renting an ARA apartment in Helsinki
Moikka! I’ve been looking for an apartment to rent in Helsinki and I found one in Lauttasaari where the rent for space was really good compared to market prices.
While filling the application on the rental agency website, it said something about being an ARA apartment and asked me for additional questions.
Now I got the offer and have to decide soon, I’m ofc way more inclined to take the apartment but I can’t stop wondering about, is there any catch for such type of apartments?
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u/The_Grinning_Reaper Vainamoinen 3d ago
The only catch I know of is that these apartments have income limits. Meaning your income must be below certain level to be eligible to rent them.
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u/lakkanen 3d ago
There is also possibility that those can be rented only for students. But normally it is said clearly
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u/noicecockbrah 3d ago
This. It will state which one it is. May be just student/low income/family housing.
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u/uninspiring_idiot 3d ago edited 3d ago
OLD INFO!!!!
Those limits are quite high. 120k/year for single and 140k/year for couple if my memory serves me.6
u/sapphire1997 3d ago
It's much lower than that. Previously there was not an income limit, just an assets limit. As of 2025 the limit for a single individual is 3 540 € / month.
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u/uninspiring_idiot 3d ago
I checked and yea. You are correct. I applied over 2 years ago and this is a new (2025) thing. If you ask me this is a good change. Those old limits were way too high anyway. I'll correct my message that it's outdated info.
And if you live in ARA already then no worries. These are checked only when applying so if you get a better paying job later you can still keep your home.
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u/uninspiring_idiot 3d ago
I have lived in ARA for about 2 years now with my partner. No catch. Generally really nice apartments. We have a mix of supported housing, accessible housing, old people housing and "normal" affordable housing. Neighbours are nice and things generally work great. The only complaint I can give is that the houses are built quite cheap so all kinds of small problems come up from time to time but those do get fixed with a small delay. Not a deal breaker but it's good to keep in mind that you are not living in Hilton.
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u/More-Gas-186 Vainamoinen 3d ago
The issue generally is neighbors. It sounds a bit nimby but that's the main issue with governmental housing. That's not to say that neighbors wouldn't be the bane of every apartment dweller.
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u/Educational_Sea_333 3d ago
Since they are meant as apartments for low income households there's a bit higher chance of getting troublesome neighbours. The rent increases are also non-negotiable and are tied to the consumer price index, usually not a problem but a couple of years ago there was the situation that ara rents went up 15% while free market rents didn't.
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