First home for a young person – Why choose right-of-occupancy housing?

A right-of-occupancy apartment is a safe way for a young person to combine the best parts of rental and owner-occupied living. Right-of-occupancy housing is care-free and allows the resident to increase their wealth.

Right-of-occupancy housing is closer to rental housing than owner-occupied housing. As a resident, you do not own the apartment, and you cannot purchase it for yourself. Instead, you own the right to live in the apartment for as long as you like.

Living in a right-of-occupancy home is carefree, and Asuntosäätiö will take care of your apartment throughout your residence period. If, for example, your refrigerator breaks down, Asuntosäätiö will purchase a new one to replace it.

Furthermore, you can customise the style of your home, since residents are allowed to paint the walls or put up wallpaper if they wish.

Right-of-occupancy housing is a safe form of housing. Although the Finnish government’s policy to cease the production of new right-of-occupancy housing has caused some consternation, residents need not worry: the policy only applies to the construction of new right-of-occupancy properties. The right-of-occupancy system will remain the same, with the exception of new construction.

The resident pays a right-of-occupancy fee for the apartment, which is equivalent to 15 per cent of the purchase value of the apartment. In addition, the resident pays a monthly residence charge, for which housing allowance can be applied for on the same basis as for a rental apartment. The residence charge for a right-of-occupancy home is always lower than the rent for a non-subsidised rental apartment.

When moving into an apartment, the resident will also pay a security deposit, 250 €. The security deposit will be returned to the resident when they move out.

You can apply for housing allowance for the residence charge of a right-of-occupancy apartment on the same grounds as for a rented apartment. As a student, you can receive a housing supplement for a right-of-occupancy home from 1 August 2025 if you have a valid right to study aid.

You can apply for a home loan for the right-of-occupancy fee. The loan is similar to a loan for an owner-occupied apartment, and the interest on the loan is tax-deductible.

The right-of-occupancy contract may be sufficient as collateral for the loan, but the bank may request other collateral, if necessary. To find out if you are eligible for a loan, contact your bank directly.

Asuntosäätiö has many apartments at different price points. The prices vary in terms of both the right-of-occupancy fee and the residence charge.

A right-of-occupancy apartment is a great way for a young person to increase their wealth for the future, for example during your student years.

If you decide to move out, you are refunded for the right-of-occupancy fee. The fee is tied to the building cost index. As long as the general building costs in Finland are on the rise, the right-of-occupancy fee will generate profits.

If you move out after living in the apartment for over two years, the profits will be paid to you tax-free. In addition, if you have paid off a potential mortgage at the same time, you may end up with more money than you initially put into the apartment.

In a right-of-occupancy apartment, you can live at a reasonable price close to your place of work or study and with good transport connections. Most of Asuntosäätiö’s right-of-occupancy apartments are located in growth centers.

Anyone over the age of 18 can apply for a right-of-occupancy apartment, and income does not affect access to the apartment. However, an applicant cannot receive a right-of-occupancy home if they could finance half of the market value of the apartment they are applying for with their own funds.

If you save in an ASP account (home saver’s bonus interest),purchasing a right-of-occupancy apartment will not affect the savings you have accumulated.

You can apply for a right-of-occupancy apartment together with another person. In this case, the application must include the information of all those applying for the apartment.

You can move out of the right-of-occupancy home whenever you want. The period of notice for terminating a right-of-occupancy agreement is three months, and the contract does not include any time limits.

If you are moving to another location for a summer job, for instance, or abroad for a short period of time, you can rent out your apartment temporarily, but only for a maximum of two years.

A right-of-occupancy apartment can also be transferred directly to the resident’s parents or children. Residents in Asuntosäätiö’s apartments can also exchange their apartments directly.

Read more and explore our apartment exchange system.

You can search for a right-of-occupancy home in Asuntosäätiö’s online service. The service will show you all our apartments, both vacant and occupied. Our vacant apartments can also be found on public housing websites, such as etuovi.com and oikotie.com.

To apply for an apartment, you need a queue number, which you can aquire from the national queue register of the Centre for State-Subsidised Housing Construction (formerly Ara). The queue numbers are valid for two years.

You must be of legal age to apply for a queue number. It is advisable to apply for a number right away, even if you are not yet looking to move into a right-of-occupancy home. The residents of right-of-occupancy homes are always selected based on the lowest queue number.

We will provide you with a home that is in good condition and suits your specific needs. Asuntosäätiö is a non-profit organisation with more than 70 years of experience in the field, and it offers the best housing options for all stages of life. We own homes in over 30 municipalities.

We take care of our apartments, and we carry out necessary renovation work before handing any apartment over to the new resident. We invest in comfort, and we want to make settling into your new home as easy as possible. Asuntosäätiö organises plenty of community activities, such as garden parties and volunteer maintenance work, in which you can participate if you want.

Moreover, the owners of Asuntosäätiö’s right-of-occupancy homes are also members of the “Asoetu” reward program, which provides benefits for long-term residents.

Expert in the article: Lauri Penttinen, Sales Manager, Asuntosäätiö.