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Selection criteria
There are rules governing the selection of tenants for rental housing built with state subsidies. We do not have a queue system. Instead, the tenants are selected determined on the basis of wealth and need for housing, for example. We try to offer housing to those who need it the most based on the level of urgency classification provided below. Priority is given to those applicants who are most urgently in need of housing, with the most limited financial means and with the lowest income. Please note that we consider a diverse resident structure, and meeting the selection criteria below does not guarantee obtaining an apartment.
Level 1 = extremely urgent need of housing
The applicant is homeless
Homeless applicants include those living:
- outdoors and in temporary shelters
- in night shelters
- in care and nursing homes
- in a hostel or other temporary accommodation
- in supported or crisis housing, or
- temporarily with relatives or acquaintances due to lack of housing
The applicant is at risk of becoming homeless through no fault of their own
Homelessness is considered a threat if an applicant:
- has been evicted from their current home
- becomes homeless due to the demolition of their home
- becomes homeless as a result of a forced sale of owner-occupied housing, or
- the applicant's current accommodation has been declared unfit for habitation by a decision of a public authority
The applicant has a necessary and permanent need for accessible housing and their current dwelling is not accessible
The applicant lives in very cramped conditions
- Very cramped housing is classified as a situation where three or more persons live in one habitable room or a maximum of 10 m² per person. The kitchen does not count as a habitable room.
The applicant is moving to Espoo where he have a job but no housing
Level 2 = urgent need of housing
The applicant has housing costs that are disproportionately high in relation to their income
- Disproportionately high housing costs are considered to be when a household spends more than 40% of its gross income on rent and other housing costs for its current dwelling
The applicant has a fixed-term lease, which cannot be renewed
The applicant is over 18 years old and lives with their parents in Espoo
The applicant lives in cramped conditions
- Cramped conditions are defined as a situation where more than one person but fewer than three live in one habitable room or a maximum of 15 m² per person. The kitchen does not count as a habitable room. In single-parent households, a situation where the parent has no bedroom of their own is classified as cramped.
Your own or a family member's permanent illness or disability requires healthier or more suitable housing
- Does not apply to the need for accessible housing (see urgency level 1).
- The application must always be accompanied by a medical certificate.
A barrier to the separation of a married or cohabiting couple is lack of housing
Level 3 = in need of housing
All applicants who do not belong to urgency levels 1 or 2
Applicants who exceed the asset ceiling cannot be offered housing.
Level 3 applicants include, for example, those:
- who have a long and/or difficult commute (not applicable to those moving to Espoo from elsewhere for work, see urgency level 1)
- who are starting a family and do not share a home.
- whose housing is unsuitable for shift work
- whose current housing is unsuitable for other reasons