Do you want to apply for an apartment?

At earliest you may apply for housing after you have been formally accepted and you have received a confirmation from your school in Kuopio. You can apply for housing six months before the need of an apartment. For exchange students it is recommended to also read this guide: Guide for Exchange & Master’s degree students

Students under the age of 18 are required to have their parents’ consent for liability on the tenancy agreement.

Kuopas’ apartments are meant for all degree, doctoral and exchange students studying in the following institutions in the city of Kuopio and its surroundings:

• University of Eastern Finland
• University of Applied Sciences
• High school
• Vocational institute or equivalent

Selection and priority are based on the following, according to Varke’s (Centre for State-subsidised Housing Construction) rules:

• The urgency of your need for an apartment
• The amount of your monthly steady income during your studies

The right of occupancy will be considered depending on the housing situation for those studying in adult high school, on an apprenticeship contract, at an open university or university of applied sciences.

If you are a student coming to Finland from outside the EU, we recommend that you apply for accommodation only after you have received your residence permit. Unfortunately, we cannot cancel your tenancy agreement if you are unable to arrive to Finland.

You cannot accept an apartment as an absent student. You must be registered as being present to your educational institution in order to accept a Kuopas apartment.

► There is no waiting list system at Kuopas.

► Pets are welcome in studios and family apartments (i.e. two- and three-room apartments), except in some apartments in Torikatu and in Satamakatu F-building. In shared apartments, pets are allowed only if all tenants in the apartment agree. If a new tenant moves in and does not accept the pet, a new home must be found for the pet.

► In family apartments, at least one of the couple must be a student.

► Studios under 28 m² are meant for one person only. Studios from 28 m² and larger can be rented to couples also. Apartments sized below 40m² can’t be used as family apartments with children.

► One month is the minimum time period for a rental agreement.

Even if you are moving from another Kuopas’ apartment, you need to give us your notice of termination concerning your previous tenancy agreement. The notice of termination time is needed also if your building is demolished or sold by Kuopion Opiskelija-asunnot Oy. The term of notice is at minimum one full calendar month.

Please make sure, that before you accept an offer from Kuopas, you have terminated the contract of the old apartment and that you don’t have to pay the rent for two apartments at the same time, if you don’t plan to do so.

Example: If you terminate your current contract during January, you still have to pay the rent of February.

More information about terminating a contract can be found here: Termination of contract and graduation

Apartment search

The search result will show you all locations which have apartments that match your search. Furnished apartments are marked with (F). The building’s info page has a link called gallery of decorated apartments, which will take you to the Apartment gallery page dedicated to that building.

It is recommended to submit a housing application with as many options as possible

Each location has the Apartments list, which list all the apartments in the location. Adding the apartment to your application from the Apartments list is the most secure way to apply to a certain type of an apartment. In this way, it is possible that we can offer you that apartment type when the apartment type is available in that location. It also adds those apartments which are available now and available soon to your application.

You can also see the available and soon to be available apartments from the location’s page. If you add the apartment to your application from Available and Soon to be available lists, you are applying only to that certain apartment. Please know, that studio apartments are not usually available immediately, so the applicant may have to wait for an offer for an available studio apartment. We suggest that if you want to apply to studio apartments, you choose several possible apartments from Apartments list. Also, during Fall all our apartments are normally full. This means, that you should also apply to rooms from shared apartments and family apartments from the Apartments list, as we can’t ensure that you will be offered the apartment from the Available now or Soon lists.

To send a general application, like “all studios in Kuopio”, you can proceed from “Apply” button in up right. To apply furnished apartments, choose all suitable furnished apartments from Katiska (Katiskaniementie 6), Pankkola (Kuntokuja 2) and Särki (Särkiniementie 30).

Application form

You can browse our locations and apartments and add them to your application from the Apartment search. If you wish to send a more general application, you can skip the Apartment search.

If you are looking for a furnished apartment, it is easiest to search for all furnished apartments in the Apartment search, choose them to your apartment shopping basket and apply with those selections.

If you are applying for a family apartment, remember to include the information of all family members in the application.

Shared apartment with friends: Choose this application type when you want to apply Kuopas housing with a friend. Each applicant must submit their own shared apartment application, and the names and email addresses of the other applicants must be included in the free-form “Additional information” field on the last page of the application. If, for example, three people are applying together, three separate applications must be submitted, and each application must include the details of the two other applicants. You can apply for a whole shared apartment that is currently available, where each tenant has their own room and a separate rental agreement, or alternatively, a family apartment. Friends usually make a sublease agreement when renting a family apartment together.

The application is valid for three months. You will receive an email one week before the application expires. You can use the link in the email to renew the application. The application can be submitted 6 months before the date of need. If you apply together with your partner, you both will be contracting parties in the contract. Remember this when you terminate the contract as we will need the notice of termination from both contracting parties.

If there are changes to your application or if you want to make additions to your apartment choices, please send a new application. A new application does not slow down the process of getting an apartment. Please remember to make sure that the information in your application remains up-to-date.

Please also make sure that you fill in your contact information (email and phone number) correctly on the application. We will send you an apartment offer by email. In addition, important tenant notices will be sent to tenants by email, so please check your email regularly. Utility bills, such as water bills and other separate bills, will be sent by email to the email address you have provided in the application.

You can also add both Kuopas email addresses as a safe sender in your email. This way you can prevent important emails from going to spam mail. The email addresses are:

• asiakaspalvelu@kuopas.fi
• customerservice@kuopas.fi

Apartment type markings

There’s few abbreviations in Apartment search. Here you can find their meanings.

• (F) = furnished
• poikasolu/tyttösolu = shared apartment for boys/girls
• h = room (huone)
• k = kitchen (keittiö)
• kk = kitchenette (keittokomero)
• tk/tp = open kitchen (tupakeittiö)
• kt = open plan kitchen (keittotila)
• minikeittiö/mk = small kitchen
• yht.keittiö = common kitchen (yhteiskeittiö)
• parveke = balcony
• ransk.parv. = french balcony (ranskalainen parveke)
• alkovi = alcove
• s = sauna

For example:

• 1h+k = 1 room + kitchen (studio apartment)
• 2h+kk = 2 rooms + kitchenette (2-room family apartment)
• 3h+k (tyttösolu) = 3 rooms + kitchen (shared apartment for 3 girls)

When will I receive an apartment offer?

You will receive a proposal for tenancy agreement by email. Check your email regularly!
The proposal will contain the address of your new apartment/room, its type, size, rent and the starting date of the rental period. The tenancy agreement begins if you pay the deposit before the due date and send the receipt to us by email.

NOTE! Apartments are offered to applicants closer to the time of their housing need. The application can be sent at earliest 6 months before the need of an apartment, but we can usually offer the apartments later to the applicant.

Usually you will receive the offer about one month before your planned arrival, but it can come sooner. You will have only few days to decide, if you will take the offered apartment / room or not.

We get the information about the most popular available rooms one month ahead. If you are applying for a room starting on 1ˢᵗ January, you will get a proposal for tenancy agreement at latest in the beginning of December. If you are applying for a room on autumn semester, you will get proposal for tenancy agreement at latest in the beginning of July. In the summer the offer may come in a shorter notice time. You can see all our currently free rooms from the Apartment search.

If we don’t offer you the apartment you chose in the application, it means that we don’t have it available. If that is the case, we always try to offer you something similar.

I was offered an apartment. What next?

To confirm the acceptance of the apartment you must pay the deposit payment. The tenancy agreement begins if you pay the deposit before due date and send the receipt for your payment by email to Kuopas’ office. The amount for a shared room is 250 € and for a single apartment and a family apartment 400 €. This is the guarantee you give to us, of your intention of looking after all obligations concerning your apartment. The deposit payment has to be paid immediately after receiving an apartment offer to keep the apartment reserved for you.
Please remember to use the reference number in your payment. The reference number is in the offer email.

The apartment offer is usually valid for only a few days. Please remember to check the due date for the rent deposit on your apartment offer.

The demand for student apartments is very high in the Fall period. Because of this, we might offer you the apartment starting from 1ˢᵗ of August, even if your school would start in September. This means, that you also have to pay for the rent of August. If you want to be sure that you have an apartment, it is a good idea to accept the early offer. If you don’t want to accept it, we will offer you an apartment starting from September later, if they are available.

When the rental period is over the deposit will be returned to you within one month of the end of your tenancy agreement, granted that you have fulfilled all obligations to Kuopas and the apartment is clean and in good condition.

Please notice that foreign bank may charge some costs for a transaction. Ask your bank how to transfer the correct amount! If the amount of the deposit payment we receive is incomplete because of the transferring costs, we will have to make a request for the rest of the amount. When returning the deposit, we transfer the same amount from our account that we have received from you. The amount that reaches your account may be less because of the transaction costs. Please ask your bank about the transferring costs.

Please note, that in addition to the deposit payment, you are also liable to pay the rent starting from the date your tenancy agreement has come to force. The rent and other fees are due the 5ᵗʰ of each month. If the payment is delayed, collection company Intrum Oy will charge normal overdue charges and interest for overdue. Your rent payment information can be found from your rent invoice which will be sent to you after we receive your deposit payment. You can pay multiple rents at once, if you like.

Tenancy agreement

The tenancy agreement is signed electronically in Visma Sign. Once we have received your deposit payment, we will send you an email with a link to sign the tenancy agreement. You will receive an email with a code to successfully sign the agreement. You do not need a bank account to sign. All parties to the contract must sign the contract electronically.

If the contract is made in joint names, each person must sign the contract online separately if they want to download a copy of the contract themselves. The second signatory will receive a version with both signatures.

Please remember to save the agreement in the service before you confirm it. In the image below you can see instructions on how to save the contract before closing the signature process.

Click the image to expand it.

Kela will receive your tenancy agreement directly from Kuopas when you select us from the list of landlords in the Kela service portal.
To submit an electronic rent deposit for basic income support, please give your consent to Kela so that the rent deposit can be sent directly to the landlord.

The tenancy agreement (Open ended) is valid for the duration of your studies in case you don’t terminate the agreement earlier. All tenancy agreements are open ended, if we have not agreed that the contract is fixed. According to the tenancy agreement and the law, on open ended contract you are liable to give a full month’s notice on the termination of the tenancy.

The tenancy agreement can also be made for a fixed period, for example after you have finished your studies or for a summer period.

Renting your apartment to a third party is only allowed with our permission. The use of Airbnb for Kuopas apartments is forbidden.

The tenancy agreement contains information of the apartment’s area as follows:

• Area (m²): The surface area of the entire apartment or shared room.
• Assessed relative value (m²): Apartment-specific rent determination refers to the distribution of rent accumulation to apartments other than directly according to surface area. For example, the ratio of the rents of smaller and larger apartments is controlled by allocation.
• Other rented area (m²): The surface area of the shared apartment’s common areas divided per tenant.

How to decline an offer?

You can decline our offer and wait for a different offer, if our offer doesn’t match your application (area, rent, moving in date, apartment type). If you decline an offer, you must always inform us immediately, so that we are able to offer the apartment to the next person. The application will become invalid automatically if you do not decline the offer.

If you decline an offer that matches your application, you will need to send us a new application to receive new offers.

Do I need to deliver a study certificate to Kuopas?

All students must provide their study certificate (and transcript of study records) to Kuopas before collecting a key to their apartment/room.

How do I deliver a study certificate to Kuopas?

If you start in a new educational institution, a study certificate or other similar official certificate is sufficient, which shows your study rights at the educational institution. If you have already studied at your educational institution for more than a year, you must also submit a transcript of your study records together with your study certificate.

You can attach the certificates to your application. If you did not attach certificates to the application, you can send them by using our secure encrypted email portal before collecting the key. Those who change apartments within Kuopas must also send a study certificate or transcript of study records. Tenants can also send certificates via OmaKuopas tenant page.