So, I got an apartment. When can I move in?

After your tenancy agreement has begun, you can move into your Kuopas apartment. You don’t have to move in the first day of the contract. Also, you don’t have to send us receipts about your rent payments.

You can find the instructions for using the storage room in your building in the storage room. Add room number and date to the storage room list when you claim the storage box. When you move out, overline your mark.

Furnished apartments have bed with a new mattress, blanket and a pillow. If the apartment was rented the previous month, a new mattress, blanket and pillow are delivered to your apartment during the first business day of the month. The apartment may have the old bed set left from the previous tenant, if you move in during the weekend and the first day of the month is during a weekend or a holiday. During the first business day of the month, the logistics company will use a key to access the rooms if no one is home.

Please note that when moving, you must not park your car on the emergency lane without supervision. The parking control of the city of Kuopio is responsible for monitoring and issuing fines for parking violations in the yard areas.

Study certificate

Always remember to send your study certificate before collecting the key! You can send the study certificate to us by using our secure encrypted email portal. Those who change apartments within Kuopas must also send a study certificate or transcript of study records. Tenants can send certificates via OmaKuopas tenant page.

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.

How do I get the keys to my apartment?

As a tenant you are entitled to receive a single key to your apartment. The key also lets you into the common facilities in your house. If you move in with your partner or with a child, you may get more keys.

You can get the keys from the Kuopas office (at Torikatu 15, 70110 KUOPIO) beginning from the first business day of your rent agreement.

You can collect the key from our office from 12:00 PM on the day of the start of the tenancy agreement or on the following business day. If the start date of the tenancy agreement is a holiday or weekend, the moving day is the next business day. You can also pick up the key later.

You can see the key pick up dates 2024 from the table below:

It is possible that the tenant leaving your new apartment will be an internal Kuopas changer. In that case, they have the right to move out by 16:00 on the first of the month or the following business day. In the meantime, please move in and out by mutual agreement.

All other times outside our office hours it is possible to get access to the apartment through our 24/7 service by paying a non returnable fee of 70 € (key collection via the maintenance duty +358 (0) 44 7640 760). The key has to be collected from our office. We will ask for your ID card and signature when giving the key. It is possible that the previous and coming tenant make a written contract of transferring the keys. See instructions from Tenant’s guide.

You’ll get the keys free of charge during working hours:

• Monday to Friday at 12:00–15.00
• First working day in every month at 12:00–15:30

You can also authorize someone else to collect the key for you. Send Kuopas an email with name of the person coming to get the key for you. We will ask for their ID as well.

Please remember, that the rooms in shared apartments have locks. Don’t leave your key inside and lock the door.

If you are picking up the key during a weekend or outside our office hours, please use the backyard door and ring the doorbell (asiakaspalvelu). See this map for guidance: Kuopas entrance map.

What should I do first?

When you pick up your keys, you should fill in the Move-in inspection (within 14 days), a form which you should fill in as first thing when you go into your apartment and inspect the condition of it.

If there is something in the apartment that needs fixing, please fill in a Fault report also. Our customer service does not handle Fault reports by email.

If the previous tenant has not cleaned the apartment well or something is missing, please immediately contact our maintenance service.

You can fill in the Move-in inspection here.

How to get a smooth start for living?

By law, it is the tenant`s responsibility to notify the local registration authorities of a change of address. Visit www.changeaddress.fi to make the fastest and most affordable notification of change of address around the clock. Remember to inform your room number if you are living in a shared apartment.

You can find information about internet here: Internet, TV and modems

If in your apartment offer is written that you will need to buy your own electricity, you need to make your own electricity contract. This is usually the case in family apartments. In that case please read the instructions for that: Instructions for electricity contract

If you need a parking space for your car, or if you want to your own sauna turn, please contact the Kuopas housing office customerservice@kuopas.fi. Unfortunately you can’t charge electric vehicles from the heating posts.

Information regarding bus tickets and public transport schedules can be found from Kuopio region public transport’s (Vilkku) website.

OmaKuopas tenant’s page

If you have a finnish bank account with a possibility to use bank account identification, you can log in to the OmaKuopas tenant’s page! You can sign up on the first day of your contract.
From the tenant’s page, you can make fault reports or move-in inspections, edit your contact information, ask questions from maintenance, see your payment balance, download your rental agreement, check rent payment information, send us encrypted messages and files, and receive messages and announcements.

If you cannot use electronic identification with online banking credentials, you can visit our office to identify yourself with an identity card.

Please always send messages and files containing personal information via the tenant’s page.

Decorating – Is it allowed to drill holes in the walls?

The fast turnover of tenants sets certain restrictions on interior decoration: the walls and furniture must remain intact for future tenants.

We hope that our tenants use free-standing furniture, hang pictures on the room’s ceiling-level hanging lists, and avoid all kinds of wall attachments.

All attachments, drilling, painting, alterations, etc., to the structures are generally prohibited. In exceptional cases, permission must always be obtained from Kuopas maintenance.

Room doors in shared apartments

Please note that the shared apartments’ room doors are locked. On the side of the lock case, above the lock bolt, there is an adjustment button with which the lock can be set to a locked or unlocked position.

Buying used furniture?

Pests can enter the apartment through used furniture or souvenirs from abroad.

If you are moving into a furnished apartment, and there has been a tenant in the apartment during the previous month, a new mattress, blanket, and pillow included with the bed will be delivered to the apartment on the first weekday of the month. The delivery company will replace the mattress, blanket, and pillow using the master key if the tenant is not at home. If you move into a furnished apartment on a weekend or a public holiday, there might be a mattress, blanket, and pillow brought for the previous tenant that has not yet been replaced with new ones.

When buying used furniture, be cautious and inspect them for signs of pests.

If you discover pests in your apartment, especially bedbugs, please contact maintenance immediately.

Rent

The student houses are financed by state-subsidized housing loans and the rents are calculated on a non-profit basis. A separate fee is charged for the use of electricity, sauna and parking.

These fees are in the rent invoice. In furnished apartments the furniture fee is already included in the rent.

Payments

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 the rent agreement. You can pay multiple rents in one payment, if you like. Unfortunately, the due date of the rent cannot be postponed.

When paying the rent, use the pre-printed rent invoices which you get with your key from Kuopas. We always also send the rent invoice to your email. Please make sure you pay your rent to the correct bank account and use the correct reference number. Do not pay your rent to the deposit account. All payments must be done by using a bank transfer. Finnish banks don’t accept cash for payments, so please keep that in mind. If necessary, open a bank account in your home country from where you can make the international payments on time.Please, do not send receipts of your monthly rental payments to Kuopas, as we don’t need them.

The charges that are not paid or that are paid late will be handled by a collection company called Intrum Oy. If Intrum sends you a bill, you should pay the missing rent to them. You can call and ask help from Intrum, the number is in the collection letter, if you happen to receive one. You can always also call or email Kuopas, if you have any questions about rent payments.

What kind of rules and regulations should I follow?

Make yourself at home!

Living in a student house means co-operation with your room mates and neighbours. Order regulations and other rules are meant to be followed. By using common sense and by also listening to the opinions of others in interaction with roommates and neighbours, you can positively affect your own as well as community’s enjoyment.

You can download our rules and regulations here.

Also see our Tenant’s guide, there are many useful guides that can answer your questions.

Also note that as a tenant you are responsible for cleaning and minor maintenance work of your apartment. See more information ofhome maintenance.

Do I need home insurance?

Yes, it is a good idea. The real estate insurance taken by Kuopas does not cover the damages of your personal property or your own accidents.

Let’s say, if water damage takes place in an apartment near you and damages your belongings, a home insurance is the only way to get compensation. Also, if your own dish machine, as an example, breaks down and leaks water to the floor, the repair work for the floor is expensive and insurance is a good thing to have.

Contact insurance companies for more information. As an example: https://www.op.fi/private-customers/insurance/home-insurance