Finding a right-of-occupancy home

When you move to a part-ownership home, you will live on rent for a while after which you can buy the dwelling. You can live in a right-of-occupancy home for the rest of your life but you cannot buy the dwelling.

You can apply for a right-of-occupancy home if

• you are at least 18 years old
• you do not own a home that meets your needs in the area that the application concerns, or
• you do not have enough money for a home that meets your needs.
• If you are aged over 55, applying for a right-of-occupancy home or moving to a new right-of-occupancy home, the wealth limits do not apply to you.

In a right-of-occupancy home, you pay 15% of the total dwelling price as the right-of-occupancy fee. The right-of-occupancy fee is dwelling-specific. The right-of-occupancy fee is adjusted in accordance with the building cost index when you give up your right of occupancy.

No you can’t. As a right of occupancy holder, you can transfer your right of occupancy to a family member, move to another right-of-occupancy home or leave it as inheritance. You cannot transfer your right of occupancy until after you have lived in the apartment for at least two years. The owner of the dwelling cannot terminate your right-of-occupancy agreement.

Yes you can. You can get housing allowance for a right-of-occupancy home from Kela.

To apply for a right-of-occupancy home, you need a queue number. You can get a number from the queue number service of the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland ARA. You can use the same queue number to apply for a home with all companies offering right-of-occupancy homes. The queue number is in effect for two years.

If there is more than one applicant for an apartment, the applicant with the lowest queue number will get the apartment.

Right-of-occupancy homes are available in large cities and municipalities. Right-of-occupancy homes built with state subsidies are owned by

• municipalities
• non-profit corporations
• right-of-occupancy associations.

There are also right-of-occupancy homes built under other financial arrangements belonging to companies and foundations.

It is impossible to give exact waiting times because the applicant situation changes on a daily basis. Some of the locations are more popular than others. It is also difficult to predict how many apartments might be available in the future.

You must notify the building owner when you want to move out from your right-of-occupancy home. As a right-of-occupancy holder, you have a three month notice period. You can send your notice of termination electronically or on paper. The date of termination does not need to be at the turn of the month.