POAS celebrates its 60th anniversary!

In the early 1960s, Tampere became aware of a problem that was familiar to many growing cities in Finland. More and more young people were moving to the city to study, but there was little affordable housing suitable for students. The housing shortage made everyday life difficult, and student housing was not yet organized or systematically planned.

Can you guess what was the most common solution for student housing in the 1960s? Before the construction of actual student housing, accommodation was mainly arranged through private landlords or sublandlords. Students lived as subtenants, often in cramped conditions, and finding a place to live was largely based on acquaintances and connections. Stable and predictable housing was something one could only dream of and this inevitably affected the progress of studies.

However, even back then, student housing was centered around the same idea as it is today: the need for affordable and safe homes that support studying and everyday life. For many students, their first home meant independence, new beginnings, and lifelong memories.

POAS was known as Peltolammin opiskelija-asunnot Oy (Peltolammi Student Housing Ltd) when it was founded, as the first student apartments were built in Peltolammi. In 2003, following a corporate merger, the name was changed to its current form, Pirkan Opiskelija-asunnot Oy. This marked the beginning of a development that has grown and expanded over the decades to meet the changing needs of the student community. Today, we have dozens of properties across Tampere, and we are widely known by the acronym POAS.

However, our goal has remained the same since our founding: to promote the idea of affordable, functional housing that meets the needs of students. We want to do our part to ensure that students can focus on their studies and provide them with homes that are easy to live in, grow in, and enjoy.

In honor of our anniversary, we want to be even more involved in the everyday lives of our partners and tenants and organize something special for our tenants. This is our way of thanking all for making POAS more than just a housing provider. Our tenants have created a community with which we have been able to share a journey for several decades.