Information for internationals

Before submitting an application, always make sure that you meet the POAS criteria so that you are eligible to apply for a housing. POAS rents apartments for students studying in Pirkanmaa area (no age limit) and working people under 30 years of old. If you do not meet the criteria, you cannot be included in the tenant selections. You can read more about the criteria in detail here.

Are you a degree student?

You can apply for all housing complexes. Please note that in some housing complexes, working applicants are prioritized. These are mentioned on our website.

Are you a working applicant under 30 years of old?

You can apply for all other housing complexes except for those that are aimed only for students. These are mentioned on our website. Please note that PhD students are considered as working applicants so the age limit of 30 years of old applies and some kind of salary needs to be received.

Are you an exchange student?

You can apply only for rooms in shared apartments. Rental agreements are fixed term for the time period of the exchange. The minimum length for the rental agreement is three (3) calendar months. Furnished shared apartments are prioritized for exchange students but there are very few of them, so unfortunately furnishing cannot be guaranteed. Always mention on the application if you are looking for a furnished room.

Are you coming to do an internship?

If you are staying in Finland for under 6 months, you can apply only for rooms in shared apartments. Please note that furnished shared apartments are prioritized for exchange students.

Are you coming for a short-term summer job or short-term internship during summer?

Unfurnished shared apartments can be rented from May to August for short-term accommodation needs, for example because of a summer job or short-term internship. Applicant must be under 30 years of old and the job or internship needs to be paid. The minimum length for the rental agreement is two (2) calendar months

When applying, it is important that the application has all the necessary information and that the information is correct. Please pay attention to these things:

• Make sure your contact information is correct, and we can reach you. Apartment offers are sent by email so make sure your contact information is correct, and your email address is the one you use on a daily basis. When contacting our customer service by email, it is better to use the same email address that you provided on the application. This way we can find your application quickly and smoothly.

• Add all the people that are moving with you on the application. If you are applying with a spouse and/or kids, make sure everyone’s information can be found from the application. The information of both adults must be filled in the 1^st applicant and 2^nd applicant sections. For children’s information there is a separate section in the application. You must inform the personal information of all people moving into the apartment for legal and security reasons. When making the tenant selections, we also must know the exact number of people moving so that an appropriate apartment can be offered. The rental agreement must be signed by both adults, even if only one of them meets the tenant criteria.

• Have realistic and wide search criteria. It is important to make your search criteria realistic so that you have a chance of being included in the tenant selections. If the search criteria is “impossible” (e. g. family apartment under 400 euros for 4 person) you won’t be included in any tenant selections as such apartments do not exist. We cannot offer anything that is outside of your application’s search criteria. See more below “Rents and apartment types in Finland”

• Also make sure that your search criteria is as wide as possible so you will be included in as many tenant selections as possible. If you only apply for a very specific apartment types that we have very few of, it could be that those kinds of apartments do not become available in your needed time frame. Include all possible areas, housing complexes and apartment types that you would be willing to consider. Also set your rent maximum correctly as we cannot offer anything above it. Many small one-bedroom apartments are in the same price range as studios, so it is worth including them in the application as well.

• Date for needing the apartment. If the date for needing the apartment is not set correctly, you can possibly receive an offer too early or too late. Declining an offer affects your possibilities of receiving another offer in the near future. Also remember to update your application if the date or your situation changes.

• Explain your situation. As the tenant selections are made based on the urgency and need, it’s important that our rental agencies get a good understanding of your situation. You can explain your situation more and provide other necessary information in the “additional information” box on the application.

• Add all needed attachments to the application. Please add all attachments to the application immediately when submitting it. Needed attachments are: residence permit, study certificate or work contract and possible pay slip.

About waiting times and possibilities of receiving an offer

A specific waiting time cannot be estimated as POAS does not have queues, and the tenant selections are made based on urgency and need. Situations can change on a daily or weekly basis. Things that can affect the waiting time and possibilities of receiving an offer:

• Search criteria. If your search criteria is very narrow, it decreases the chances of receiving an offer. If the criteria is limited for example for a very specific apartment type that there are only a few of, it could be that those kinds of apartments won’t become available at all. It’s important to keep your search criteria as wide as possible as long as you can accept anything offered within your search criteria.
• Other applicants and their situations. As tenant selections are made based on urgency and need, the situation of other applicants can effect on your chances of receiving an offer. If there are many people applying for the same apartments as you, the chances of receiving an offer are lower. If there are more urgent applicants, they must be prioritized.
• Time of the year. Late summer and early autumn are the busiest times at POAS. The total number of applicants is very high during those seasons and a very limited amount of applicants can be offered housing.

Contacting customer service

After submitting an application, you do not need to contact customer service because your application will be received and automatically considered in the tenant selections. We do not have the resources to update all applicants about the tenant selections and we will only contact if we can make an offer. However, if you have an issue with the application, you can contact our customer service. POAS customer service can be contacted by email or phone. Before contacting, please pay attention to the following:

• Customer service cannot estimate waiting times or chances of receiving an offer.
• Offers cannot be made by request and you cannot get an offer by contacting customer service. All offers are made based on the applications and the need and urgency of the apartment.
• You cannot affect the tenant selections or increase your possibilities of receiving an offer by repeatedly contacting customer service. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to update all applicants about the tenant selections and apartments that are becoming available. We will only contact you if we can make an apartment offer.
• We can never guarantee an offer/apartment to anyone. If you have applied, your application will automatically be considered in the tenant selections, if apartments matching it become available.
• We contact you only if we can make an offer. Offers are sent by email. If you have not heard from us or received an offer, that unfortunately means that there is nothing we could offer at that moment.

We always have more applicants than we have available apartments. This means that we simply cannot offer housing to all of those who are in need. We recommend applying through other companies as well, especially when the need for an apartment is urgent.

You can check out all of our apartments and submit your housing application here.

Welcome to Finland!

When applying, it is good to keep in mind the rents and apartment types in Finland and set your search criteria realistically.

• Shared apartments (solu) are around 250-400 euros per room.
• Studio apartments (1h) are around 400-700 euros.
• One-bedroom apartments (2h) are around 600-900 euros.
• Two-bedroom apartments (3h) are around 700-1100 euros.

These are indications about the price ranges, some apartments could be more or less.

There are certain limitations when it comes to the number of people living in certain apartment types. If there are too many people in too small an apartment, the wear and tear of the apartment cannot be considered normal anymore. Please pay attention to the following when applying:

• Shared apartments (solu) are strictly rented for one person/room. If you want to apply for a shared apartment together with someone, both people need to submit their own applications for their own rooms. When living in a shared apartment, it is important to respect your roommate’s domestic peace and privacy. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to accommodate another person in your room even temporarily. When applying for a shared apartment, please familiarize yourself with the rules.
• Studio apartments (1h) are rented mainly for one person. We do not rent studios for families with children.
• One-bedroom apartments (2h) are usually rented for 1-2 people.
• Two-bedroom apartments (3h) are rented for a minimum of 2 people. Families with children are prioritized. If you are applying alone, you cannot apply for two-bedroom apartments.