Subleasing

A student renting an apartment from Hoas can temporarily sublease their apartment to a third party during the summer months (May–August) or for the duration of a study-related work experience or exchange. You must send Hoas a certificate of your work experience or student exchange. The certificate must indicate the exact duration (start and end dates) of the experience/student exchange.

You must notify Hoas at least one month before the subtenant moves in by sending a subleasing agreement with necessary attachments.

Subleasing furnished apartments reserved for exchange students and international degree students is not allowed. These apartments form a school-specific quota and they are rented in co-operation with universities in the capital area.

When subleasing your apartment, you must follow good rental practices and any instructions given by Hoas. The subtenant doesn’t have to be a student.

Always draw up a subleasing agreement in writing. Please use the subleasing form.

As a tenant in a student apartment, you are not entitled to give control of the apartment or a part of it to another person without the lessor’s permission, or allow other persons who are not included in the tenancy agreement to stay in the apartment. Also, the tenant cannot transfer the tenancy agreement to another person, as the lessor requires that the apartment is used by a student. If you sublease your apartment without Hoas’s approval, your own tenancy agreement may be terminated.

The Finnish Landlord Association offers good information on how to be a good landlord.

Hoas does not have any relation to the subtenant and Hoas cannot deal with any matter related to the agreement with the subtenant.

A room in a shared apartment and a studio apartment can only be rented out to one person. A room in a female shared apartment can only be rented to a female and a room in a male shared apartment must be rented to a male. Pets are not allowed in shared apartments. You can rent a one person’s two-room apartment to a maximum of two tenants.

A family apartment can be subleased to the number of people indicated by the bedrooms available (for example, an apartment with three bedrooms can be rented to three tenants). In case of joint responsibility tenancy agreements the subleasing agreement must be signed by all main tenants and their information must be filled out, even if only a part of the apartment is rented out to a subtenant.

If you sublease your apartment, you are still the primary tenant as far as Hoas is concerned, and as such, you are responsible for the condition of the apartment. For example, if there are any costs charged from the tenant during the tenancy period, any such invoices will be addressed to the primary tenant. Since you will be the lessor for your subtenant, you should discuss this with them in advance and agree on ways to handle such situations.

If the subtenant wants to reserve a parking space, the primary tenant should give their consent and make the reservation on behalf of the subtenant. Hoas does not give subtenant their own account details for the sauna and laundry reservation system.

You can only ask for the same rent that you pay Hoas. The rent includes charges for electricity and parking space if they are also collected from the principal tenant by Hoas.

The primary tenant must take care of handing the keys over to the subtenant at the beginning of the tenancy period as well as retrieving them when the subtenant moves out. The primary tenant cannot leave the keys to Hoas for the subtenant to pick up, nor can the subtenant return the keys to Hoas at the end of the subleasing agreement.

Both the primary tenant and the subtenant should take care that their own home insurance is valid and covers everything it needs to. If the subtenant damages your house contents, Hoas will not compensate you. If the subtenant damages the apartment, Hoas will charge the cost of the repairs from the primary tenant. You must agree on the specific details and conditions of the insurance policy with your insurance company. Hoas does not offer home insurance.

If you are entitled to a housing supplement, you must notify Kela of any temporary subtenant. The supplement will cease for the time during which the apartment is rented to a third party. The rent you get from subleasing your apartment is taxable income, so please remember to take this into account when doing your tax return.

At online or the nearest post office, you can easily submit a notification of change of address both to the register office (as required by law) and to the post office with a single form. The post office can also give you cards that you can use to announce your new address to friends and family in Finland.