Right-of-occupancy housing

Right-of-occupancy housing is a mix between rental and owner-occupied housing. Residents of right-of-occupancy housing pay a right-of-occupancy fee and a monthly management fee to the owner of the building. The apartment cannot be redeemed, but the resident has a permanent right to live in it.

The provisions on right-of-occupancy housing are laid down in a separate Act. With a few exceptions, right-of-occupancy dwellings are financed with state support in the form of state-subsidised housing loans or interest subsidy loans. In the future, provisions on residents’ opportunities to participate in the administration of right-of-occupancy associations will be laid down in the new Right-of-Occupancy Housing Act.

Application for right-of-occupancy housing has changed

1 September 2023
The new provisions on resident selection start to apply and the new resident selection system is adopted. 

31 December 2023
The period of validity of the old, permanent queue numbers ends.

• Application for queue numbers at the national queue number register of the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland Ara | ara.fi

Queue numbers obtained on 1 September or later are valid for two years. One applicant can only have one valid number at a time. When the queue number has been obtained, applications for right-of-occupancy dwellings are submitted directly to the corporations that own owner-occupied dwellings. Applicants are approved as holders of the right of occupancy in the order shown by their queue numbers. The assets of the applicant’s household must be below the set limit.

As a rule, a new fixed-term queue number cannot be obtained. As an exception to this, it may be possible to renew a queue number held by an applicant with disabilities who has not obtained a dwelling they would need during the period of validity of the queue number. In such cases, applications for renewing the queue number are submitted to the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland Ara.

• Right-of-Occupancy Housing Act (393/2021) (in Finnish)

Where to find more information

More information on the resident selection system is available on the website of The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA).

• ARA: Right-of-occupancy housing (in Finnish)

Inquiries regarding the resident selection system can be sent by email to:

[email protected]

Municipalities and right-of-occupancy associations will provide more information about the right-of-occupancy application process.