Changes to student housing benefits – here’s what you need to know

Students have been transferred under a new housing supplement scheme on 1 August 2025. The majority of students can get the new student housing supplement from the beginning of the autumn term 2025.

From 1 August 2025 onwards, students can get a housing supplement for students. This means that general housing allowance will no longer be paid to students after 31 July 2025. The change will not apply to students who live with their child or their partner’s child. They can apply for general housing allowance as before.

You can be paid the student housing supplement if you live in rented or right-of-occupancy housing and you qualify for student financial aid. The student housing supplement is paid for active months of study, and the same annual income limit applies to both the housing supplement and student financial aid. The student housing supplement is a personal benefit. This means that everyone who qualifies must apply for it separately.

How much is the housing supplement for students?

The amount of student housing supplement you can get depends on which municipality you live in and how high your housing costs are. Depending on the municipality you can get a housing supplement of EUR 296 per month, EUR 248 per month or EUR 216 per month. The amount of the student housing supplement is affected only by your own income. It is not affected by the income of your partner or your parents.

If you live in a home owned by or rented from your parent or parents, the maximum student housing supplement you can get is EUR 83 per month.

You can be paid student housing supplement also if you go abroad on a study exchange or complete an entire course of study abroad. The student housing supplement for students studying abroad is EUR 210 per month.

The student housing supplement can be paid only to your own bank account. It cannot be paid directly to your landlord.

Are you about to continue your studies?

If you are going back to your institution of higher education to continue your studies in autumn, apply for the student housing supplement in OmaKela. If you are already being paid student financial aid, apply for the housing supplement for students with a separate application.

You can be paid general housing allowance until 31 July 2025 if you are eligible for it. Students enrolled in higher education who continue their studies in autumn will not be paid either kind of housing benefit in August 2025.

However, if you study during the summer and you are paid student financial aid during the summer months, you can apply to be paid the student housing supplement from 1 August 2025 onwards. Please note that if you are paid student financial aid during the summer months, those months will be deducted from the total number of financial aid months available to you. This will also reduce your annual income limit.

You can also draw down your student loan for the autumn term from 1 August 2025 onwards. The student loan is a government-guaranteed loan that you must pay back. Interest accrued on the loan is added to the loan amount.

Are you about to start new studies?

If you will begin a new course of study at an institution of higher education in autumn, you can apply for the student housing supplement after you have accepted your offer of admission and you know where you will be living during your studies. Apply for the student housing supplement in OmaKela after you have applied for student financial aid.

If you do not know where you will be living in autumn, you should apply for student financial aid first. You can then apply for the student housing supplement after you have signed a lease agreement or a right-of-occupancy agreement.

Teaching begins at institutions of higher education in late August or early September. This means that you can get student financial aid and the housing supplement for students from 1 September 2025 onwards. You can be paid general housing allowance until 31 August 2025 if you are eligible for it.

Who can get general housing allowance?

Some students may still be eligible for general housing allowance. Visit Kela's website to find out who can apply for the general housing allowance after the change.

A brief summary:

From now on, as a student, you may receive a housing supplement as part of your student financial aid.
Remember to apply for the housing supplement separately – it is not granted automatically!
The housing supplement has the same income limits, support months, and conditions as regular student financial aid.
It is only available for months during which you are studying. Therefore, if you study during the summer, you can apply for summer financial aid.
Note: Summer financial aid uses your financial aid months and lowers your income limit
If your income limit is likely to be exceeded in 2025, it is better to return the financial aid from early 2025 (which does not include the housing supplement) rather than cancel the aid for the end of 2025 (which does include the housing supplement).
Students with families can still receive general housing allowance. There are also other situations in which a student may still be eligible for general housing allowance (for example, if their financial aid months have been used up or if they are studying under another benefit instead of student financial aid).

kela.fi/housingsupplement

Contact information:

For advice that takes your benefit details into account, contact Kela: tel. 020 692 209, www.kela.fi/customer-service.
For general guidance on student financial aid, contact Metropolia’s student financial aid service: opintotuki [at] metropolia.fi (opintotuki[at]metropolia[dot]fi).