Your Accomodation

Accommodation for HAAGA-HELIA Exchange Students in Helsinki is provided in student apartments owned by HOAS - the foundation for student housing in the Helsinki area. HAAGA-HELIA has an agreement with HOAS for apartments in the Pasila, City Centre (Kamppi) and Kannelmäki districts of the city.

Students in Porvoo are accommodated in a student apartment building in a suburb of the town. If you are going to study at HAAGA-HELIA Porvoo Campus, please look at the Porvoo information page to find out more details. Please note that HAAGA-HELIA arranges accommodation ONLY for exchange students.

Where the apartments in Helsinki are:

• Pasila - Junailijankuja 5
• City Centre (Kamppi) - Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 29
• Kannelmäki - Klaneettitie/Kitarakuja

How the apartments are allocated

Your accommodation application will be handled by HAAGA-HELIA International Services once your application to study in HAAGA-HELIA is received. The details will then be forwarded to HOAS who will allocate you a room in one of the student apartments and contact you directly before you arrive. It is therefore very important you give the correct contact details when you apply to HAAGA-HELIA, including a working e-mail address. If you don't need accommodation you should let the HAAGA-HELIA International Services know about it.

All accommodation is allocated on a first come, first served basis. There is no guarantee that you can stay in the same apartment with your friends and there is no guarantee that you can stay in the place where you want to stay. If you do have a preference, mark it on your application but do not be disappointed if you don't get what you want.

What you will have in the apartment

All apartments have a kitchen with storage space for each room, common storage space, refrigerator, oven and table with chairs/bench. Usually there is also a microwave. Apartments also have a bathroom with toilet, shower, sink and mirror. In larger apartments there is a separate shower room and two toilets as well as a common living room.

In each bedroom there is a bed with a mattress, a desk, chair, shelf and a wardrobe. In some rooms there is also an armchair. You need to get your own sheets, pillow and a blanket. If you don't want to bring these with you, you can buy them inexpensively from a hypermarket such as Prisma or Citymarket or from a household discount store such as Tarjoustalo. There are also two IKEA department stores in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

In some of the apartments there is no kitchen equipment (e.g. plates, knifes, forks, pans etc.). ESN-HELGA organizes a small flee market during the orientation week and also a trip to IKEA; this helps you to buy everything you need for the kitchen in low costs.

The Rent

At HOAS the rent is charged monthly and includes electricity, water and heating. Do not pay your rent late or you will be charged a collection fee plus interest. You can pay the rent each month by Finnish bank transfer or all at once in advance from your home country. HOAS does not accept cash payments.

You will get information about the price of the rent from the International Services or directly from HOAS when you have been allocated your apartment. In general, the rent of a room in a HOAS apartment is lower than the market average. Rented accommodation at reasonable prices in Helsinki is in high demand, if you are planning to arrange your own accommodation you should note that it will most likely cost more and may be difficult to find.

Internet, Telephones and Television

All HOAS rooms come with a fixed internet connection included in the rent, if you want to use this service make sure your computer has a network card. You will get more information about the internet service from HOAS.

Most students use mobile phones during their stay in Finland. If you want to get a fixed phone in your room you will need to contact Elisa Communications (the local phone company). All rooms have their own fixed telephone socket. Note that activation of a fixed phone line is very expensive. In Finland fixed phones have been widely replaced by self phones during the last years.

Finnish television programmes are shown in their original language with subtitles. There are many English, American, Swedish, German and French programmes shown on Finnish television. Each room contains a television point, the following channels are available: Finnish Terestrial: YLE TV1, YLE TV2, MTV3, Nelonen (Channel 4), SubTV. Free Cable Channels: Sveriges Television, Deutsche Welle, BBC World, MTV Nordic, TV5 Europe, Eesti TV. There are also other channels available for a charge, one of the cable television companies is Welho.

NOTE. According to Finnish law, you should not have a television, or a TV card in your computer, unless you have a television license. You can be fined if you allow a license inspector into your home. The inspector will fine you if you have television without a license. (In spite of this, it is estimated that over 40% of Finland's population watches television without a license.)

Laundry and Sauna

There are washing machines located in the laundry room of the HOAS buildings. The use of the washing machine is usually charged by means of electronic cash, you will need to get an Avant electronic card from a Finnish bank or the building maintenance company when you arrive. If you have a Finnish mobile phone it is also possible to pay for the laundry by using the phone and the cost is then approximately 1,30€ per wash. You need to book a washing machine time in advance, using the time reserving forms in the laundry room. The average wash takes 40 - 50 minutes.

There are also saunas located in each building; usually one for men and one for women. Each week, in some buildings twice a week, there is a free sauna time for residents (usually 3 or 4 hours). You can also rent your own sauna time (one hour a week) for a small fee that will be added to your rent.

Finding housing on your own

It is also possible to find housing independently, even if the housing situation in Helsinki Metropolitan area is challenging in the beginning of each semester. If you did not get housing from HOAS or you prefer finding housing on your own you can browse through the following websites. In the list you find links to different organisations which offer housing in the Helsinki area.

www.vuokraovi.com (also in English)
www.cityapartments.fi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemi...
http://forenom.fi/?lang=en
http://www.helsinki.fi/en/index/matkailu/majoitus.html
http://www.kotivisio.fi/
http://www.huoneistohotelli-skh.fi/index_eng.htm
http://www.hotelclub.net/hotel.reservations/StayAt_Hotel_Apartment_Senat...
http://www.only-apartments.com/apartments-helsinki.html
http://www.redappleapartments.com/?gclid=CNOB7rLZ9KECFQuIzAod3gbAEQ
http://www.celine.fi/rental_apartments.php
http://www.dominrental.com/home
http://www.huoneistohotelli.com/?c=8&l=2&gclid=CJST85na9KECFckTzAodmDyJEA

Links to some organizations and bulletin boards are also available in HAAGA-HELIA International Student Handbook at www.haaga-helia.fi -> In English -> Studies -> International Student's Guide.

The location of the apartments you can find out easily by copying the address to Google maps http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl .