Applying for an apartment

Who can apply for an apartment?

Any post-secondary student in Vaasa (above 16 years of age) is eligible to apply for accommodation. The applicant needs to be studying in a program that results to a degree (vocational school, high school, university or university of applied sciences).

Summer workers and students who complete their internships in Vaasa can also apply for housing through VOAS.

When can I apply?

You can apply for VOAS apartments any time of the year. Once you have received a place of study, you can submit a housing application to VOAS. It is recommended to fill in the housing application at the earliest two months before the housing need.

VOAS tries to find a place for all new students as quickly as possible. The applicant’s wishes are taken into consideration. Not all types of housing are always available, so the housing offer can sometimes be something completely different.

The application is valid for three months after the date it was submitted to VOAS, and it can be renewed for a new three-month-period. Only one application can be in the queue, so please don’t send more than one application. Contact VOAS office if you want to modify your application or contact information.

New students’ priority in housing queue during August and September

During the summer season (1 June – 15 September) we get a lot of applications from new students starting their school in the fall.

Please note, continuing students cannot get an apartment during August-September, since all apartments that are becoming free during this time are reserved for new students about to begin their studies. If continuing students wish to move to a VOAS apartment before the fall semester, the tenancy agreement will need to be started from July.

About the housing offer

The housing offer will be sent by e-mail. If you have applied for housing, keep an eye on your mailbox, and also check the spam folder just in case. The offer can be accepted by paying the security fee according to the payment details in the offer.

Please inform us, if you are not interested in the offered apartment, but would like to wait for other options. We try to send at least one offer to every applicant. In case there are no vacant apartments immediately, the application is placed on the waiting list for future cancellations.

Things that affect your placing on the waiting list:

• the time you have been waiting for an apartment
• the distance from your present apartment to your place of study
• applicants with children have priority for 2r+k and 3r+k apartments    
• income and wealth comparison is applied so that applicants with low income have priority

Changing apartments within VOAS

After the summer and autumn rush, you can apply for a change of apartment, if for some reason you are not happy with your current one.

Fill in a new housing application if you want to change apartments. When you get the housing offer for a new apartment, you can accept it by paying the new security fee. Security fees are always for a specific apartment; if you change to another apartment, you will need to pay another security fee. The old security fee will be returned to you after you have moved out and the apartment has been checked.

In VOAS internal changes, you do not have to pay double rent, if you can change housing during one day. Changing fee is 50€ and will be charged with the first rent in case you change to a same kind of an apartment (for example from a studio to a new studio).