Information for Exchange Students

Applying

Exchange students can apply for shared apartments that have furnished rooms: These are located in houses Linna, Suviboxi, Olympia I and few apartments in Ahvenranta (houses J, L and M). 

The tenancy agreement is made for the whole term;
Autumn term: from the 1st of August or September to 31st of December.
Spring term: from the 1st of January to the 31st of May.

The agreement will be made for a fixed period and it cannot be terminated.
You are liable for paying rent for the whole duration of your agreement, even if you would arrive later or move out earlier. Processing fee for fixed term agreements (50€) will be added to the first rent. 

The furniture includes a bed (without a pillow, blanket or thin mattress pad), a desk and chairs, a lamp and a desk lamp, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and a trash bin. There is a fridge, an oven and a stove in every VOAS kitchen, but no cutlery or curtains. Internet and electricity are included in the rent. Take an RJ45-cabel with you so you can get the internet to work (there is no WIFI in the apartments). 

There is basic cutlery in Linna kitchens.

Please note! Due to the high demand for apartments in the autumn semester, we can’t secure housing for all students. If you decline a housing offer, we can’t ensure that you will have another one.

When arriving to Vaasa

Please sign and scan back the tenancy agreement which have been sent to you after the security fee payment has been processed. The keys cannot be retrieved if the tenancy agreement is not signed. If your tutor offers to pick up the key on your behalf, please make sure to inform the housing office, who we will be allowed to give your key to. We will need your tutor’s full name.

Please read through the info package which you receive with the key. Fill in the apartment check card online through the link you will receive by email. If something is broken or dirty, or there are previous tenant’s belongings in the apartment, make sure to inform these in the check card. By filling out the check card, you can ensure that you won’t be held responsible for the previous tenant’s doings.

Laundry room and sauna are free to use, remember to make a reservation and respect the timetable. Need anything else? A company called StudentSurvival provides “survivor kits” with different home essentials to exchange students. You can read more about their services from their webpage.

Rent payments

The due date for paying the rent is always the 6th of each month and it cannot be postponed – even if you arrive in Finland later. The rent invoice and tenancy agreement will be sent to you by email when the security fee has arrived. If you have lost the rent invoice, you can ask a copy from the housing office.

As you can’t pay rent at VOAS office nor at the Finnish banks, you should transfer the rent by an international bank transfer (online net banking). You can pay rent for many months in advance if you like. Please notice that the rent account is different from the security account. 

Please note! If you live outside the European Union, we recommend that you pay all the rents at once in the beginning of your exchange. This way you can save on banking costs.

Departure

You have a fixed-term tenancy agreement with VOAS and it cannot be terminated by notice in the middle of the contract period. The apartment key should be returned at the latest on the last day of your tenancy agreement. The key can be returned to our office or the key returning slot on the office’s back yard (inner yard of Raastuvankatu 11). More information here.

Remember to give us your account information by email or the paper form, so we can return your security fee.

Final cleaning of the apartment

The apartment needs to be cleaned in the end of your stay, so that it’ll be in clean condition when the next tenant moves in. You can either clean the apartment yourself, or order a cleaning service for 70 euros. You’ll receive information about the cleaning by email before your agreement ends.

Here is a list of things to remember when making the final cleaning:

• Sweep or vacuum clean the floors and wipe them with a damp cloth
• Clean all cupboards and their doors and tops
• Wipe off stains from walls and doors (fingerprints etc.)
• Wash the oven/cooker
• Defrost and clean the fridge/freezer. Please note! Do not use sharp instruments – a knife will easily break the freezer!
• WC/bathroom: wash the floors, walls, sinks and the toilet bowl
• Empty and clean the balcony and storage
• No belongings other than the furniture provided by VOAS can be left in the apartment. The furniture provided by us is listed above.

Remember to close and lock your room door when you leave! If someone makes a mess in the room after you have left, you will be held responsible for possible damages. If the apartment is left untidy and you haven’t ordered the cleaning service, VOAS will charge you for the cleaning. If you leave belongings other than the VOAS furniture in the apartment, they will be removed and this will also be charged. Remember to return the key to VOAS office.