Right-of-occupancy housing
The queue number retrieval has been transferred to ARA (Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland) on September 1, 2023
The new Right-of-Occupancy Housing Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2022, will amend the application procedure for right-of-occupancy housing as of 1 September 2023. The queue numbers given previously by the city have been discontinued as of 1.1.2024.
A right-of-occupancy apartment is applied for directly from the company with a queue number given by ARA. Note! Queue number is subject to a fee (in January 2024 the fee was 9,20 €) and is valid for 2 years. The queue number is national, which means that you can use it to apply for a right-of-occupancy apartment in any municipality in Finland. One person can only have one queue number at a time.
A right-of-occupancy apartment is a great alternative to buying and renting a home. The applicant gets the right of occupancy for a right-of-occupancy apartment in their name when they pay the right-of-occupancy fee during the acquisition phase. The right-of-occupancy fee for a new apartment is usually 15 per cent of the purchase price of the apartment, whereas for an old apartment, the original purchase price has been adjusted using the cost-of-living index. In addition, during the period of living, a reasonable charge for use is paid monthly, similar to rent and maintenance charge. When the apartment is given up, the right-of-occupancy fee can be refunded with an index correction.
A right-of-occupancy apartment is applied for with a queue number, which determines the order of the applicants for any given apartment. The lowest, i.e. the oldest, queue number, entitles the applicant to an apartment if the applicant otherwise meets the requirements of the Right-of-Occupancy Housing Act (see below).
How to apply for a right-of-occupancy apartment
- If you don’t have a queue number, you should apply for one from the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA).
- If you already have a queue number, make an application for the apartment to the company that owns right-of-occupancy aparments. A list of right-of-occupancy apartments in the city of Kuopio including information of right-of-occupancy companies can be found at the bottom of this page.
Resident choices for the right-of-occupancy apartments are made by the right-of-occupancy company that owns the apartments. If there are several applicants for the same apartment who meet the requirements (see below), the applicant with the lowest queue number is entitled to the apartment.
Conditions for applying for right-of-occupancy housing
- The applicant must be aged 18 or over when submitting the application.
- Applicants under 55 years of age may not own an owner-occupied apartment that meets the housing needs in the municipality. There must not be enough wealth to acquire such an apartment. It is possible to move from an owner-occupied apartment with debt to a right-of-occupancy apartment.
- A property survey is carried out when the right-of-occupancy is offered for purchase.
Further information on the right-of-occupancy is also available at the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (www.ara.fi).
List of right-of-occupancy apartments in Kuopio
Contact details
City of Kuopio
Housing and Service Network