The tourist industry in Rovaniemi has caused such demand for student housing that exchange students have cancelled stints in the city and one institution has moved contact teaching out of the peak tourist season.
Emmi Huhtala, a 22-year-old student, faced the situation in the private rental market last summer when she was looking for an apartment.
“Landlords know demand is quite strong, so prices have risen accordingly,” said Huhtala.
Rovaniemi is one of Finland’s cities in which rents have risen the most between 2015 and 2024, and is popular among real estate investors.
In terms of single room apartments, Rovaniemi rents have risen more than anywhere else in Finland.
Short-term rentals are one major cause of the rise in rents, as they offer big returns in a short space of time.
Demand peaks in the winter season, when some rental apartment supply for students dips as a result.
Emergency accommodation runs out
Emmi Huhtala was stressed about searching for an apartment, but her situation was eased by her ability to stay with family nearby.
For many others, that’s not an option.
Joel Liukkonen from Lapland University Students Union (Finnish acronym LYY) predicts that his union’s emergency accommodation will fill quickly at the start of the academic year in the autumn.
“We’ll be forced to turn down quite a few people,” said Liukkonen.
DAS, the local student housing company, hosts this emergency housing in the club facilities at many of its buildings. It filled to capacity last year.
LYY said that last academic year saw some exchange students cancel their spell in Rovaniemi because of the housing shortage.
Finnish students also suffered in the middle of the academic year, when landlords ended their rental contracts.
Mariel T盲htivaara, LYY chair, said that her organisation was contacted by many students last year complaining that their rental agreements with private landlords had been cancelled so the property could be given over to short-term lets.
“We hear a lot that it’s necessary to move south, because apartments just aren’t available,” said T盲htivaara.
Exceptional situation in Rovaniemi
The situation in Rovaniemi is different to that in many other Finnish student towns, according to Saakari Tuomisto, an expert on social policy at the Finnish Student Union (Finnish acronym SYL).
He said that there is also an apartment shortage in Vaasa and Lappeenranta, but in those cities the reason is an increase in student numbers.
From August students will see major cuts in housing benefit, with a switch to student-specific benefits that are paid at a lower rate than general housing benefit.
The change will mean even fewer students have the resources to seek an apartment in the private rental market.
“It depends a lot on the city, but in some towns there could be a real shortage next autumn.
In-person teaching spells moved to avoid winter season
The housing shortage has had an impact on Rovaniemi in many ways.
Last year the local University of Applied Sciences was forced to switch face-to-face teaching spells away from the peak winter season because many students resident elsewhere were simply unable to find temporary accommodation.
Hannu H盲hk枚l盲, Director of Education at Lapland University of Applied Sciences, said they have tried to avoid November and December in particular.
“It really does make planning more difficult, when you can only arrange contact teaching at certain times,” said K盲hk枚l盲.
The problems affect a big chunk of the institution’s students. Out of some 5,200 registered to study there, only around half are officially resident outside Lapland.
DAS, the housing company, has only enough residences for around one in five students in Rovaniemi.
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