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Published: 10 October 2018

Rental living becoming common – small dwellings most often rented

According to Statistics Finland, one-third of household-dwelling units were living in rented dwellings in 2017. Compared with the previous year, the number of non-subsidised rented dwellings grew especially. In particular, small dwellings are often rented. Despite this, a distinct majority of household-dwelling units were still living in owner-occupied dwellings.

Permanently occupied rented and owner-occupied dwellings in 1990 to 2017, number

Last year, 561,000 household-dwelling units were living in non-subsidised rented dwellings, which is 5.7 per cent more than in 2016. In contrast, the number of household-dwelling units living in reasonably priced rental dwellings subsidised by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland went down slightly from the previous year. In all, 317,000 household-dwelling units were living there. This is two per cent lower than in the previous year. The decrease of dwellings financed by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland was influenced by old subsidised dwellings being freed from limitations either into free rental markets or into owner-occupied dwellings. When both dwellings subsidised by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland and non-subsidised dwellings are taken into account, the number of renting household-dwelling units went up by 2.8 per cent. Thus, a total of 878,000 household-dwelling units were living in rented dwellings.

The number of household-dwelling units living in owner-occupied dwellings remained on level with the previous year: 1.7 million household-dwelling units were living in them in 2017. In addition to those living in owner-occupied or rented dwellings, 96,000 household-dwelling units were living in right-of-occupancy dwellings or in dwellings where the tenure is based on a family relationship or is unknown.

Number of people living in rented dwellings grows in big towns

The number of household-dwelling units living in rented dwellings grew most in Helsinki, Tampere and Vantaa. The growth compared with 2016 was slightly under 2,000 household-dwelling units in Vantaa, 2,600 in Tampere and nearly 4,200 in Helsinki. To generalise, it can be said that the number of household-dwelling units living in rented dwellings has grown in the past few years especially in university towns and other densely-populated towns.

In 2017, a total of 1.4 million persons were living in rented dwellings. Rental housing becomes common after reaching majority: in numbers, those aged 20 to 24 were renting most. Around 15 per cent of all occupants of rented dwellings belonged to this age group.

Population living in rented dwellings by age in 2017

Small dwellings in blocks of flats most often rented

The data for 2017 indicate that small dwellings appear to be mostly in rental use, while larger apartments are acquired for personal use. For example, 86 per cent of the household-dwelling units living in dwellings of 20 to 29 square metres in blocks of flats were renting, while 39 per cent of occupied dwellings of 70 to 79 square metres were rented dwellings.

Shares of household-dwelling units living in rented dwellings in blocks of flats in different floor area categories in 2017

Source: Dwellings and Housing Conditions, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Otto Kannisto 029 551 3044, Marja Hermiö 029 551 3211, info@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Reviews

• 1. Dwelling stock 2017 (10.10.2018)
• 2. Household-dwelling units and housing conditions 2017 (10.10.2018)

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Household-dwelling units by number of persons in 1960 - 2017 (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 2. Household-dwelling units by housing density on 31 Dec. 2017, by region (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 3. Household-dwelling units and persons by tenure status in 1970 - 2017 (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 4. Average floor area (m2) of dwellings in the dwelling stock in 1970 - 2017 (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 5. Dwelling stock and amenities in 1960 - 2017 (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 6. 20 - 29-year-old residential population by family status, tenure and region 2005 - 2017 (10.10.2018)
• Appendix table 7. First-time homebuyers in 2006 to 2017 (10.10.2018)

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Updated 10.10.2018