Residence|The government plans to transfer students from the general housing allowance to the study allowance housing supplement. Many commenters criticize the change.
Draft law of students from transferring from the scope of the general housing allowance to the scope of the study allowance housing allowance will receive extensive criticism in the opinion round.
A significant part of the opinion makers is critical of the proposed changes. Among other things, they are considered to weaken students’ livelihoods and have a negative effect on coping.
“The changes create concerns for students about their financial well-being and have a negative effect on coping and the ability to study,” writes, for example, the Swedish Child Welfare Federation in its statement.
According to the Swedish Mental Health Association, the concern is that the fear of making a living is also increasingly reflected in studies, when there is not enough money and the psychological burden increases.
“As the mental load continues, the risk of falling ill with, for example, a depression or anxiety disorder increases.”
Move students other than those taking care of a child would be covered by the housing allowance of the study support. According to the government’s proposal, it would reduce the support of approximately 156,000 beneficiaries.
In the future, the amount of the housing allowance would be no more than 80 percent of the maximum monthly expenses.
The maximum amount of support per month would be 296 euros, 248 euros or 216 euros, depending on the place of residence.
In the future, the housing allowance would also be individual and its size would only be affected by the recipient’s own income.
The law is scheduled to enter into force in August 2025. It was supposed to save 57 million euros by 2028.
Finland social and health organization Soste estimates that the level of maximum housing expenses acceptable in the housing supplement is far too low in the presentation.
It also considers it problematic that the housing allowance does not secure housing for students throughout the year.
“In the presented change, the risk is that the students’ studies will be prolonged, the debt burden will increase and the burden caused by financial worries will increase. The cut will especially hit the most vulnerable students with the lowest incomes,” the organization writes in its statement.
Soste sees it as positive that the housing allowance would take into account regional differences in housing costs in the future and that the support would be tied to the national pension index in the future.
To the index binding is supported by several other commenters as well.
In its own statement, the Finnish Real Estate Association highlights the fact that the maximum amounts of the housing allowance should be tied to an index that describes the development of the rental level of apartments.
The association points out that the presented national pension index does not reflect changes in apartment rents.
Finland the union of student unions Samok writes in its statement that it takes special care of student groups in the most vulnerable position.
“In the impact assessments of the bill, it has been calculated that the transition to the housing supplement for the study grant would reduce the student’s income by a maximum of 1,177 euros per year. At most, a cut of almost 100 euros to a student’s monthly income is unreasonable and continues the same line of weakening students’ income as the previous reductions aimed at the general housing allowance,” writes Samok.
To Tampere In its statement, the city highlights, among other things, the limit of the maximum housing expenses presented for the area. For the municipal group of two, which Tampere belongs to, it would be 310 euros.
“According to Vuokraovi.com’s data from the beginning of September, there is not a single apartment in Tampere for rent for less than 480.00 euros,” the city writes in its statement.
“The city of Tampere points out that the presented housing expenditure limit does not actually take into account the real housing costs of students living in the Tampere region, which depend on the availability of apartments.”
The city also reminds that the occupancy rate of rental apartments offered by student housing operators is already very high in Tampere and the vacancy rate is low. It is not actually possible for all students to find an apartment at the sites of student housing operators, it writes.
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