Housing | Ronja Aaltonen had to think about moving when housing became more expensive – HS’s calculator shows the rent increase in your residential area

Apartment switching to a more affordable one came for the Espola resident Ronja Aaltonen already last fall, when his rent rose by more than 20 euros per month, to 813 euros.

It almost crossed the pain line. Aaltonen is a student and lives alone in a 34 square meter studio apartment in Leppävaara.

“Even though I get full housing benefits, half of the rent remains to be paid. After all, the rent for one person is high.”

Aaltonen is not alone, because apartment rents are rising in the capital region.

The accelerating inflation, i.e. the rise in consumer prices, and the growing maintenance costs of rental apartments will increase the pressure for rent increases in the near future.

According to Statistics Finland’s statistics published at the beginning of August, the rents of privately funded apartments rose by 0.4 percent in Helsinki and by 0.6 percent in the entire capital region in April–June compared to the beginning of the year.

HS asked readers how the rising cost of rental housing affects life. Many people with low incomes said that they could already feel the increase of a few tens of euros in their wallets.

Read more: Rents are rising again in the Helsinki housing market

Thus a 49-year-old woman living in Espoo described her feelings:

“Like many other low-income earners, I’m a kind of middle-of-the-roader. The salary is small, but Kela thinks it’s too much and my annual income is enough,” he writes.

The monthly rent of a little over a thousand euros is felt in the everyday life of a low-income 49-year-old woman and is “uncomfortably expensive”.

Many respondents said they were considering moving because of increased rents.

“The rent has been increased by 63 euros, or a 7 percent increase. The increased rent exceeds the market level in the area and accelerates our intentions to move,” writes a 32-year-old woman from Helsinki.

Expenses the person living in Etu-Töölö is also calculated very accurately Meijun in the family.

The family of three has been living there since February 60 square meters in a two-room apartment. Meiju appears in the story with just her first name due to her uncertain financial situation.

The family’s rent is 1,260 euros per month without running water.

Meiju negotiated the contract that the rent review is tied to the consumer index. According to the landlord’s original proposal, the annual increase would have been 3–5 percent.

“Now the increase will probably be higher than the original proposal.”

Meiju is on maternity leave. Her husband is studying. Their income will decrease next year when Meiju’s parental allowance ends.

The family has thought about giving up the car and hobbies, and the man has already cut some of his hobby fees. Meiju has planned hobbies with the baby, such as baby swimming. They may have to be cancelled.

“We had carefully calculated the budget so that we could live here for a couple of years. If the rent goes up a lot, you have to think about changing the apartment.”

Meiju plans to negotiate with her landlord about the possibility of not doing the increase.

“Certain changes must be made if all the horror pictures come true.”

Ronja Aaltonen finally decided to stay in his apartment. However, the worry about the next possible increase and the increase in prices weighs on the mind, even though it was finally agreed with the landlord that there will be no increases this autumn.

The increasing costs have made Aaltonen consider giving up some of his hobbies, such as a gym card and going to restaurants, when “it clearly costs more money”.

“You can see from the sales invoice that you can’t get anywhere near as much with the same amount as before.”