The AYY Representative Council decided about changes to the Housing Regulations at its meeting on Thursday, the 22nd of February 2018. The changes relate particularly to the conditions about the period of validity of the housing applications, reacting to housing offers, and the secondary leasing of apartments.
One significant change from the applicant’s point of view is the reduction of the period of validity of the housing applications from six months to three months. The change applies to new housing applications made on and after the 1st of March 2018, meaning that applications made before this date are valid for six months as stated in the old Housing Regulations. The validity period of these applications will be changed to three months when the applicant renews their application. The Domo system will still remind you via email about renewing your application well in time before the application expires.
Another significant change from the applicant’s perspective is the effect that receiving a housing offer has on the housing applications. Currently, when the applicant rejected the housing offer or let it expire, all the applicant’s housing applications for all housing groups, except the one that the housing offer pertained to, were returned to the queue. On the other hand, if the applicant accepted the housing offer, they were given the possibility to return only two housing groups to the queue. With the change to the Housing Regulations, the applicant may return their application to three housing groups (chosen freely by the applicant), regardless of whether or not they have accepted the housing offer or let it expire. The change will enter into force on the 1st of March 2018, and it concerns all applicants. Therefore, all applicants should now make sure that their housing applications only include apartments that they are willing to accept in order to prevent a situation where the applicant receives an unwanted housing offer, after which they can only return three housing groups to the queue.
Another change related to housing applications is the redefinition of neighboring municipalities in the scoring instructions. Neighboring municipalities include Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, and applicants living outside these municipalities can have an urgency point added to their application for shared apartments.
The Housing Regulations were also modified to better adapt to the students’ changing life situations. In the future, you can secondary lease your apartment also to people who are not members of AYY from October to March for the duration of your exchange studies, internship done abroad, JOO studies conducted outside the neighboring municipalities, or military or voluntary military service. However, you are compensated for your right of residence only in cases where the secondary tenant is a member of AYY. Conducting JOO studies outside the neighboring municipalities will also entitle you to compensation for your right of residence.
For friend apartments, the Housing Regulations were changed so that you can continue living in a friend apartment as long as at least one of the tenants is a member of AYY with a valid right of residence. You can also apply for a friend apartment with a friend who no longer has a valid right of residence but who is still a member of AYY.