MDI studied the reasons for ARA rental housing offer refusals

Refusal of ARA rental offers has negative effects on various parties, so there is a clear need to better understand the reasons for such refusals and to develop a process for receiving housing offers in order to reduce the number of refusals. 

The study provided information on the reasons for refusing a housing offer related to housing, housing offers and groups of residents. The second main task was to provide information on what measures related to the housing offer process, housing marketing and housing stock could be used to reduce refusals. 

Respondents were asked to indicate the three main reasons for refusing a housing offer. The most common reason reported was ‘other reasons’, but there were few clarifications here in terms of what was implied by this. The next most common reasons for refusing a housing offer were the location of the apartment, getting an apartment elsewhere and the poor condition of the apartment. Other listed reasons include the poor reputation of the residential area, the characteristics of the dwelling, factors related to the living environment, too high a rent level or the fact that the overlapping rents would have become too expensive. 

Based on the results of the study, development proposals emerged from four perspectives:

  • Development of the search method for ARA rental apartments
  • Changes to apartment search time limits
  • Intra-municipal cooperation in providing rental housing and supporting reception
  • Development of the social security system and the financial support system for housing

The study focused on five rental housing companies operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area: Stadin asunnot, Espoon asunnot Oy, Vantaan asunnot Oy (VAV), M2 Kodit and Asuntosäätiö. The study used statistics from rental housing companies, a survey and interviews with those who refused a housing offer as well as expert interviews. The survey was conducted between October 2020 and February 2021.

Read more

Slide show

More information

Sari Pitkänen, sari.pitkanen@mdi.fi