Accommodation

Many students who come to study for a degree at Metropolia live in the HOAS apartments.

HOAS properties are divided into campus areas for different schools. Each campus area has several options for families, friends, and students applying alone. HOAS apartments for the degree students are unfurnished.

HOAS deals with a huge number of housing applications. Autumn is the busiest time of the year and HOAS is not able to arrange housing for all applicants. Therefore it is vital that you will submit application to HOAS as early as possible and if you will get an offer from HOAS it is recommended that you will accept it immediately.

See more information on the accommodation options and submitting an application on the HOAS website.

Most of Metropolia exchange students live in HOAS apartments. A limited number of furnished apartments has been reserved for the incoming exchange students.

HOAS is an easy, safe and affordable option for exchange students. The tenancy agreements for exchange students are made for full semesters (see Academic Calendar), regardless of the length of your exchange. The rent in all HOAS locations includes basic furniture, water, heating, electricity and Internet connection, as well as access to a laundry room and a sauna. All housing areas have shops, public transportation and other services nearby.

Applying for a HOAS room

The application periods for exchange student housing are:

• Autumn semester and academic year: 31 March - 5 May
• Spring semester: 30 September - 5 November

Please apply as soon as the application period starts! Because HOAS cannot accommodate all the students of the region, applying by the deadline does not guarantee that you will get a room. Offers will be sent to students via e-mail after Metropolia has confirmed the student exchange selections, so there is no risk of getting stuck with an apartment but not being accepted for exchange.

On the HOAS application form for exchange students, you need to select the correct campus of Metropolia; please see our campus list below. In the application, please choose "Student exchange" as your degree, and one of the campuses below as your faculty/location.

Business

• Myyrmäki Campus (Leiritie 1, Vantaa)

Culture

• Arabia Campus (Hämeentie 135 D)

Health care and social services

• Myllypuro Campus (Myllypurontie 1, Helsinki)

Technology

• Karamalmi Campus (Karaportti 2, Espoo): Information Technology, Industrial Management
• Myllypuro Campus (Myllypurontie 1, Helsinki): Construction Architecture, Sustainable Building Engineering, Land Surveying and Urban Planning
• Myyrmäki Campus (Leiritie 1, Vantaa): Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering and Energy and Environmental Technology, Construction Architecture, Electronics, Laboratory Sciences, Sustainable Building Engineering, Sustainable Society and Circular Economy, Virtual Product Design

HOAS will offer you the best available location in relation to your campus, but please be prepared to live further away from the campus since there are hundreds of students applying for the same locations.

Remember that it is easy to travel around the Helsinki region: the public transport in Helsinki is ranked among the best in Europe! You can check the transport connections from your apartment to the city centre or the campus areas at Helsinki Region Transport Journey Planner.

Accommodation options at HOAS

There are four furnished room types that HOAS offers for exchange students:

• room in a shared apartment
• shared room in a shared apartment*
• studio apartment and
• shared studio apartment*.

See the details and prices on the HOAS website.

The majority of the furnished apartments are shared apartments. Hoas has a very limited number of furnished studios available. HOAS recommends also applying for another apartment type, such as a shared apartment, at the same time, otherwise the applicant might not receive housing offer at all.

* These options with a shared bedroom are only possible for couples and friends who know each other, because they provide very limited privacy. Please note that you will not be able to change the apartment or roommate after signing the tenancy agreement. When applying for a shared studio or a shared room in a shared apartment, both tenants must write on their application whom they want to share the room with.

HOAS housing offers

HOAS makes the offers based on the date of submitting the application and the application itself. This means that sometimes students do not receive the housing offers in the same order as they have submitted their applications for HOAS. These differences in the applications might be the desired housing type, maximum rent limit, or other special wishes for the housing (e.g., being placed in a same apartment as your friend).

Once HOAS has found you a room they will send you a housing reservation by e-mail. Check your e-mail on a regular basis - also junk mail / spam mailbox, just in case. Most of the HOAS housing reservations are sent out during June/November, so if you have not received a housing reservation e-mail by July/early December, be sure to search for other accommodation options.

Accepting HOAS Reservation

When you receive a housing offer, accept it as soon as possible. If you do not accept it by the deadline mentioned on the offer, the housing will be offered to someone else. You will not get a second offer. Please contact HOAS if you need more response time, or if you already know you will decline your only offer. Read carefully the detailed instructions on the HOAS website.

If you didn't get the kind of housing or location you wished for, it means that your first choice was no longer available. It is common in Finland to live further away from the campus, and the public transportation system is excellent. Use the HSL Journey Planner to check connections.

Please note especially that a signed housing reservation is a valid tenancy agreement which cannot be cancelled or edited afterwards. The agreement will be made only for full semesters.

Receiving the HOAS keys

You can move in to your HOAS apartment on 1 Aug 2023 at the earliest. You will get your HOAS keys either from your tutor upon arrival, or at the METKA office - not at the HOAS office!

Metropolia’s Student Union METKA will pick up all HOAS keys for our exchange students.

If you have a student tutor, your tutor will bring your HOAS keys to you upon arrival.

If you do not want a tutor - collect your HOAS keys yourself at the Student Union METKA’s office from 1 August onwards.

Opening hours: during weekdays between 10 am and 3 pm (Exception Friday 11.8. from 10 am to 2 pm)

Address: Myllypurontie 1, 00920 Helsinki (Building B, 6th floor)

Phone number: +358 50 374 3269