Applying apartments
We have rental apartments in almost every area of Oulu, around 8 400 apartments in total. All apartments are applied for through an application form, whether you are a new applicant or already living in a Sivakka apartment. The electronic application is the easiest and fastest to fill.
A significant number of apartments are offered according to the income, wealth and urgency criteria of the applicants. In the target search you can check which properties have income and asset limits.
Help video on how to submit an online housing application
(video in finnish)
Watch the video tutorial on how to submit a housing application on YouTube (video in finnish)
Income and asset limits for state-subsidised rental housing
From 2025 onwards, a single person in a household opting for Ara rental housing (income and asset limits) can earn a maximum gross monthly income of 3 450 €.
If the household includes more than one adult aged 18 or over, the limit will be increased by 2 480 € for each adult. If the household includes children under 18, the maximum income limit is increased by 650 € for the first child and 600 € for each subsequent child.
Income does not include housing benefit, child benefit, maintenance allowance, maternity allowance, education allowance, carer’s allowance, etc.
For more information on the asset limits for Ara dwellings, see the City of Oulu website.
Applying for housing and default notices
Default notices are not an obstacle to renting an apartment in ARA-funded housing. However, credit histories can affect the terms of the offer and the form of the lease. A condition for a housing offer is that the credit history is low or that the default history indicates that the defaults are not recurrent. However, we will not offer housing to applicants whose credit history shows unpaid rent arrears. In this case, the applicant must provide a certificate from the landlord or collection agency of the outstanding rent arrears as soon as possible after submitting the application. Alternatively, a payment plan with a trustworthy party (e.g. a financial and debt counsellor or enforcement agency) to settle the debts and receipts for the instalments already paid can be provided.
The submission of a certificate of paid rent debts or a payment plan does not imply an automatic offer of housing to the applicant, but allows the applicant to receive an offer of housing.