Soihtu Housing: Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone can apply for an apartment of Soihtu Housing. Primary applicants for our apartments are students and especially members of the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY). Some of our properties are ARA student housing locations (ARA is the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland). Resident selection criteria of ARA specify the tenant selection to these student housing locations.

Notice, that apartments coming available in the beginning of August are reserved for new students each year and members of the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY) are primary applicants.

You can read more info on our Housing instructions.

There are no actual queues to the apartments. Certain housing locations of Soihtu are ARA housing locations, whose tenant selection is governed by ARA’s tenant selection criteria, and the tenant selection for these apartments is made based on needs. We send the apartment offer when an apartment that matches the applicant’s wishes is becoming available, provided that the applicant meets the application criteria for that housing location.

In general, you can get an apartment faster in the spring and summer than in the fall when new students start their studies. Studio apartments are the most popular apartment types. All apartments and rooms that become vacant from the beginning of August are reserved annually for new students, of which priority is given to members of the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY).

You can see the available apartments from Browse apartments page, if you choose “Show immediately available”. Please note, that apartments especially intended for students are offered according to needs and primarily for students.

Apartments are offered based on the needs and we will send an apartment offer by e-mail when the apartment corresponding to your application is becoming available, if you meet the criteria of that housing location.

Please keep your contact information up-to-date and monitor your e-mail regularly, as the offer usually expires quickly. Please note that we do not inform the applicant if we are unable to offer an apartment from the beginning of the desired month.

A frequent mistake on the application occurs when the applicant fills in their information twice (also in the section “Comes with the applicants”). If you are applying for the apartment alone, you can skip this section. Another common mistake is to define the tenancy agreement as fixed-term, but not to give an end date. In this case, the application goes through as an error. 

Also, a common mistake for foreign applicants is to not to choose the citizenship correct. If you’re not Finnish citizen, you need to choose Citizenship as “Other” to be able to fill in some other identification than Finnish ID number.

Kindly check the application one more time with these instructions and if this doesn’t help, please contact Soihtu Housing (asuminen@soihtu.fi).  

This is very case-specific and depends on whether the apartment is empty or whether the previous resident is still living there. You can inquire about the matter at Soihtu Housing service point by email or phone.

Often, there is still a tenant living in the apartment, in which case the apartment display is only possible if the previous tenant has given the permission to give their the contact information to the new tenant. If the apartment is empty, the apartment display can be arranged with Soihtu Housing.

If you don’t have Finnish bank credentials, you may run into this kind of problem in our electronic service. You can accept or reject the apartment offer in two ways:

1. If you have Finnish bank credentials, you can respond to the offer in the online service by registering with your bank credentials.
2. If you do not have Finnish bank credentials, you can confirm the apartment offer by Office identification. To enter the page, kindly select ”Register as a new user?” and then “Office identification”. Kindly contact Soihtu Housing service point, if needed.

You will receive the keys to your new apartment on the first weekday of your tenancy agreement at 12 pm, by which time you may also have to return the keys to your previous apartment if a new tenant is moving to that apartment. So please take into account when planning your move that it is not necessarily possible to organize a moving time between.

Sometimes it can happen that the apartment you are moving into becomes vacant earlier, or another tenant is not moving into your old apartment right away. If you wish, you can find out from Soihtu Housing service point whether it is possible for you to receive the keys to your new apartment earlier or to return the keys to your old apartment a little later. However, please take into account that we don’t always know about the situation of the apartments until a few days before the change of the month.

You can get the keys to your apartment the earliest on the first working day of your tenancy agreement at 12 pm. If your tenancy agreement starts on a weekend or a on a holiday, you can get the keys on the next working day. This is because, according to the law, the previous tenant has the right to keep the keys until 12 pm.

Please note that the key can be picked up from our service point only during opening hours or, as agreed, from the key box. Picking up the keys from the key box must be arranged in advance at least 3 working days in advance with customer service. The key box is located in the lobby of the Soihtu Housing service point (Vehkakuja 2 B, Jyväskylä).

You will receive the keys to your new apartment on the first weekday of your tenancy agreement at 12 pm, by which time you may also have to return the keys to your previous apartment if a new tenant is moving to that apartment. So please take into account when planning your move that it is not necessarily possible to organize a moving time between.

Sometimes it can happen that the apartment you are moving into becomes vacant earlier, or another tenant is not moving into your old apartment right away. If you wish, you can find out from Soihtu Housing service point whether it is possible for you to receive the keys to your new apartment earlier or to return the keys to your old apartment a little later. However, please take into account that we don’t always know about the situation of the apartments until a few days before the change of the month.

You can apply for changing apartments by filling in an apartment application. Applying for and offering an apartment proceeds in the same way as with all other applicants. When changing apartments inside the Student Village, you don’t need to consider the normal notice period.

If you change apartment within the same apartment type, for instance form studio to studio, we will charge you a service fee of 55€ with the first rent. If you change to another apartment type, for instance from a shared apartment to a studio, or if the change is due to changes in the size of family or health related reasons, the service won’t be charged.

If you are changing your apartment from Soihtu’s apartment to another, please fill in the notice form after you have accepted the new apartment offer (=signed the new tenancy agreement). Please do not fill in the form before you have accepted the offered new apartment by signing the new agreement.

If the apartment is very untidy, please contact Soihtu Facility Services (tel. +358 10 524 8315), so our maintenance can check the situation as soon as possible and ask the staff to clean the apartment.

When you move into the apartment, you will be sent an apartment card by e-mail, which you must fill out. It is a good idea to fill in all possible defects on the apartment card, so that they do not become your responsibility. The apartment card is sent automatically on the 5th, 10th and 15th of every month after the start of the rental agreement.

Soihtu Facility Services check the condition of the apartment when the previous tenant has returned their keys or the latest during the following day of the last day of the tenancy agreement. Cleaning and emptying the apartment are responsibilities of the tenant who is moving out. The condition of the apartment is compared to the apartment card that you filled in when moving in.

Possible flaws in the apartment or its cleaning are always marked in the apartment inspection report, but all of them will not always be invoiced from the tenant. If there are significant flaws in the apartment or its cleaning, an invoice will be sent to the tenant or the costs will be deducted from the possible deposit. You can read more about apartment inspections on our Housing Instructions.

Unfortunately, after the final apartment inspection, cleaning by the tenant is no longer possible, as the next tenant is probably already moving into the apartment. Some of the apartments are pre-inspected and in this case it is still possible to do the cleaning yourself before the final apartment inspection.

Move-out cleaning should be done carefully from the beginning, following the move-out cleaning instructions, so it is nicer for the next tenant to move into the apartment after you.

Soihtu Facility Services is responsible for apartment inspections in all of our housing locations. The tenant who is moving out will receive an email when the inspection is done. The message mentions if deficiencies with the condition of the apartment or cleaning are found. Notice, that all of these faults will not automatically be invoiced from the tenant, as some of them might be normal wear and tear. 

If you disagree with the deficiencies that has been invoiced from you, you can write a complaint about the apartment inspection using the form below. A complaint must always be done within reasonable time to Soihtu Facility Services and it can be done with an online form via our website. 

The keys must be returned the latest on the working day that follows the last day of your tenancy agreement by 12 pm. The keys can be returned to the mailbox of Soihtu Housing (Vehkakuja 2 B) or to our customer service. If you return the keys to the mailbox of Soihtu Housing, put them in an envelope and mark the envelope with the apartment number. Under an circumstances DO NOT leave your keys in the apartment or DO NOT leave the keys in the mailbox of Rentukka.

Please check that you return all the keys that you have: apartment keys, the Village key, storage locker keys, mailbox key, heating post key, along with spare keys that friends or relatives have had. It is tenant’s responsibility to take care that the keys are returned to the Soihtu Housing service point in time. If a friend is returning your keys for you, make sure that they know they’re going to the right place. If the keys are returned late or to a wrong place, unfortunately we’ll have to charge you for it.

Please note that if you do not return the keys at the end of the tenancy agreement, according to the law you are obliged to pay rent for the period of possession.

More information about returning the keys on Housing Instructions.

Using the maintenance request form, Soihtu Facility Services gets the information about the fault in your apartment immediately and will fix it as soon as possible. Maintenance requests are handled in order of urgency. Please also take into account that the change of the month is often a busy time for maintenance, so then it may take a little longer to respond.

If the fault requires immediate attention (for example, a leak in the water faucet in the kitchen or toilet), you should contact Soihtu Facility Services by phone.

Attachments can be made to the walls, as long as the load-bearing capacity is ensured and the work is done according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Holes made in the walls must be patched by the tenant before moving out.

Repair work and maintenance both indoors and outdoors are responsibility o Soihtu Facility Services when they’re followed by the usual wear and tear of the apartment. If the tenant or an outsider causes the need for the repairs or maintenance, the tenant has to pay for it. Our pricelist includes the expenses of the most common repairs charged from tenants. The assumption is that if you make changes to your apartment, you need to restore it when moving out. The easiest way to contact Soihtu Facility Services, is to fill in a maintenance request.

When you want to order an installation of a dishwasher, please contact the real estate manager well in advance before needed installation, so that the installation can be arranged with the plumber (at least 3-5 working days in advance).

You can also find the list of responsibilities in the apartment on our Housing instructions.

Among our housing locations, Kortepohja Student Village and Soihtu Vehkakuja have parking places for rent. Soihtu Korttelikylä is a car-free housing location. In addition, each destination has a few parking places for guests.

Tenants of Kortepohja Student Village and Soihtu Vehkakuja can rent a parking place through the eParking service. If you want to rent a parking place, you must first apply for the right to reserve a space based on your address in the eParking service. You can queue for a parking place even before the start of your tenancy agreement, but only after the agreement has been signed.

More information about reserving a parking places and parking in general in our Housing instructions.

Tenants of Soihtu have two different online systems in their use. Online booking system and Tenant’s Page.

Online booking system is a place where you can reserve laundry and sauna shifts and common rooms. When you move in, you will automatically receive the user credentials for Online booking system as a tenant of Soihtu.

On Tenant’s Page you have real-time access to your payment information, and can keep your contact info up to date in our register. On the Tenant’s page, you can also find for example the General Housing Rules, information regarding your residential building and contact information of Soihtu. Keep your contact info up to date in our register via Tenant’s Page. Remember that the majority of our tenant communication and invoices requires a valid e-mail address.

To get access to the Tenant’s Page, your identity has to be verified once, to be sure that no one else gets the access to your personal information, such as your payment information.

• On the first time, click the link “Register as a new user” on the Log in page. Identify yourself using either a mobile certificate or online banking credentials.
• If you don’t have a mobile certificate or online banking credentials, you get the access to the Tenants’ Page by Office identification. Visit the Service Point of Soihtu Housing with your valid ID (passport, ID-card) to be identified by our staff. Your e-mail is verified in the system. After this procedure, you can access the Tenant’s Page by clicking Register as a new user → Office identification.

If your computer doesn’t connect to the network, check our instructions on how to start using the broadband connection.
If you have followed the instructions and the internet still doesn’t work, fill in a support request.

You can check your payment status on the Tenant’s page. Please note that the information is updated in the system with a delay of a few working days.

If it is the first month’s rent, with which you confirm your tenancy agreement, you will receive a confirmation message and a new rent invoice when your rent has arrived.

If the problem is caused by the bank you are using, please contact your bank first to resolve the problem. Also contact Soihtu rent accountant (vuokrat@soihtu.fi) if your rent payment threatens to be late due to a problem. If you use the automatic payments, remember to renew the payment annually so that your rent payment is not interrupted when the automatic payment ends.

If you have problems with TransferMate or other payment intermediary services, please contact the service provider.

If your rent payment problem is financial, we can try to ease your situation temporarily, e.g. by moving the due date with a payment agreement. When you live in Soihtu, you are supported also by Tenant Advisor’s services.

Read more about rent payment and dealing with payment difficulties in Housing instructions.