Skip to content

Living in Lahti

Lahti has an active urban life and high-quality services, and it is known for its events. A wide range of opportunities are available for housing, from urban housing to detached house districts and from garden city-like residential areas to idyllic villages. 

Lahti is a rapidly developing growth centre of nearly 120,000 residents. In Lahti, people live with sufficient room and close to nature. The services of a major city and the close proximity to numerous lakes give Lahti a unique image and plenty of options for free time. The dense and urban city centre is surrounded by the Salpausselkä ridges and Lake Vesijärvi, which reaches all the way to Lake Päijänne. 

Lahti is a provincial centre and an internationally well-known environmental city where energy-efficient decisions are made for the good of the citizens and environment. Lahti’s excellent location guarantees effortless commuting and good transport connections to the rest of Finland – via water routes, for example. 

  • There is a wide variety of rental apartments available in Lahti, and the rent level is relatively affordable. About 40%, i.e. more than 24,000, of the city’s apartments are rental apartments. Almost half of the rental apartments is government-sponsored housing production. The average rent is €11.70 per square metre for the government-sponsored apartments and €13.20 for freely financed rental apartments. Government-sponsored housing stock has asset limits. 

    Lahden Talot Oy is a company owned by the City of Lahti that builds and owns rental housing in Lahti. Lahden Talot also owns and builds student apartments. Lahden Talot is responsible for processing the housing applications. You can leave an application to the Lahden Talot website.

    Other landlords in the Lahti area include: 

    Kiinteistö Oy M2 -kodit

    NAL Asunnot and Nuorisosäätiö in charge of youth housing.

    Senior housing offered by the  following:

    Lahti Foundation of Housing and Services for the Elderly (LVAS)  and Harjula Settlement Association.

    Check also:

    Lumo, Sato, Vuokraovi.com and Oikotie.fi

  • Right-of-occupancy apartments provide an alternative to rental or owned housing. A right-of-occupancy apartment grants a permanent right to occupy the apartment, but the apartment cannot be owned. 

    You can acquire a right-of-occupancy apartment by signing a right-of-occupancy agreement and paying 15% of the apartment’s purchase price as a right-of-occupancy payment. In addition, a monthly maintenance charge is paid to the house owner during the residence. As the apartment is given up, the invested right-of-occupancy payment is returned, adjusted by the construction cost index.

    A queue number is needed for the right-of-occupancy apartment application. The queue number is applied for at the City of Lahti housing services. The application can be made online or by filling out a paper form. The City of Lahti and the municipality of Hollola have a shared application queue. 

    The municipality gives the applicants a queue number based on the date of application. The queue number indicates the applicant’s position during the application period among other applicants interested in the same apartment. 

    Other requirements:

    • Minimum age of 18 years
    • The applicant cannot own a house or an apartment within the area one is applying the apartment if that accommodation fills out the applicant’s needs (need selection)
    • Certain asset limits are applied

    The applicant must also contact the house owner from whose house the apartment is applied for and specify the features of the desired apartment. Right-of-occupancy apartments can be applied for from several house owners, and applicants can cancel their applications or change them if needed. These application forms are available at the house owners’ websites.

    Check the house owners websites: Asuntosäätiö, Avain -yhtiöt and TA -yhtiöt.

  • Our housing consultants provide housing and financial consultation for all citizens of Lahti. You can contact our housing consultants if you are homeless or if you are at risk of becoming homeless or if you have issues with rent payment, for example. The housing consultation service point is at Lahti’s Palvelutori service centre on the 2nd floor of Trio Shopping Centre. 

    You can reach our housing consultants: 

    by email at asumisneuvo@lahti.fi 

    by telephone +358 44 482 6769 

    During the duty hours with an appointment at Palvelutori service centre.