Students will be transferred from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme on 1 August 2025

Parliament has decided to transfer students from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme. Students have been eligible for general housing allowance since autumn 2017. Starting in August 2025, students will again be included in the student housing supplement scheme.

What will change?

Students will be transferred from the general housing allowance scheme to the student housing supplement scheme. Students will be eligible for the housing supplement if they are entitled to student financial aid and live in rental or right-of-occupancy housing. Those who live with their child or their spouse’s child will not be transferred to the student housing supplement scheme. They will be eligible for general housing allowance also in the future.

Student housing supplement will only be available for months of study. The entitlement to and the amount of the housing supplement will be affected by the housing costs and the student’s own income. The same income limits as to other student financial aid will also apply to the housing supplement.

Do customers have to do anything?

Customers must apply for student housing supplement from Kela. Those who already receive student financial aid must also separately apply for housing supplement in the OmaKela e-service. The application can be submitted at the earliest in June with the notification of changes for financial aid for students. New students apply for housing supplement at the same time as other types of student financial aid.

Kela will give further instructions during spring 2025.

Further information (maximum amount of housing supplement in different municipalities etc.) can be found on Kela’s website.