Looking for any job now because of this. I don't know how some people pay for vakuus or how they actually find an opportunity don't pay for this .
Everything I know perfectly now is that I need a substitute finn if I don't have any ability to pay for vakuus
by SelectCount7059
18 comments
From your savings?
There are companies that will pay this if you pay them a monthly fee.
But personally I have never been a fan, what most folks I know do is use the previous security deposit to pay the new one, since you do get it back unless you caused damage to previous apartment.
It’s great that you are trying to find a job since that is the main source of money (vakuus included) for most people 👍
There are services that pay your vakuus for monthly fee.
https://www.kela.fi/social-assistance-rental-security-deposit
Or a 2k€ (seems to be minimum) loan (“joustoluotto”) which I believe can be taken even if unemployed. Not sure though, as I took mine years ago that I used for a 5k€ car that ended up being the worst purchase of my life.
Usually it is just paid with money, but in case you didn’t know you get that money back when you move out if you leave the apartment in roughly the same shape when you moved in (obviously normal wear and tear doesn’t matter).
In some instances [KELA can help with vakuus](https://www.kela.fi/social-assistance-rental-security-deposit) if you fulfil the terms.
And I think there are some companies that offer vakuus basically as montly installments, I don’t know about those.
There are some renters that don’t require a deposit. Lumo for example
From kela u can maybw get it, or you local social worker
Kela or social services
You should look into rentals with companies that offer “Asset limit” apartments. These are specifically aimed at people with incomes below a certain threshold and they also usually come with either 0 or very low Vakuus. [Lumo.fi](http://Lumo.fi), [sato.fi](http://sato.fi), and [m2.fi](http://m2.fi) are a few that come to mind. I’ve rented with lumo and sato for the first 6 years living here.
There are some apartments that don’t have the vakuus. But tbh they aren’t super easy to find and rly depend where you are trying to get one 🤔
I’m myself living in one (in Jyväskylä) but i have no idea where to find them else where.
https://www.kela.fi/social-assistance-rental-security-deposit
Fun story.
I moved to states in 2019 and was looking for an apartment. Found a cool one and the renter was willing to level with me besides literally no credit score. It is customary to pay the first months rent beforehand to get the keys – but because of my lack of credit they required me to pay substantial security depot, basically “vakuus”. The rent was around 1500$ and I had amassed 4500$ ready so I can just go get cashiers checks for the depot.
When they revealed to me that the significant security depot is 200$, I started laughing. They didn’t understand why.
You can go and talk to kela, they can do a contract with the apartment owner. They did this with the apartment im living in, kela and the owner make a paper copy that validates kela being the payer of damages and such if they happen. Not all people accept these but most should. Talk with kela and they should help
If it’s not a big rental company, you can always ask if they would agree to take only 1 month rent as a deposit or some other arrangement. Sometimes instead of a deposit you can take out an insurance policy that would cover any damages. Then your insurance payments would effectively act as a deposit, but you don’t need to pay a huge lump sum immediately.
That being said, if you’re unemployed and an immigrant any kind of negotiation becomes a bit tricky, because we Finns are notoriously suspicious of even other Finns sometimes. I wish you good luck!
Ask Kela or Sossu
So Vakuus is the rent deposit. The rent deposit can be the same price as the monthlyrent or the boudle of that, which is your case. If you can’t afford that then you should find an apartment in the 400€ threshold and without the double rent deposit
You have a few options with the deposit.
One, you find an apartment that doesn’t require or has a lower fee. My current place had a deposit of only 250€.
Two, you pay the deposit in monthly installments through a company that does that sort of thing.
Three, use a credit card and pay the fee back in installments that way.
Four, consult KELA.
Talk to your bank. You might get a lower interest loan if the deposit money can be used as security for the loan, because you will get it back once you move out.