At the end of June news that the Y-Foundation would decrease rents in 1,500 of its flats was met with surprise by the general public. Rents, taxes and the cost of living usually go up, not down.
Now the Y Foundation has announced that it will decrease the rents in an additional 255 of its flats.
The cuts will take place starting in October and the apartment blocks in question are located in Hyvinkää, Espoo, and Porvoo.
“We analysed our rents in all of the properties we own, and compared them to other rental properties on the market including those of ARA (The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland). As a result, we realised that the rents on some of our apartments are too high to be considered reasonably priced,” says Juha Kaakinen, managing director of the Y-Foundation.
The decreased rents will affect entire properties where each apartment in a building will see its rent decrease -- for some residents, it could translate into savings of up to 100 euros or more a month.
The Y-Foundation says it has decreased rents to the tune of 3 million euros during 2016. It promises that it will not raise rents next year.
There's a lack of reasonably priced rental apartments in the Greater Helsinki region and growth centres in Finland.