Housing assistance for conscripts

If you received general housing allowance from Kela prior to entering service, the allowance will continue to be paid throughout your service.

• Your general housing allowance will not be discontinued because you enter service. However, you must apply for a review of your housing allowance because your income has changed.
• Additionally, you can be granted housing assistance for conscripts. The amount of housing assistance equals the difference between the general housing allowance and your housing costs.

Rented home

You can get housing assistance from Kela for a rented home if you have lived in rented housing on a permanent basis for at least 3 months before entering service. In such a situation, you can move before entering service or while you are in service, as you have already lived independently before entering service.

If, on the other hand, you have rented your home less than 3 months before entering service or after you have already entered service, and you did not live in rented housing before that, you cannot usually be granted housing assistance. In that case, Kela covers your housing costs only if there was a legitimate reason for you to rent the new home.

Legitimate reasons include

• moving in with your partner
• having a child
• you will be starting studies or work far from your current place of residence within 2 to 3 months of finishing your service
• you get an apartment after being on a waiting list for a long time.

Legitimate reasons do not include

• wanting to live independently
• your parents no longer want you to live at home.

Owner-occupied homes

You can get housing assistance towards the housing costs of an owner-occupied home. It does not matter if you have moved to the owner-occupied home less than 3 months before entering military or non-military service or during your service.

If an unmarried cohabiting couple receives general housing allowance jointly from Kela, the person in military or non-military service can get housing assistance for conscripts in addition to the general housing allowance.

However, you can get housing assistance only towards your own housing costs, which in practice means half the shared housing costs. When calculating your housing assistance, half the general housing allowance will be deducted from your housing costs.

Example: Do you live alone with your live-in partner

Ella and Joona rent an apartment together. The rent is EUR 700 per month. Ella and Joona have been granted general housing allowance. The general housing allowance is EUR 200[J01]  per month. Joona enters military service.

To calculate Joona’s housing assistance, first the general housing allowance is deducted from the rent. The amount of his housing assistance is then half the rent after general housing allowance has been deducted from it.

• 700 (rent) – 200 (housing allowance) = 500
• 500:2 = 250 = Joona’s housing assistance. 

Rented home

If you are in military or non-military service and you and your cohabiting partner who you are not married to do not have any children together, your housing assistance can cover half at most of the housing costs of your rented home.

Owner-occupied homes

Unmarried couple who own a home together

If you do not have any children together and you jointly own a home, your housing assistance can cover half of your housing costs at most.

Unmarried couple, only one partner owns the home

If you alone own your home, you can get housing assistance towards the interest payments on your housing loan. Other housing costs, such as maintenance charges, electricity bills and water charges, are halved.

If your partner alone owns your home, you can get housing assistance towards the interest payments on their housing loan only if you have contributed to the interest payments. You need to send Kela proof of payment showing that you have paid interest on the loan before entering service. Other housing costs, such as maintenance charges, electricity bills and water charges, are halved. No proof of payment is needed for such costs.

If you received general housing allowance from Kela prior to entering military or non-military service, the allowance will continue to be paid throughout the service.

• Your general housing allowance will not be discontinued because you enter service. However, you must apply for a review of your housing allowance because your income has changed.
• Additionally, you can be granted housing assistance for conscripts. The amount of housing assistance equals the difference between the general housing allowance and your housing costs.

If you live with a partner you are married to or with a live-in partner with whom you have a child together, Kela will pay your housing assistance to them. This means that the housing assistance is not paid to the person in military or non-military service.

Housing costs include housing costs for the entire home.

If you come from outside Finland to perform military or non-military service, Kela can pay you or your partner housing assistance even if your home is not in Finland. In that case, Kela needs further information about your housing costs.

Kela can also pay you housing assistance for a home you have rented in Finland for the duration of your service. In that case, your housing assistance is at most the equivalent of the rent of a rented one-room apartment in the same municipality. Other housing costs are covered in the same way as they are for Finnish residents. You do not need to rent the home three months before entering military or non-military service.