Legislative amendment to enter into force: more social assistance recipients will be asked to seek more affordable housing 

There are municipality-specific maximum limits for the amount of housing costs that can be recognised under the social assistance scheme. Kela can recognise housing costs that exceed the maximum limit if there are special grounds for this. A legislative amendment entering into force on 1 April 2024 will impose further limits to what counts as special grounds.

Parliament has approved the amendment concerning the recognition of housing costs under the social assistance scheme. The amendment is largely in line with Kela’s current practices: There are municipality-specific maximum limits for the amount of housing costs that can be recognised under the social assistance scheme. If a recipient of social assistance has housing costs that exceed the maximum limit, Kela will tell them that they need to look for more affordable housing within three months’ time, unless they have special grounds for staying in their current home. If they do not move to a more affordable home within this time limit, their housing costs will be recognised up to the maximum limit, which means that they will get paid less social assistance going forward. However, the time limit can be extended if there is a good reason for doing so.

The legislative amendment will not bring about any major changes to the current practices. Mostly, it will make the criteria for recognising housing costs clearer by codifying them in an act and a decree. However, the amendment will in some respects tighten the criteria for recognising housing costs that exceed the maximum limit. The legislative amendment will enter into force on 1 April 2024.

It will be on the customer to prove that they have looked for more affordable housing using all the means at their disposal

Circumstances that will continue to constitute special grounds include the advanced age or poor health of the recipient or a family member, as well as a non-custodial parent’s need for additional space for parent-child visits. In order to ensure that the change does not negatively affect families with children, the best interests of the child will also qualify as special grounds. 

However, if there is no housing that meets the criteria for maximum housing costs available in the area where the recipient lives, this will no longer constitute special grounds under the new amendment. It will be on the customer to prove that they have looked for more affordable housing using all the means at their disposal. If the customer fails to find more affordable housing within the designated time limit despite actively looking for it, the time limit can be extended.

Going forward, Kela will no longer have the right to employ discretion in situations where the housing costs exceed the maximum limit by a minor amount. Kela has considered that about 5% is a minor amount. 

Currently, approximately 56,800 families have housing costs that exceed the maximum limit. Of this number, more than 40,000 families have their housing costs recognised to their full amount. 14,000 of these families have their housing costs recognised to their full amount on the grounds that they exceed the maximum limit by a minor amount. 

Additional information for customers:

• Government proposal to Parliament for the amendment of Section 7 a of the Act on Social Assistance (eduskunta.fi)
• Housing costs and basic social assistance (kela.fi)
• All press releases about the changes to the social security benefits are available at www.kela.fi/changes