For what types of expenses can you get social assistance?

The maximum amount of housing costs includes rent, maintenance charge or residence charge, and also the following:

necessary upkeep costs on an owner-occupied home
the interest on a personal housing loan
a fee for the use of the sauna
charges for heating that are not part of the rent.

We will add up your housing costs and compare the total amount to the limit for the municipality where you live.

Social assistance may also be granted for reasonable household electricity charges and for water charges and home insurance premiums. These are not included in the limit set for each municipality. Instead, we can accept them as expenses in addition to the other approved housing costs.

The acceptable housing costs vary according to the type of housing

You can get social assistance for certain housing costs, depending on the type of home you live in.

If you apply for social assistance for housing costs, you must send receipts and bills for the costs to Kela with your application. The bills must have a due date during the period for which you are applying for social assistance. The due date means the due date of the original bill, not the due date of the reminder.

Rented housing

You can get social assistance for the following costs of a rented home:

rent
water and heating charges that are paid separately (such as for electric heating)
a fee for the use of the sauna.

A rented apartment or house may be shared by persons who are members of different families. If you live in such a rented home and each tenant has their own rental agreement, we will take into account the amount agreed in your rental agreement as your rent. This applies in cases where the amount you pay is within the limits for the municipality.

It is also possible for tenants to have a joint lease even if they belong to different families who receive social assistance. In such a case, the rent and other housing costs are divided equally among the persons sharing the home. If the household, in other words the persons who live permanently in the same home, has been granted housing allowance, the housing allowance is also divided among the persons who live in the home and taken into account as income.

If you are applying for social assistance and you want Kela to divide the housing costs for your shared rented house or apartment in some other way than that mentioned above, please provide us with information on your actual expenses for the rented housing.

Kela has the right to receive information from landlords, housing cooperatives and real estate corporations about rental agreements and occupancy when that information is necessary for the processing of applications for social assistance. If we receive information in electronic form directly from your landlord, you do not need to send us your rental agreement or proof of the amount of your rent. See a list of landlords that send information on rental agreements in electronic form to Kela.

Owner-occupied housing (shares in a housing corporation)

You can get social assistance for the following costs of an owner-occupied home:

maintenance charge, additional one-off maintenance charge, and land lease fee
the part of the financing fee used to cover interest payments on housing corporation loans
separate heating costs (such as electric or wood heating) and sauna fee
interest payments on personal housing loans if taken out to purchase or modernise the dwelling.

Owner-occupied housing (single-family detached house)

You can get social assistance for the following costs of a single-family detached house:

necessary maintenance costs, consisting of
- heating costs (such as electric, wood or oil heating)
- water charges
- property-specific charges (such as waste collection, chimney sweep, insurance, property tax and ground rent)
interest payments on personal housing loans if taken out to purchase or modernise the dwelling.

Part-ownership housing

You can get social assistance for the following costs of part-ownership housing:

rent
separate charges for heating, water, and use of the sauna.

Right-of-occupancy housing

You can get social assistance for the following costs of right-of-occupancy housing:

residence charge
separate charges for heating, water and use of the sauna
interest payments on personal housing loans if taken out to purchase or modernise the dwelling.

If your housing costs exceed the limit set for your municipality

If your housing costs exceed the limit set for your municipality and you do not have special grounds for higher housing costs as specified in law, we will ask you to look for more affordable housing within three months.

The special grounds for higher housing costs as specified in law include for example the following:

if you or a family member are old or in poor health;
if a family member with a disability has a special need for space due to assistive devices or caregivers;
if you are a non-custodial parent and you need additional space for parent-child visits;
if your family includes a child with special needs, and continued attendance at the same daycare centre, pre-school or school is in the child’s best interests.

If you have special grounds for housing costs that are higher than the limit for your municipality, you should send proof of these special grounds with your application for social assistance (for example a medical certificate or a statement from the social welfare services).

Unfortunately, we cannot accept as special grounds the fact that there is no housing available in your municipality that meets the criteria for recognised housing costs. Even in that case, you must be able to prove that you have looked for more affordable housing using all the means at your disposal. If you fail to find more affordable housing within 3 months despite actively looking for it, we can extend the time limit.

If you have not moved to more affordable housing within the time limit, we will take your housing costs into account up to the municipality-specific limit going forward. This means that you do not have to move out of your home, but if you do not move, you yourself will have to pay for the portion of your housing costs that exceeds the limit.

What to do if you have been asked to look for more affordable housing

Start looking for more affordable housing immediately and search actively for housing. Send Kela information on your search for housing. You will see what information you need to send in the decision notice you have received.
Only apply for housing where the housing costs are below the limit for housing costs in the municipality. Do not limit your search according to, for example, the residential area or the size and characteristics of the apartment.
Search for more affordable housing by looking at rental housing owned by your municipality, large rental agencies operating in the municipality, or by private owners. If you need help finding more affordable housing, you can contact the housing counselling services provided by the municipality where you live or by some other organisation.
If you receive social assistance from Kela, you can receive assistance with your moving costs and with the rental security deposit, on the condition that the rent for your new home does not exceed the limits set for the municipality.

Household electricity

Social assistance can also be granted for reasonable household electricity costs. We will take them into account in addition to the housing costs that fall within the municipality-specific limit.

Household electricity means electricity used for household appliances, electronics and lighting.

The electricity costs that you can get social assistance for include distribution, usage and basic charges. Social assistance is not granted for additional services, such as green electricity, local electricity or a price cap.

If you apply for social assistance for household electricity costs, you must send the bills for the costs to Kela with your application. Bills must be based on actual consumption. The bills must have a due date during the period for which you are applying for social assistance. The due date means the due date of the original bill, not the due date of the reminder.

Limits for electricity costs recognised for the purposes of social assistance 2024 and 2025
Number of persons	EUR per month
1	45
2	55
3	65
4	75
5	85
6	95
7	100
8	110
9	120
10	130

Water charges, home insurance and parking space for a person with reduced mobility

Social assistance can be granted for water charges and home insurance premiums. It can also be granted for a parking space if a member of the family has reduced mobility. We will take these costs into account in addition to the housing costs that fall within the municipality-specific limit.

If you apply for social assistance for such costs, you must send the bills for the costs to Kela with your application. The bills must have a due date during the period for which you are applying for social assistance. The due date means the due date of the original bill, not the due date of the reminder.

Water charges

Social assistance may be granted for reasonable water charges. A reasonable water charge is EUR 26.40 per person and per month. If the water charge is included in the rent, it will not be accepted separately as a cost under social assistance.

Home insurance

The table below shows the limits for acceptable home insurance premiums in 2024. The same limits apply to both owner-occupied and rental housing.

Limits for home insurance premiums recognised for the purposes of social assistance 2024 and 2025
Number of persons	Shares in a housing corporation, EUR per month	Single-family detached house, EUR per month
1	132	300
2	144	312
3	156	324
4	168	336
5	180	336
6	192	348
7	204	360
8	216	372
9	228	384
10	240	396

Parking space for a person with reduced mobility

The fee for a parking space can be accepted as a cost if you or a member of your family has reduced mobility.

If you apply for social assistance for a parking space, you must include proof of reduced mobility with your application.

Housing costs for which you cannot get social assistance

The following are some examples of housing costs for which you cannot get social assistance from Kela:

Fees for the use of your building’s laundry room

Costs related to personal hygiene and to keeping your home clean are included in the basic amount, and that is why they are not accepted as separate costs for the purposes of social assistance.

Fees for a parking space

The fee for a parking space can be accepted as a cost only if you or a member of your family has reduced mobility.

Costs pertaining to household appliances and furniture

You cannot get social assistance from Kela for costs pertaining to household appliances and furniture. However, the social services of your wellbeing services county can pay you supplementary social assistance for such costs, after considering your situation.

Certain costs pertaining to owner-occupied housing

You cannot get social assistance for

the part of the financing fee used for repayments on housing corporation loans
interest payments on loans if taken out to make the down payment on a part-ownership home.

Rental security deposit

When you move into a rented apartment, you are usually required to post a rental security deposit, which is the equivalent of a few months’ rent, or to pay rent in advance. If necessary, the landlord will use it to cover costs such as repairs of damage to the apartment. As a rule, you are expected to pay the security deposit yourself.

If you need social assistance for a rental security deposit, we will usually grant it as a voucher to your landlord.

We can grant social assistance for the rental security deposit for example in the following situations:

divorce or end of cohabitation
health reasons
change in family size
homelessness
threat of homelessness
finding employment in another city or town
gaining admission to a degree-oriented educational programme in another city or town
moving to a more affordable apartment.

Social assistance for a rental security deposit cannot be granted if you move

to a more expensive apartment
for convenience (e.g, access to a sauna or your own yard, moving to a more attractive part of town)
to another city or town if is not necessary because of some acceptable reason
out of your parents’ home without specific reasons
for other comparable reasons.

If your landlord has had reason to use the rental security deposit for which you have been granted social assistance, we will subject your next application for a security deposit to a stricter review. Kela will contact you before the rental security deposit is paid to the landlord.

How to apply for a rental security deposit

Apply for a rental security deposit before you sign your rental agreement. You will not be able to receive social assistance retroactively for a rental security deposit if you have already paid it yourself.

You must have a decision on social assistance for the month in which your rental security deposit is due.
If you do not have a decision on social assistance, you must first apply for it in OmaKela. You can apply for a rental security deposit with the same application. OmaKela is available in Finnish and Swedish.
If you have a decision on social assistance, you can apply for a rental security deposit in OmaKela under Ilmoita muutoksista (Report changes). Under Etuus, select Toimeentulotuki and then Muutto. Alternatively, you can apply for a rental security deposit on the form TO2e, Social assistance - Rental security deposit (pdf).
Enclose with your application a preliminary rental agreement or offer of rental accommodation, including information on the house or apartment, the landlord, and the rent and the rental security deposit. If you want Kela to send the deposit directly to your landlord, state that in your application.

You will receive a separate decision notice if we grant social assistance for the security deposit. The decision will include a voucher for the rental security deposit, unless you have asked for it to be sent directly to your landlord.

The rental security deposit is for a specific dwelling, which means that you cannot use it for another house or apartment. If your rental agreement is in force until further notice, the rental security deposit is also valid until further notice.

If you have a fixed-term rental agreement, the rental security deposit is valid for the same fixed term. If you make a new rental agreement for the same house or apartment after the fixed-term agreement has ended, you must submit a new application for assistance with the rental security deposit. Enclose your new rental agreement or offer of rental accommodation with your new application. Apply for a new rental security deposit immediately, or within a month of the end of your previous rental agreement.

Moving costs

If there is a legitimate reason for the move, Kela can grant social assistance towards essential costs related to moving, such as the cost of transporting household goods.

Legitimate reasons include the following:

divorce or end of cohabitation
health reasons
a need for additional space due to the family expanding
homelessness
threat of homelessness
finding employment in another city or town
gaining admission to a degree-oriented educational programme in another city or town
moving to a more affordable apartment.

It is not considered a legitimate reason for moving if, for example, you move:

to a more expensive apartment
for convenience (e.g, access to a sauna or your own yard, moving to a more attractive part of town)
to another city or town if is not necessary because of some acceptable reason
moving out of your parents’ home without specific reasons while you are under 18 years of age.

As a rule, you have to arrange the move yourself. If you need social assistance for the costs of the move, we can accept moving costs of EUR 120 or 180. The amount depends on how far you are moving and the size of your family.

In special circumstances, for example due to health reasons, Kela may issue a voucher that can be used for moving services. If you are about to move, you should contact Kela well in advance of the move.

Health and medicines

Minor medical expenses are included in the basic amount of social assistance and are not accepted as additional expenses. This includes medicines that are available without a prescription, emollient creams and lotions, vitamins and adhesive bandages.

You can get social assistance separately for the following medical expenses:

Healthcare user fees

You can get social assistance for the following healthcare user fees for public healthcare services in Finland:

fees related to doctor's appointments or dental care (for example health centre fees)
home visit fees, if the home healthcare provider or other healthcare professional is visiting your home on a temporary basis
outpatient clinic charges
charges for hospital services
costs for doctor's statements related to the care provided
physiotherapy charges in public healthcare.

Social assistance can only be granted to the amount of the public healthcare user fee, even if your wellbeing services county has provided the service against a service voucher. If you use a service voucher and its value is not sufficient to cover the service in full, you will usually have to pay the amount exceeding the user fee yourself.

You can also get social assistance for the copayment (omavastuu in Finnish) of rehabilitative psychotherapy provided by Kela and for the healthcare fee for students in higher education.

If you apply for social assistance for healthcare costs, you must send the receipts and bills for the costs to Kela with your application. The bills must have a due date during the period for which you are applying for social assistance. The due date means the due date of the original bill, not the due date of the reminder.

Travel costs for which you can get social assistance

You can get social assistance for the cost of travelling to a public healthcare provider or to rehabilitation. Social assistance can generally be granted for such costs only if they are eligible for reimbursement for travel costs from Kela. Apply for reimbursement for travel costs first.

You can get social assistance for the copayments (your own share of the travel costs, or omavastuu in Finnish) of your travel costs. Enclose a receipt or ticket showing the details of the trip with your application for social assistance.

In your application, you can request a voucher for travel if you cannot pay for the trip yourself. We reimburse travel costs on the basis of the least expensive method of travel, but we will take your state of health into account.

If you are unable to travel by public transport due to your health, you can ask in your application for a voucher for a taxi ride reimbursed by Kela. Vouchers can only be granted for the copayment for a taxi trip and only on the condition that you have not reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum limit on travel costs. Contact a dispatch centre to book a taxi reimbursed by Kela.

You can give your consent for the voucher to be sent directly to the Kela taxi dispatch centre

With your consent, Kela can send the voucher electronically to the dispatch centre for Kela taxis. You can give your consent in the section Additional information on the application form.

When you have given your consent, we will also send the following information to the dispatch centre:

an identifier for your voucher and its date of expiry
the start and end points of your journey
confirmation that no copayment will be charged and that the voucher covers the full cost of the trip.

It is entirely your choice to give consent or not, and it does not affect your entitlement to social assistance or your right to receive a voucher for travel costs.

If we grant you a voucher for your travel costs but you do not give your consent to the use of an electronic voucher, we will give you a paper voucher.

Your consent will be valid for one calendar year at a time. You can choose to specify a shorter period of validity for your consent. You can also withdraw your consent at any time by notifying Kela about it. Once Kela has received your message indicating that you wish to withdraw your consent, we will no longer send details on your voucher to the dispatch centre.

Oral and dental care

You can get social assistance towards the cost of the oral and dental care you receive within the public healthcare system.

You can also receive social assistance for prosthetic dentistry if it is provided by public healthcare services. Where needed, public healthcare units will order the technical work related to dental care from a private dental technician. You can also get social assistance for the costs of the technical work.

If you apply for social assistance for the costs of oral and dental care, you must send the receipts and bills for the costs to Kela with your application. The bills must have a due date during the period for which you are applying for social assistance. The due date means the due date of the original bill, not the

How to use the voucher

The voucher can be used at any pharmacy one day after it has been granted. The voucher will remain accessible to the pharmacies as long as it is valid.
You can visit any pharmacy you wish.
Present your Kela card or ID-card so that the pharmacy can look up information on your direct reimbursements and your voucher.
If you do not give the pharmacy permission to look up your direct reimbursements and voucher, you will have to pay for the medicines yourself.

You will receive more detailed instructions on what the voucher covers and how to use it when you get your decision on social assistance.

Medicines for which you can get social assistance

You can use the voucher only for medicines and other products which have been prescribed to you for the treatment of an illness. In certain situations, we may have to ask for a medical statement showing that the medicine or pharmaceutical product is necessary for the treatment of your illness.

You can get up to 3 months' worth of medication at one time. You cannot get a refill until you have used up nearly all of the previous batch in accordance with the prescription. The pharmacy will substitute a less expensive, interchangeable generic product for the brand prescribed to you unless your doctor has ruled out such a substitution.

If you have paid for the medicines yourself, enclose the receipts for the medicines you paid for with your application for social assistance. Even then, social assistance can only be granted for the copayment (out-of-pocket costs, or omavastuu in Finnish) of the cost of the medicines.

Kela has the right to receive information needed to process applications for social assistance from pharmacies and suppliers of medicinal oxygen and to release such information to them.

Child care and parent-child visits

You can get social assistance towards the costs of municipal early childhood education and for before and after-school activities for schoolchildren.

The right of children under 18 years to maintain contact with their parents can also be ensured by granting social assistance for this purpose.

Early childhood education and before and after-school activities

You can get social assistance towards the fees for municipal early childhood education and for before and after-school activities that the municipality arranges for 1st and 2nd year schoolchildren. Social assistance may also be available for older schoolchildren if they have special needs. If that is the case, you must include a decision on the child’s special needs issued by your municipality as a supporting document with your application.

Before you apply for social assistance for fees, apply to your municipality for a reduction of the fee or an exemption. If you have not been granted a reduction or exemption, you can only get social assistance for 2 months towards these kinds of fees.

You can receive social assistance for the cost of private early childhood education services only in exceptional cases. This includes situations where we estimate that your need for social assistance will only last for a short period of time. If we grant social assistance for the costs of private early childhood education, we usually also advise you to apply for place for your child in municipal early childhood education.

Parent-child visits

If you have a child under the age of 18 that you have parent-child visits with, you can receive social assistance for the costs.

In that case, you should send with your application an agreement confirmed by the municipal authorities or your wellbeing services county or a court decision on the right of access of a child. An agreement between the parents is not sufficient in itself.

Child-specific food allowance for days of parent-child visits

If you live in a different household than your child, you can receive social assistance as a child-specific food allowance for the days when you see your child. As a rule, we pay the food allowance for the days when you see your child in accordance with the agreement on the right of access. You do not need to send any receipts for food costs with your application.

The food allowance for the child cannot be granted to a parent or guardian who is living with the child.

How is the food allowance calculated?

The child’s food allowance per month is 49 per cent of the basic amount allocated to a child the same age. To calculate the food allowance for a day, divide the food allowance for one month by 30.

Example

Maria receives social assistance from Kela. She sees her 6-year-old son on two weekends each month, from Friday to Monday morning. She applies for assistance with the costs of seeing her son on the specified days.

The basic amount for a child under 10 years of age is EUR 383.03 per month. In accordance with the agreement on the right of access, Maria is paid food allowance for the child for eight days. This is a total of EUR 50.05 (383.03 x 0.49 / 30 x 8 = 50).

Travel costs

You can get social assistance for travel costs if you are the parent or guardian of a child who lives with you and who travels to meet a parent living in a different household, which leads to travel costs for you. The travel costs must be agreed upon in a confirmed agreement on the right of access or ordered by court decision. The parent meeting the child is responsible for the travel costs if there is no separate, confirmed agreement or decision about how the travel costs are divided.

When you apply for social assistance for travel costs, submit a receipt or ticket showing the details of the trip with your application.

When social assistance is calculated, travel costs related to parent-child visits are included based on the least expensive method of travel. As a rule, Kela cannot pay social assistance for costs for travel abroad, and the costs for which social assistance is paid must be incurred in Finland. We can also recognise the travel costs of a person accompanying a child if the child is under 7 years of age or cannot travel unaccompanied for due to health-related or other specific reasons.

If the child lives alternately in two homes

If a child spends half of their time with one parent and half with the other parent or guardian, the child belongs to both families. If both families receive social assistance, Kela cannot grant social assistance separately for travel costs. In such a case, the basic amount for the child is divided equally between the two families that receive social assistance.

The basic amount of a child that lives alternately with each parent can be divided between the families without a confirmed agreement or court decision on the right of access. If the child lives alternately with a parent and another guardian, we need a confirmed agreement or court decision on the right of access in order to divide the child’s basic amount between the families.

Identity card and other documents

You can get social assistance for costs associated with obtaining a necessary identity, residence or travel document. The costs you can get social assistance for can be for example

the application fee
costs of a passport photo
costs of obtaining the necessary supporting documents
possible travel expenses (but not accommodation costs).

A passport or an identity card with a photo is necessary in situations where you need to prove your identity, for example at the bank. If you only need a passport for a trip abroad, you cannot get social assistance for the costs.

If you apply for social assistance for any of these costs, you must send the receipts for the costs to Kela with your application.

Supplementary and preventive social assistance

If you have expenses that you cannot get social assistance for from Kela, the social services of your wellbeing services county may provide you with supplementary or preventive social assistance after considering your situation.

Supplementary social assistance

A wellbeing services county can grant supplementary social assistance to cover expenses that are related to your or your family’s special needs and circumstances. These expenses must be necessary for your means of subsistence and for the promotion of your autonomy and independence.

The wellbeing services county may consider special needs and circumstances to be, for example, if your family has received social assistance for a long time, if there is chronic or serious illness in the family or if you have any special needs related to the children’s hobby activities.

Preventive social assistance

The wellbeing services county may also provide you with preventive social assistance, which is often associated with social work. The purpose of preventive social assistance is to promote the social security and autonomy of your family and yourself and also to prevent social exclusion and long-term dependency on social assistance.

Preventive social assistance can be granted for such purposes as:

to secure your housing arrangements
to relieve hardship caused by unmanageable debts or a sudden financial setback
to promote the autonomy of your family or yourself in other ways.

Information about supplementary and preventive social assistance is available from the social services in your wellbeing services county.

When to contact Kela and when to contact the wellbeing services county

Always apply to Kela first when you need social assistance. You will need a decision on social assistance from Kela even if you are only applying for supplementary or preventive assistance.
In your application, you can state that you have expenses which are not covered by the social assistance that Kela pays and that you need supplementary or preventive social assistance for these.
- Enter these expenses under Additional information on the application form.
- Also state the reasons why you need help with these expenses.
- At the same time, ask us to forward your application and the supporting documents to your wellbeing services county for processing. We will only forward the expenses that are not covered by social assistance from Kela to the wellbeing services county.
If you have already received a decision from Kela on social assistance, you can apply directly to the wellbeing services county for supplementary or preventive social assistance.

Do you still have questions?

Call Kela’s customer service.

020 634 2550