Updated 12 October 2026
A right-of-occupancy flat (ASO) and a rental flat both leave the flat in someone else's hands. The difference is money: in ASO you pay a one-off fee and then a monthly charge, which is usually lower than the rent of a similar flat. This guide compares the two with published figures and shows when the lower charge outweighs the money tied up in the fee.
The rules of right of occupancy are explained in the guide what is a right-of-occupancy flat.
Monthly charges against market rents
Varke, the Centre for State-Subsidised Housing Construction, compares ASO charges with market rents every year. In September 2025 the average ASO charge in Finland was €13.90 per m² a month. In the capital region it was €15.40, and among large cities it was lowest in Oulu (€11.40) and Turku (€12.00).
ASO charge and market rentPer m² a month, large cities
ASO charge, September 2025Market rent, 2025 Q2Helsinki24% below rent
Espoo17% below rent
Vantaa15% below rent
Tampere16% below rent
Turku20% below rent
Oulu18% below rent
Jyväskylä9% below rent
Lahti7% below rent
Kuopio11% below rent
Finland11% below rent
Source: Varke, market review of right-of-occupancy flats 2025; market rents of two-room and larger flats from Statistics Finland.
Varke compares the charges with Statistics Finland's market rents for two-room and larger flats from the second quarter of 2025:
- In Helsinki, ASO charges were 24% below market rents. A year earlier the difference was 30%.
- In Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku and Oulu they were 15% to 20% below.
- In Jyväskylä and Lahti they were 9% and 7% below.
- In Finland as a whole they were 11% below.
- In 21 of the 48 municipalities with ASO flats, mostly smaller ones, the average charge was above the market rent.
State-subsidised rental flats are another comparison. In the capital region, ASO charges were on average 4% above their rents.
These are averages over all ASO flats in a municipality. The charge of a single building can be clearly higher or lower: Varke notes that higher loan costs have weighed most on companies with large loans from many new buildings.
How charges and rents have changed
ASO charges and market rents since 2019Per m² a month
Helsinki, market rent of two-room flatsHelsinki, ASO chargeFinland, market rent of two-room flatsFinland, ASO chargeSources: Varke and ARA market reviews of right-of-occupancy flats (charges); Statistics Finland, non-subsidised rents on the 2015 base, to 2025 Q2 (CC BY 4.0).
From 2019 to 2022, ASO charges in Finland rose 0.6% to 1.2% a year. From 2023 they rose faster: 3.8% in 2023, 5.7% in 2024 and 5.1% in 2025. Varke links the rise to the jump in interest rates in 2022 and 2023, which reaches charges with a delay.
In Helsinki, the average ASO charge rose from €12.57 per m² in November 2019 to €15.60 in September 2025, almost 10% of it in the last year. Over the same years, the market rent of two-room flats in Helsinki rose from €19.02 per m² in the second quarter of 2019 to €21.08 in the second quarter of 2025. The gap is still large, but it has narrowed.
The fee
The fee is paid once, when you move in, and refunded when you move out. The refund follows the building cost index, so it does not grow with house prices. Over the ten years to August 2026, the building cost index rose 2.4% a year on average.
Money in the fee could otherwise earn interest or returns. This is the cost of the fee: the larger the fee and the better the alternative return, the more the lower monthly charge has to make up.
Worked example: Helsinki and Lahti
Both examples are 65 m² flats, the average size of an ASO flat. The monthly costs use Varke's averages: the charge from September 2025 (€15.60 per m² in Helsinki, €12.80 in Lahti) and the market rent from the second quarter of 2025 (€20.60 and €13.70 per m²).
| A month | Helsinki | Lahti |
|---|---|---|
| ASO charge | €1,014 | €832 |
| Market rent | €1,339 | €890 |
| Difference | €325 | €58 |
The example was calculated on 12 October 2026 with the Asumisvalinta comparison. Rents rise 2.1% a year and ASO charges 2.5% a year, their average rise from 2019 to 2025. The fee refund grows 1% a year, an assumption below the recent growth of the index. Both options start with the same money. The money not tied up in the fee, and each month's savings of the cheaper option, either earn the savings account rate (2.53% before tax, ECB, August 2026) or are invested at an assumed 5% a year.
How much more money ASO leaves than renting, Helsinki:
| Fee | 10 years | 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | ||
| €20,000 | €41,800 | €92,900 |
| €40,000 | €40,100 | €88,800 |
| €60,000 | €38,300 | €84,800 |
| Invested | ||
| €20,000 | €41,200 | €101,000 |
| €40,000 | €34,400 | €82,300 |
| €60,000 | €27,700 | €63,600 |
Lahti:
| Fee | 10 years | 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | ||
| €20,000 | €4,100 | €3,200 |
| €40,000 | €2,400 | −€800 |
| €60,000 | €600 | −€4,800 |
| Invested | ||
| €20,000 | −€200 | −€9,000 |
| €40,000 | −€6,900 | −€28,100 |
| €60,000 | −€13,600 | −€47,200 |
A negative figure means renting leaves more money.
In Helsinki the lower charge outweighs the fee in every case: €325 a month adds up faster than the fee could earn. In Lahti the monthly difference is small. ASO stays slightly ahead with a small fee and a savings account, and renting comes out ahead when the money would otherwise be invested.
What decides the result
- The gap between the charge and the rent. It matters more than anything else. Compare the charge of the actual flat with rents of similar flats in the area on the map.
- The size of the fee and what the money would otherwise earn. A large fee costs most when you would invest the money.
- How charges and rents develop. Since 2023 ASO charges have risen faster than rents. If that continues, the gap narrows.
- How long you stay. The monthly difference accumulates every month you live in the flat.
Other differences do not show in money. An ASO flat needs a queue number, and you can stay as long as you like. A rental flat is easier to leave: a lease valid until further notice ends with one month's notice, see renting a flat.
Limits
The figures are municipal averages. A single flat's charge, the rents nearby and the fee can differ a lot, so check the real figures of the flat you are considering. The comparison on Asumisvalinta lets you enter them.
Sources
- Asuntomarkkinakatsaus 2/2025: asumisoikeusasunnot, Varke, 17 October 2025, read 12 October 2026: charges in September 2025, comparison with market rents (appendix 1), changes and average size.
- Varke and ARA market reviews of right-of-occupancy flats 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, read 12 October 2026: average charges in Finland and Helsinki.
- Rents of dwellings, Statistics Finland: non-subsidised rents of two-room flats on the 2015 base, 2019 to 2025. Source: Statistics Finland, CC BY 4.0.
- Building cost index, Statistics Finland. Source: Statistics Finland, CC BY 4.0.
- Interest rates on new household deposits in Finland, ECB. Source: ECB statistics.
- Methodology, Asumisvalinta: how the comparison is calculated.