The upcoming summer will be the first for students since Prime Minister Orpo’s government transferred students from the general housing allowance to the housing supplement for students on 1 August 2025. Even after the transfer, some students remain eligible for general housing allowance, for example if they have children that they are looking after. However, the majority of students have been covered by the housing supplement for students for the last academic year.
Under the general housing allowance scheme, students were eligible for housing allowance in the summer if their income did not exceed a certain level during the summer break. In comparison, the housing supplement for students does not guarantee this same benefit. What should students take into account when considering their income during the summer?
Do you intend to study over the summer break?
You are eligible for the housing supplement for students during the months in which you are entitled to student financial aid. The housing supplement is part of student financial aid, meaning that it is also subject to the same restrictions as student financial aid. In other words, during the summer months, you will be required to attain 5 ECTS per month in order to receive student financial aid and the housing supplement. If you decide to study and receive student financial aid during the summer, remember that the months in which you receive aid will count towards the maximum number of financial aid months available for completing your degree. In other words, when planning your future studies, make sure that you do not suddenly run out of financial aid months – use your summertime studies to support the completion of your degree.
Are you not planning to study during the summer?
In this case, you will not be entitled to student financial aid or the housing supplement for students. If you were entitled to student financial aid during the academic year and you intend to continue pursuing the same degree in the coming autumn, you will not be eligible for the general housing allowance in the summer. You can apply for social assistance if you are not planning to study during the summer, have not found a summer job despite actively seeking one, and have no other sources of income. In the case of full-time students, Kela does not require waiving your right to study and becoming an unemployed jobseeker in order to receive full social assistance. When assessing your eligibility for social assistance, the amount of available student loan will be taken into account as income, regardless of whether you have actually taken out a student loan.
Sounds complicated? Now’s the time to review your options for securing your summertime income – before it’s too late! If any of the details seem unclear or uncertain, you should contact Kela well in advance. Kela has published its own information page on the topic.
Could the current situation have been avoided?
When the government was preparing the transition to the student housing supplement, SYL repeatedly highlighted the challenges and pressures students would face in securing their livelihood during the summer. Today’s job market has made finding a summer job unreasonably difficult for students, regardless of their efforts, as there simply are not enough summer jobs for everyone.
Students have a limited number of student financial aid months for each degree, which is why they must carefully consider whether their planned summertime studies will genuinely support the completion of their degree. Including the available amount of student loan in a student’s available resources, even in situations where no loan has been taken out, places undue pressure on students to increase their indebtedness.
As a solution, SYL has called for increasing the maximum number of student financial aid months and indexing the housing supplement for students. The government’s reluctance to address these concerns is now reflected in the difficulties students face in securing their income over the summer – and, in the worst case, in the years to come.
