The Ministry of the Environment requested a statement from the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) on the legislative proposal to improve the terms of the home savers scheme, also known as the ASP system. SYL supports the government proposal, which aims to decrease the self-financed share of the ASP loan from 10% to 5%, to increase the share of the state guarantee from 90% to 95%, and to extend the maximum loan period from 25 years to 40 years.
SYL considers that these amendments are justified since they would make the terms and conditions of the ASP loan more uniform with the terms and conditions of other first-time homebuyer loans and could facilitate the purchase of a first home, especially in growth centres. The current self-financing share is steep and may form a significant barrier to purchasing a home, especially in areas where housing prices are high.
At the same time, SYL emphasises that the development of the ASP system should be examined as part of the livelihoods, housing, and amount of debt of students. Merely improving the terms and conditions of the ASP scheme does not provide a solution to the challenges of purchasing a first home without enabling students to save.
During this parliamentary term, students have suffered from significant budget cuts, and student financial aid has become increasingly reliant on loans. The student loan portfolio has increased to over six billion euros, and an average graduate with a Master’s degree in 2025 had almost EUR 25,000 in debt. SYL estimates that the loan amount per student may be rapidly growing towards EUR 30,000 in the next few years.
The growing financial strain from student loans also affects young people’s chances of purchasing their own home. Significant debt may make it harder for students and graduates to save for a first home and to get a mortgage. This could lead to postponing the purchase of a home until long after graduation.
SYL would also like to bring up the risk of losing the ASP savings. As it becomes harder for students to make a living, long-term saving may be at risk if the savings have to be spent on necessary living expenses. Transferring students to the scope of the student housing supplement has increased insecurity, particularly during the months when students are not completing studies since they do not receive a housing supplement for these months. Without a summer job, students may need to resort to social assistance, which requires them to withdraw from their savings or take out a student loan.
In addition, heavily relying on loans for a livelihood may contribute to the social and economic exclusion of students. Students from higher-income backgrounds have a better chance to avoid taking out loans and accumulating their savings, while students from lower-income families may need to finance their studies largely through debt.
SYL emphasises that the ASP scheme must be a genuinely attractive, flexible and predictable tool for purchasing a first home and support young people’s equal opportunities to purchase their own home. In addition to developing the terms and conditions of the ASP scheme, facilitating the purchase of a first home requires students to have sufficient and predictable income to ensure that young people are not excluded from the housing market on the basis of their financial background.
More information:
Sonja Naalisvaara
Social Policy Adviser (student finances, housing)
040 687 6353
sonja.naalisvaara@syl.fi
