How much of my housing costs can general housing allowance and social assistance cover?
Do you need help with housing costs? Many people wonder how much assistance with housing costs they can get. We have gathered information for you on how much of the housing costs general housing allowance and social assistance can cover.
Kela can pay general housing allowance to low-income households that need help with their housing costs for rental or right-of-occupancy housing. Social assistance, on the other hand, is a last-resort form of financial assistance if other income and benefits do not cover your necessary expenses.
If your income and assets do not cover your rent after you have been paid housing allowance, you can also apply for social assistance to cover the rest of your housing costs.
Your housing costs affect the amount of both general housing allowance and social assistance. However, they are taken into account differently in the two benefits.
General housing allowance covers only part of the housing costs
General housing allowance is affected by the number of adults and children in the household, their income and assets, the municipality in which the home is located and the housing costs. A household means people who live permanently in the same house or apartment and are part of the same household.
General housing allowance is granted for acceptable housing costs, such as rent, water and heating charges.
Housing allowance can cover up to 70% of your housing costs. This means that you always pay at least 30% of your housing costs yourself. Kela also deducts a basic deductible from your housing costs. The size of the basic deductible depends on household income.
Read more about how income and assets affect general housing allowance.
Maximum housing costs allowed under the general housing allowance scheme
There are different maximum limits for the housing costs in different municipality categories, and the limits are referred to as maximum housing costs.
You can still get housing allowance if your housing costs are higher than the maximum housing costs defined in law. However, Kela will only pay the allowance based on the maximum housing costs.
The maximum housing costs are affected by
- the number of adults and children living in the home
- the municipality in which the home is located.
Finnish municipalities are divided into categories according to the average cost of living there.
Check the maximum amount of housing allowance you can get in the municipality where you live.
Maija lives alone in a rented apartment in Helsinki. She pays EUR 800 per month in rent. Maija's income consists of a general social security benefit paid on account of unemployment of EUR 800 per month. This will result in a basic deductible of EUR 19.50 per month for the housing allowance for Maija.
Up to EUR 563 per month can be accepted as housing costs for a person living alone in Helsinki. This means that Maija’s housing allowance is calculated according to the maximum housing costs for the municipality where she lives, EUR 563. The housing allowance is not calculated on the basis of her actual rent (EUR 800).
When calculating how much housing allowance Maija can get, Kela first deducts the basic deductible from the maximum housing costs that apply to Maija. Kela then pays Maija 70% of the resulting amount as housing allowance. Maija gets EUR 380 per month in housing allowance. Of the rent, Maija must herself pay EUR 800 per month - EUR 380 per month = EUR 420 per month.
If Maija's other benefits, income and assets are not enough to pay the rent, she can also apply for social assistance.
Social assistance can cover the rest of the housing costs up to a reasonable limit
Before applying for social assistance, you should apply for all the primary benefits to which you may be entitled. Social assistance is a form of financial assistance that is granted as a last resort.
If your combined income, assets and other benefits are not enough to cover your essential expenses, you can check your right to social assistance. You can apply for social assistance to cover the rest of your housing costs, but it can only be granted up to a reasonable limit.
Maximum amounts of housing costs that can be recognised under the social assistance scheme
Also for social assistance, there are maximum limits for the amount of housing costs that Kela can take into account. These limits have been defined separately for each municipality.
The maximum allowable amount is affected by the size of your family and your municipality of residence. In connection with social assistance, family is defined as the people who live in the same household: the parents and their underage children, married spouses and two persons who live together in a couple relationship.
Check the maximum amount of housing costs in 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. You can also continue to live in your current home, but in that case you must yourself pay the part of your housing costs exceeding the maximum amount.
Please note that the maximum housing costs recognised for social assistance will change on 1 January 2027 in some municipalities. This change may affect how much social assistance you can get for your housing costs. This change does not affect the general housing allowance. Read more about the change.
Use our calculator to get an estimate of the benefits
You can use an online calculator to find out how much housing allowance you could get.
If the housing allowance and your other income and assets are not enough to cover your essential expenses, you can find out if you can get social assistance. Use our calculator to estimate how much social assistance you might get.