Mov­ing to Oulu? A Guide to Neigh­bor­hoods and Rent­ing

Mov­ing to a new city is about more than find­ing a job or a study place. Choos­ing the right neigh­bor­hood can sig­nif­i­cant­ly influ­ence how quick­ly you set­tle in and feel at home. Oulu offers a vari­ety of res­i­den­tial areas, each with its own char­ac­ter, ameni­ties, and lifestyle. 

In this guide, we explore some of the best neigh­bor­hoods for inter­na­tion­al res­i­dents and some oth­er top tips for find­ing a place to rent in Oulu.

Prac­ti­cal Hous­ing Tips

Once you know you are plan­ning to move to Oulu, it is advis­able to start search­ing for accom­mo­da­tion as soon as pos­si­ble. You can search in sev­er­al ways, such as via online web­sites like Oikotie, Sivak­ka and Vuokraovi, or by search­ing local hous­ing providers’ web­sites such as Lumo hous­ing or Joo Homes. If you are a stu­dent, you may also be able to search with PSOAS. More infor­ma­tion about rental hous­ing can be found on the City of Oulu’s web­site here: Rental Hous­ing | City of Oulu

Rental Con­tracts

Rental con­tracts can be con­fus­ing, but be sure to under­stand what you are sign­ing for. If the con­tract is only avail­able in Finnish and you are not yet flu­ent, ask a Finnish friend to help with trans­lat­ing and be care­ful when using online trans­la­tor tools as they may not be com­plete­ly accu­rate. Don’t sign a con­tract you don’t ful­ly under­stand. If any­thing is unclear, ask the land­lord, hous­ing provider, or ser­vices such as Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu for guid­ance before com­mit­ting. 

Most rental con­tracts are either: 

• Fixed-term (määräaikainen): runs for a spe­cif­ic peri­od and gen­er­al­ly can­not be ter­mi­nat­ed ear­ly with­out agree­ment. 

• Valid until fur­ther notice (tois­taisek­si voimas­sa ole­va): con­tin­ues indef­i­nite­ly until either the land­lord or renter gives notice accord­ing to the con­tract and Finnish law. 

Land­lords also often require a secu­ri­ty deposit, typ­i­cal­ly between one and three months’ rent. The deposit should be returned after the ten­an­cy ends, pro­vid­ed the apart­ment is left in good con­di­tion and all oblig­a­tions have been met. 

Check the con­tract for any spe­cif­ic rules regard­ing pets, smok­ing, or sub­let­ting rooms.

Util­i­ty Bills

Not all util­i­ties are includ­ed in the rent. Check whether: 

• Water is includ­ed or charged sep­a­rate­ly. 

• Inter­net access is includ­ed in the hous­ing com­pa­ny’s ser­vices. 

• Park­ing spaces require an addi­tion­al fee. 

Elec­tric­i­ty con­tracts are often arranged sep­a­rate­ly by ten­ants, so remem­ber to set one up before mov­ing in. Home insur­ance is also some­thing to con­sid­er. Many land­lords require ten­ants to have home insur­ance with lia­bil­i­ty cov­er­age. Insur­ance can help cov­er acci­den­tal dam­age and pro­tect per­son­al belong­ings. 

More infor­ma­tion can be found about accom­mo­da­tion types and the cost of liv­ing here: https://oulu.com/en/ihoulu/news-events/tips-for-relocating-to-oulu/#accommodation-and-cost-of-living

What to Con­sid­er When Choos­ing a Neigh­bor­hood in Oulu

There is no one ‘best’ place to live in Oulu, it real­ly depends on your needs and wants. Things like the dis­tance to work, pub­lic trans­port con­nec­tions, schools, day­care cen­tres, local ser­vices, and hous­ing costs can all play a role in help­ing you find the right place to live. 

Good news: Oulu is known as one of the world’s most bicy­cle-friend­ly cities, mak­ing many places acces­si­ble by bicy­cle year-round.

Areas to con­sid­er

Keskus­ta (City Cen­tre) 

Could be best for: young-pro­fes­sion­als, new­com­ers, car-free liv­ing

Kai­jon­har­ju

Could be best for: Stu­dents and uni­ver­si­ty staff

Tuira

Could be best for: Young pro­fes­sion­als and cou­ples

Hiukkavaara

Could be best for: Fam­i­lies

Haukipu­das

Could be best for: Those seek­ing space and nature

There are sev­er­al more neigh­bor­hoods in and around Oulu, so be sure to inves­ti­gate all the pos­si­bil­i­ties as we can only list some in this arti­cle. More infor­ma­tion about dif­fer­ent loca­tions in Oulu can be found here: In Oulu you live near nature, or in the city cen­tre

Hous­ing avail­abil­i­ty can change through­out the year, par­tic­u­lar­ly before the start of uni­ver­si­ty semes­ters. Even if a neigh­bor­hood seems ide­al, flex­i­bil­i­ty in your search area can help you find suit­able accom­mo­da­tion more quick­ly.

Still in Need of More Guid­ance?

You can access per­son­al guid­ance via the City of Oulu’s Hous­ing Guid­ance ser­vice. They can offer sup­port when you are apply­ing for hous­ing allowances and been­fits, look­ing for new hous­ing, prob­lems with rental pay­ments or oth­er eco­nom­ic prob­lems and evic­tion sit­u­a­tions.  

You can access this ser­vice at Busi­nes­sAs­e­ma (Uusikatu 52, 90100 Oulu) every Tues­day from 12.00 to 15.00 with­out an appoint­ment. Find out more about his ser­vice here: Hous­ing Guid­ance Ser­vice | City of Oulu 

What about Buy­ing a Home?

While this guide focus­es on rent­ing, pur­chas­ing a prop­er­ty is anoth­er option for those plan­ning to stay in Fin­land long term. Buy­ing a home involves addi­tion­al con­sid­er­a­tions such as mort­gages, hous­ing com­pa­ny struc­tures, main­te­nance costs, and prop­er­ty inspec­tions. Inter­est­ed in a guide about this or some­thing else? We’d love to hear from you at ihoulu@ouka.fi. 

Good luck in your search for a place to call home. 

Text by: Sophie Platt