Housing in Åland
You can find general information on right-of-occupancy housing, rental housing and types of housing allowance in Åland in the article Housing in Finland.
Can I buy a home (apartment or house) in Åland?
If you have lived in Åland for five years without interruption and are a Finnish citizen, you can apply for right of domicile in Åland.
Åland right of domicile is a precondition for voting and standing for election to the Åland parliament, for owning and occupying land in Åland and for conducting business in Åland. However, it is still possible to buy an apartment or house even if you do not have Åland right of domicile. Exceptions from the requirement of right of domicile can be granted by the Government of Åland. This is after you have applied for a so-called land acquisition permit.
Note: Persons who inherit real estate in Åland have inheritance rights under Finnish inheritance laws.
You can read about the conditions for acquisition of land and Åland right of domicile on the website of the Government of Åland. You can also find links to the application forms on the site.
Rental housing
Can be rented freely by anyone.
Right-of-occupancy housing
The Åland right-of-occupancy housing association has 68 apartments in Mariehamn. Membership is open to everyone. All EU citizens can have right of occupancy.
Condominiums
Can be acquired by all EU citizens. Shares in condominiums are movable property, purchase of which does not require permission.
Real estate agents in Åland
Real estate agents in Åland know the market well and can help you with any questions about housing.
Housing market in Åland
Åland Living has a webpage with links to all agencies with housing for rental or purchase. Click on rent or buy.
If you are interested in rental housing from the Seafarers’ Pension Fund in Mariehamn, which is primarily for seafarers, you can find information on their website.
Other ways to find a home
If you are on Facebook, I recommend joining the Facebook group "Bostäder på Åland”, which is in Swedish. But you can write in English. There you can find lots of ads from private landlords. And I recommend you do what so many others do and make your own inquiry there, especially if you are in a hurry to find a home.
The local newspapers in Åland also have housing pages. You can also put in a free ad in the Want to rent column, and you can find them here:
Average rents in Åland
In April 2022 the average rent for housing in Åland was €10.99 per square metre. In Mariehamn it was
it was €11.51, in rural municipalities €9.51 and in the archipelago €9.18.
Housing waiting list
In the town of Mariehamn there is a waiting list for rental housing. If you want to rent an apartment, make an application to Marstad.
All other municipalities in Åland have rental housing and for their waiting lists you should contact the municipalities directly.
Housing allowance
The purpose of housing allowance is to reduce housing expenditure for households on low incomes. In Åland you apply for housing allowance via Kela/FPA, which processes applications and answers questions about housing allowance.
Student housing in Åland
Most students in Åland live in various types of rental housing in Mariehamn. You can read about this on the Info Norden page on Student housing in Åland.
More information
Here you can read about the most important things to remember when moving to Åland:
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.
