You can’t grind down on renters and right-of-occupancy tenants

While reading minister Mykkänen’s article in this magazine (Vuokralaiset ry's Asuntomme magazine 4/2023, in Finnish), you can’t help but think that the government’s ideological goal is to show that ARA-living isn’t an ideal living solution, and that they somehow wish to grind down on renters. 

This is shown plainly through the budget cuts they are making into social security whilst giving tax reliefs to the wealthy. 

Obviously the government can’t increase its expenses past its incomes, but it is clearly wrong to make people living on lower incomes the victims in this.

There are over 2,3 million people in Finland living on under 20 000 euros, so quite a large group.

The decision to stop building new right-of-occupancy houses is also strange, to say the least. To stop state support for a popular way of living says much about the government’s little understanding about the current market and people’s everyday lives. 

You can read up on page 8 (Asuntomme magazine 4/2023, in Finnish) about how stopping right-of-occupancy construction puts cities like Helsinki and Tampere in a difficult situation, on top of which a perfectly good living alternative between renting and ownership is taken away from tenants. 

Lack of options is always bad in the housing market. Why can’t we continue using a proven good alternative and also create new models alongside it if necessary?  

In this magazine we also tackle the difficulties students face because of the budget cuts the government has planned. 

Student Eveliina Weidenbacher brings up the ways that the government's value judgments are affecting young people already on the first steps of their lives in an article on page 12 (Asuntomme magazine 4/2023, in Finnish). 

There are also comments from many influential entities in this magazine regarding the governments actions.

We at Vuokralaiset want to bring forth the many perspectives on how the government’s changes affect both tenants but also business life. 

We at Vuokralaiset do everything we can to defend renters’ and right-of occupancy tenants' rights.

We have brought these things up in newsletters and we also talk about them at meetings. 

Affordable housing is too important to be left to the ways of the free market.

Despite living in economically tough times, and regrettable news from the world also reaching us here, Christmas thankfully brings us a moment of peace.

And so, I wish both you and your family a merry Christmas!

Suna Kymäläinen

Chairwoman of Vuokralaiset ry
parliamentarian