Töölö Service Point is closed 21.12.2012 – 10.1.2013. During this time, all AYY apartment keys will be returned to the AYY Housing Office in Otaniemi. Exception: January moving date handled normally through Töölö Service Point.

If the Housing Office is closed, the keys can be left in the mail slot on the Otakaari-side of the building. The mail slot reads: AYY Toimisto 11. When you are returning the keys, please put the keys in an envelope and write on the envelope your own name and which exact apartment the keys are for!

Housing Office will organize a person to be at the Töölö Service point on Wednesday 2.1.2013. This means that on January’s moving date, Helsinki area keys are returned and picked up at the Töölö Service Point normally, during normal open hours (10:30 – 14:30). This also means, that on the January moving day, no Helsinki area keys can be returned to Otaniemi.

There will be no other services offered at the Töölö Service Point during that day, only the handling of apartment keys.

We informed earlier about the changed rules concerning friend swaps in AYY apartments. The practices will come into force on 1 Dec 2012. This is a reminder about the new practices and clarification about what they will actually mean for AYY tenants.

If one person moves out from a family or friend apartment, the remaining tenant is offered a chance for a friend swap, if

• the lease of the apartment has lasted continuously for at least six months, with no friend swaps.

Normally the lease of a friend or a family apartment ends, if a friend or a spouse moves out from the apartment. With a friend swap, the tenant can keep his/her old apartment and keep living in it with a new friend/spouse. The new friend/spouse must be

• a person who lives in an AYY apartment already, before the friend swap.

This is based on the stand, that new tenants for AYY apartments are always chosen from the queues. A friend swap means that AYY tenants can be moved from AYY apartments to other AYY apartments. It can’t be used to skip the queuing completely, by using a friend’s apartment to get into an AYY apartment without queuing for it.  This means, that all completely new AYY tenants have to be chosen based on applications and queuing.

People living in AYY apartments can be offer a friend swap, because they have already queued for their first apartment and will leave that one empty for the next applicant from the queue, when they move to the new friend or family apartment.

All exceptions to these practices are granted by the Housing Committee. If you wish to apply for something outside of these rules, send a written application (with attachments and reasons) to AYY Housing Office.

All AYY tenants should be getting a information package about current events in AYY housing pretty much at this moment. If you live in the Teekkarivillage and haven’t seen your information package yet, you can contact your Castle Warden and inquire about the issue. The package has all sorts of important info about accommodation, tenant activity, and also the general rules and regulations for all AYY apartments!

The info package is now also available here: AYY information for tenants 2012

The rent in shared apartments in Teekkari Village and Leppävaara has included regular cleaning service of common facilities in shared apartments by the maintenance company. As of 1 Oct, a new property maintenance agreement will come into force, which no longer includes the cleaning of common facilities in shared apartments. After this, residents must ensure the cleanliness of their apartment by themselves. Stairways and common premises in the building will be cleaned as usual.

Cleaning of common premises in shared apartments is discontinued due to high costs and equal treatment of AYY’s tenants. In the properties in Helsinki, the cleaning of common facilities in shared apartments has never been included in the rent.

After 1 Oct, the residents must ensure the cleanliness of common facilities and keep their apartment in a generally acceptable condition. The storing of waste in common facilities or balconies, for example, is strictly prohibited and may result in warnings and even the termination of a rental agreement. If a shared apartment is found to be in an unsuitable condition, a cleaning request is submitted. After the request, the apartment can be cleaned by AYY and cleaning costs will be charged from all residents of the shared apartment. If problems arise, residents may contact the castle warden in their building or AYY’s housing office.

Housing Specialist Jaakko Koivula (050 520 9444, firstname.lastname@ayy.fi) answers any questions and provides additional information.

AYY uses the contact information entered in Campus housing search system for providing housing offers and informing the residents. So please make sure that your information is always up to date in Campus! Housing offers, for example, are always sent to the e-mail address entered in the Campus system. If your contact information is not up to date, you might completely miss a suitable housing offer.

If the applicant does not respond to the housing offer and the offer expires, the apartment is always offered to the next applicant in accordance with the normal rules. Because of this, please inform Campus also if you are not able to follow your e-mail during a certain time period. AYY takes into account various situations entered in Campus system when making housing offers.

Applicants are responsible for updating their contact information and notifying about the periods when they are not able to check their e-mail. If the apartment is offered to the next applicant due to an expired housing offer, AYY can no longer do anything about this and may not be able to organise compensatory housing.

Emergency Housing Coordinator Vera Moshina will operate in AYY until 31 Oct. Ms. Moshina helps all those AYY members who have problems in finding accommodation for the autumn of 2012. The emergency housing coordinator gives advice on how to find housing, organises temporary accommodation and helps with other matters related to housing.

The emergency housing coordinator is available at AYY’s Housing Office in Otaniemi at the following times:

• 7 Aug – 29 Aug, 12noon-2pm
• 30 Aug – 15 Sept, 12noon-4pm
• 16 Sept – 1 Oct klo 12noon-2pm

At other times by appointment.

Vera can be reached by phone at 050 520 9413 and by email at emergencyhousing(at)ayy.fi

Aalto University Student Union also organises temporary accommodation on its premises during September. If you think you need short-term emergency housing, please contact the emergency housing coordinator. The coordinator receives requests for emergency housing and gives advice on practical arrangements. Emergency housing does not generally take reservations in advance and therefore temporary housing is available for those who have an acute need for it.

The emergency housing coordinator will also continuously update AYY’s own database for housing search in the metropolitan area. The database can be found here.

The coordinator has been hired in cooperation with Aalto University. For further information, please contact the emergency housing coordinator or Housing Specialist Jaakko Koivula (050 520 9444, firstname.lastname@ayy.fi).