Excellent that you came to LOAS! Please read some brief tips and facts below on what should be done now and how housing takes place with us.
Lease terms, rent, usage fee and furniture fee
Read the lease terms attached to your lease agreement in Intra carefully. Fixed term leases cannot be terminated prematurely. For leases that are valid until further notice the period of termination notice from tenant´s side is one (1) month, counted from the last day of the month in which the notice was given. Termination of the lease can easily be done in Intra.
The rent includes a usage fee, which at most of the housing sites covers electricity, water, the use of laudry rooms and common sauna turns. At LOAS Seppo (Yliopistonkatu 28 G) and Timppa (Laserkatu 1) electricity and water are measured per apartment. Residents have to make their own contract with the electric company. The water fee is charged in advance with the rent payment and is adjusted half-yearly or when moving out.
If you are moving into a furnished apartment, you will be charged for a furniture fee. The furniture includes a bed frame 80 x 200 cm (no mattress), a desk, a work chair, a table lamp, a bookshelf and a drawer; in the kitchen a dining table and chairs. The furniture does not include any utensils like dishes, bed clothes, curtains or cleaning equipment. Exception: the furniture at Korpimetsänkatu 5 includes a kitchen table, kitchen chairs and a diswasher. There´s no furniture in bedrooms.
You will receive the rent invoice by email. The due date is the 5th of each month. If the rent payment is delayed, please contact us via Intra. We charge 5 eur for sending a payment reminder.
Apartment key
You receive your key from LOAS housing office at Laserkatu 1 C on the moving day after 12 noon at the latest. If the first day of the lease is Saturday/Sunday, a public holiday, Independence Day, first of May, Christmas Eve or Midsummer Eve, the moving day is the first business day after that. You can ask about the key retrieval by sending us a message via Intra.
Take good care of your key. If you lose the key, the costs will be charged from you. If you forget your key inside the apartment, you can borrow a spare key free of charge from the office. During evenings and weekends the security company opens the door for a fee. You find the phone number for the door opening service on each apartment building´s front door. LOAS has a Key Cover insurance for the residents which covers the replacement of keys and locks, as well as expenses for the door opening service. Ask the housing office for more information about the insurance.
If your key is an electronic Abloy Cliq-key, please contact the housing office in the event of possible fault (key shows red light). The Cliq key is programmed to run continuously, which means that residents do not need to update the keys in programming units of apartment buildings.
First fill in the apartment checklist
However, first it is worth checking the condition of the apartment and any possible faults. Start in the intranet by filling in the apartment checklist and report all the faults and shortcomings that you have observed. Pictures of all defects must be attached. Defects reported on the apartment checklist are evaluated and, if necessary, fault reports are created. In addition, urgent faults and uncleanness of the apartment should be reported by calling the office immediately.
It is important for your sake that the apartment checklist is filled in. The checklist is used to report possible defects already present in the apartment to LOAS and that way they won´t be charged from you when you will move out of the apartment.
Additional info about residental areas and housing sites
You can find more detailed information about residential areas and housing sites on LOAS website. The basic information of each residential property lists, for example, the location information of storage rooms, a laundry room and resident saunas.
Intra
On Intra you can easily book a parking space, sauna or laundry turns. You can also contact the housing office and create fault reports or send disturbance complaints. At Anni Swanin katu 4, Kalliopellonkatu 10 and Punkkerikatu 7 also the storage rooms are booked on Intra.
Living in a shared apartment
Living in a shared apartment is a great opportunity to make new friends. Agreeing on rules together is a good way to get to know each other. The residents are together responsible for keeping the shared areas clean. Also it is a shared responsibility to make sure, that the common areas (toilet, bathroom, kitchen, hallway, balcony) are clean, when someone is moving out.
You can contact other tenants of your shared apartment before moving. Open the agreement in Intra and you will find the Contact flatmate-function.
Talk with your flatmate at least about these things:
Cleaning
When to clean? Can we agree on cleaning turns? Is it ok to leave dirty dishes for a week in the
kitchen sink? All tenants of the apartment are responsible for cleaning the common areas (kitchen,
hallway, toilet, bathroom and balcony).
Common areas
On which kitchen shelf I can leave my stuff? How about my food in fridge and freezer? Do I buy my
own toilet paper and cleaning agents? Agree on buying something together and mark with
adhesive tape the shelfs for each tenant.
Quiet time
At what time I can still listen to music or have friends in my room? The common quiet time in LOAS
houses is between 23.00‐07.00.
Respect private space and personal belongings
Can I make coffee with my flatmate´s coffee maker? How about using his/her shampoo when my
own is finished? Be polite and don´t use some one else´s belongings without a permission.
Talking can solve many problems
Dirty dishes in the kitchen and a trash bin full of carbage? Even the small annoying things should be
brought up so that living together is pleasent for everyone. Be also ready for compromises as there
is no one right way to live and be.
House rules
It's nice to start your studies and new life in a pleasant home and environment. First you should familiarise with the house rules, of which here are a few:
- All our apartments are smoke-free - smoking is prohibited in all buildings and balconies. Smoking areas have been marked separately in the yard areas.
- Silence between 11 pm - 7 am
Booking the club rooms
You can book LOAS’ club rooms for your own events, ask for more information at our office. Bookings can be made at least one week before the event. The order regulations of the club rooms shall apply at events.
House-warming parties are held in new homes and new friends are introduced
Sometimes a neighbour’s party may cause disturbance. If loud parties are a repetitive problem, start by discussing the situation with the relevant neighbour. If the situation continues, you can report the disturbance to LOAS by filling in the form on the intranet (disturbance report). We shall contact the relevant person to find out how the disturbance can be ended.
Home cleanliness
According to the terms of the lease, a tenant is committed to take good care of the apartment and its common areas throughout the period of residence. In a shared apartment all tenants are together responsible for tidiness of the common areas. Whenever a new tenant moves into a shared apartment, it is worth agreeing on rules concerning cleaning and living in general. Tenants are charged for the cleaning costs if for example during LOAS maintenance visit the apartment is found out to be untidy or the final cleaning has not been done when resident moves out. The basic cleanliness of the apartment should be maintained throughout the period of residence. This makes the final cleaning quicker and easier.
The general level of tidiness of the apartment is worth maintaining throughout the residence period. Normal weekly cleaning is sufficient as maintenance cleaning: vacuuming, wiping of surfaces and taking out the rubbish. The oven/hob and refrigerator should be cleaned regularly. When you ensure the basic cleaning already while you live in the apartment, the cleaning when moving out is always a lot easier.
Internet
Most of the properties have Lnet wired internet connection (included in the rent). To use the network, you will need an 8-pin Ethernet cable with a so-called RJ-45 connector. Some properties (Leirikatu 2, Reippaankatu 2) offer wifi or Telia cable modem connection instead of cabled Lnet connection. The wireless networks available are eduroam, which can be used with the universities user accounts, and WLNET, for which the credentials can be found in LOAS’s intranet. Instructions for using eduroam can also be found in LUT’s Uni service. For more information about the internet connection, please visit here.
Waste recycling
Each resident is responsible for considering environmental issues in their own household and all waste must be recycled according to guidelines, which are displayed at the waste canopies. You find separate containers at all LOAS waste canopies for dry waste, bio waste, paper, cardboard, metal, glass and plastic. Please, follow the instructions for waste recycling. Also remember to fold your cardboard so that the container wouldn´t fill too quickly. More instructions for waste recycling here.
Heating in LOAS apartments
The normal temperature of the apartments is 20-22°C. Before sending us a fault report about the apartment temperature, please check the link below for resident's instructions regarding heating.
Home insurance
All of LOAS’ properties have a property insurance which can be used to cover the costs of damage caused to the properties (broken pipes, etc.). The property insurance does not cover damage to a property caused by a resident or the costs of damage caused to the resident's property. For the purpose of safeguarding your own property, it is worth taking out a home insurance which covers the damage of the resident's property. A home insurance is an affordable security in case of an accident and its excess is also rather low.
Opening hours of the housing office and maintenance
We serve residents in the office Mon-Fri from 12 noon to 4 pm. By phone, email and via Intra we serve Mon-Fri from 8 am to 4 pm. The maintenance works from 8 am to 4 pm on weekdays. About exceptions to opening hours we post on social media channels and our homepage.
Social media and newsletter
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get current information about the latest news and opening hours. We also share apartment tours, a lot of tips on using Intra and our services as well as organize playful competitions on the social media channels. Subscribe to LOAS newsletter and receive them directly to your email address. You will also be among the first to hear about good tips and information. The newsletter is published no more than once a month. You can subscribe to the newsletter on our homepage. If you have any questions, check out Frequently asked questions - page.
Housing counseling helps with life's challenges
Housing Counseling is a low-threshold support service for LOAS residents in connection with all housing problems and issues. You can be in touch if you have challenges with life management, your ability to pay your rent is reduced, you need guidance in applying for benefits, or a neighbor is living a life that repeatedly disturbs other residents. We provide support in problem situations and, if necessary, also guide residents forward to get the right kind of help and support service outside LOAS too. Our goal is always to improve the situation of the resident and the normal continuation of housing. The most convenient way to contact us is to send us a message via the Intra´s Contact us-feature.
Subtenancy agreement
LOAS residents can temporarily sublet their apartment for the duration of an internship related to studies, study exchange or delay of residence permit. During the summer months (May-August), a special reason for sublease is not required. A shared apartment can be sublet to a person of the same sex. A subtenancy agreement is concluded in the intranet. Log in to the intranet, open your agreement and click the section Subtenancies. Fill in the form and attach the agreement you have concluded for LOAS to approve it. Download a PDF file template of the agreement which you can use. During semesters only students are accepted as subtenants by LOAS.
Shared cars and bicycles
LOAS offers its residents shared bicycles and cars at affordable rates.
Finally, we’d like to once more welcome you to LOAS!
p.s. Remember to make a notification of move to Digital and Population data services agency! More information here.