Finland: Heka’s Rent Increase Drives People to the Streets
We share an unofficial translation of an article published on Punalippu.
Finland’s largest real state, Heka, or Helsinki City Apartments, will raise its rents at the beginning of 2025 from 0.5% to 9.5%. According to the CEO of Heka, the company “has no other option” as general costs have risen so high. He states that a savings plan has already been made, and for example, repair costs have already been cut. The rent increases are directly reflected in the number of evictions from Heka’s apartments, which has risen from just over 100 to over 150 in September.
It is noteworthy that Heka’s apartments are primarily aimed at the deepest and broadest masses of the people. Due to the increase of exploitation and rising prices, that is, the burdening of the crisis on the masses, the pressure on wages towards a starvation wage, the poverty of the masses has deepened, and as a result, Heka’s rent increases will lead to an increasing number of evictions. The rent increases have sparked discussions and heightened tensions in neighborhoods, with comments arising that the condition of the apartments does not match the rent prices. It is important to note that this development began even before the current government and is due specifically to the general crisis of imperialism, not just the austerity measures taken by this or that bourgeois dictatorship. However, the cuts affect the position of the deepest and broadest masses of the people, and for example, single parents have struggled to pay rent due to the combined effects of losing benefits and Heka’s rent increases. This will lead to the deepest and broadest masses of the people having to move further away to smaller towns surrounding the cities or becoming homeless. It is also noteworthy in the context of this worsening development that Heka has raised rents for two consecutive years.
Although the City of Helsinki decided to support Heka with 17 million euros during the autumn budget negotiations, Heka will still raise rents next year. The company’s complete indifference to the living conditions of its residents is evident: even as rents continuously rise, the maintenance of the buildings is inadequate. We interviewed residents living in Heka’s apartments in East Helsinki. They expressed their anger: for example, one resident stated that their apartment has never been renovated in thirty years, and the rent increases are “no sense”. Another resident commented similarly to what was mentioned previous; benefits are being cut, rents are rising, food prices are constantly increasing, and this is part of a larger crisis.
The worsening of the crisis is also reflected in the fact that approximately 3,600 tenants have been evicted from their homes in Finland between January and August 2024, an increase of 15% compared to last year. A significant portion of these evictions is due to unpaid rents, and this year’s developments show that a new group has fallen under the threat of eviction: low-income working people, individuals who are employed but whose income is insufficient to cover rent. The cuts implemented by Petteri Orpo’s government have severely affected these groups. However, it is important to note that the number of evictions has been increasing since 2021, so this is not solely about the government’s policies. Additionally, it should be understood that rent increases are not happening only in Heka’s properties in Helsinki, where living costs are traditionally high, but that worsening conditions are also occurring in other cities, including Tampere. The city of Tampere, which owns about 3,000 rental apartments, raised rents by 3-4 percent last year, referring to increasing costs. Recently, it was also reported that the poorest groups are being forced to move away from Tampere due to the generally rising rents in the city.
A Heka employee reveals in an anonymous interview that the belongings of residents facing eviction are taken to the landfill, a locksmith changes the lock on the door, and only sometimes the evicted residents are allowed to retrieve items from their home, such as important documents or keepsakes. A person evicted from a Heka apartment also receives a mark on their credit record, which increasingly complicates the arrangement of new housing. In 2022, the law regarding credit record markings was changed with the idea of improving the financial situation of the masses, but this has not actually happened. The number of payment default marks has only increased, indicating the growing impoverishment of the masses.
We see how the cyclical economic crisis worsens as part of the general crisis of imperialism: the conditions of the masses deteriorate further as exploitation continues to grow and the cost of living keeps rising, leaving them unable to afford even the city apartments intended to improve labor availability and maintain social peace. The situation thus demonstrates the seriousness and depth of the crisis, meaning that the bourgeoisie is unable to manage the crisis.
In October 2024, there have been fruitless negotiations regarding the city of Helsinki’s budget for 2025, and one of the main issues of this negotiation was to decide on Heka’s budget, yet Heka will still raise rents next year. In budget negotiations, parties can immediately influence the cost of housing – what shows that there is currently not a single party in Finland that is actually on the side of the proletariat. The impoverishment of the masses will continue as long as imperialism is allowed to exist, exploiting the deepest and broadest masses. Bourgeois parties cannot and do not intend to stop it.
