Helsinki households with four to five members live in cramped conditions

Size of residences in Helsinki grows more slowly than in neighbouring communities

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Large households live in remarkably cramped conditions in Helsinki. Despite improvements in the standard of living, the average size of 3 to 4-room homes does not seem to have grown in recent years.
      On average, a nuclear family in Helsinki has living space just shy of 23 square metres per person. A family with three children has only 20 square metres per family member.
      Single people and childless couples have considerably more per capita living space.
      An average single person has just short of 49 square metres in his or her home, whereas a couple without children enjoys 35 square metres of living space per person.
      In recent years, small households have managed to increase the size of their living quarters more so than those with children.
     
The size of living quarters in Helsinki is way below average when compared to other large cities in Europe.
      In large German cities, households have around 40 square metres per person, on average. Also in France the cities of Toulouse, Bordeaux and Nantes exhibit average homes larger than those in the Finnish capital.
      The size of dwellings has grown in Helsinki more slowly than in its neighbouring communities or elsewhere in the country, reveals a study by the City of Helsinki Urban Facts. This is one of the reports prepared for the initial talks of the 2007-2011 housing policy by the City Council.
      On Wednesday, the council will draw its outline on how the final housing policy is to be set up. Its processing is due the coming spring.
      According to the report, Helsinki's problem is the small average size of the existing housing. An average home in the centre is only 63 square metres in size. Elsewhere in the capital the average dwelling unit size is 76 square metres, and in the entire Helsinki Metropolitan Area over 85 square metres.
      In the surrounding communities of Kirkkonummi, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Tuusula, and Vihti, the average home size is over 90 square metres.
     
The present high housing prices in Helsinki prevent larger households from increasing the size of their living quarters, the study reveals.
      In recent years, for the same amount of money, the neighbouring communities have offered larger housing units and more freedom in choosing the type of housing.
      The information package prepared for the city council states that unless the size of dwelling units starts to grow, the city's housing standards will fall behind the residents' requirements.
      This, in turn, will present the risk that the city's social structure may be distorted. The number of small households would increase, while families with children will move out.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki´s most expensive new housing development will go up in Eiranranta (1.3.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat