Lumo homes was established in 2014 to provide new-age services for rental living and give customers more freedom of choice.

“Lumo homes was the first brand in Finland to approach housing through service design,” says Jani Nieminen, CEO of Kojamo. Kojamo offers rental apartments under the Lumo brand.

From the beginning, the goal has been to make living in Lumo easy and effortless. Another key objective was the desire to be the customer’s first choice.

“We wanted to reduce the friction associated with finding a rental apartment and make finding a suitable home as easy as possible. We wanted the customer to choose us, not the other way around.”

This desire also led to innovation, resulting in the creation of the Lumo online store.

“We wanted to reduce the friction associated with finding a rental apartment and make finding a suitable home as easy as possible."

“Nine years ago, I walked into the management team and said, ‘Now we are going to establish an online store for rental apartments,’” Nieminen recalls.

Over the years, nearly 43,000 Lumo homes have been rented through the Lumo online store.

But how has the world of rental living changed over the past ten years?

“In Finland, there has been a prevailing belief that owning is the goal and renting is a compromise. However, the intrinsic value of ownership has eroded. This is evident not only in housing but also in cars, bicycles, tools, and more. Society has strongly shifted towards services,” Nieminen reflects.

Additionally, changes in interest rates, economic uncertainty, and increasing workforce mobility have influenced people’s desire to own homes. Renting is seen as a more financially secure option.

The popularity of renting is also reflected in statistics. According to Statistics Finland, the proportion of households living in rental accommodation has increased over the past ten years, especially in areas where Lumo homes are located.

Urbanisation impacts the demand for rental apartments. In early 2023, population growth accelerated, particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Tampere, and Turku, where population growth has been the strongest in the last 30 years. This high growth rate is expected to continue.

Households are smaller than before, and the number of one—or two-person households has increased significantly. Lumo homes responds well to the growing demand for smaller apartments, with 73% of its units being studios or one-bedroom units.

“Although the world is global in many ways, you can buy goods from your sofa and have them delivered quickly; living is always local. People need a place to call home, and it is likely to be found where services are readily available, transport links are efficient, and jobs are located,” Nieminen notes.

That is why Lumo apartmets are situated in the best locations in Finland’s largest cities, close to diverse services and excellent transport connections.

However, looking back is not enough. What lies ahead for Lumo homes?

“Finland’s population will grow in the future through immigration, and cities will become more international. We must be able to serve our customers in many different languages and understand various cultures. It is essential to grasp the basic elements of good living from different cultural perspectives, such as what comfort, tranquillity, and safety mean to different people emotionally,” Nieminen reflects.

Lumo homes provides all resident communication in Finnish and English, and if necessary, in other languages such as Estonian, Somali, or Arabic.

"It is essential to grasp the basic elements of good living from different cultural perspectives, such as what comfort, tranquillity, and safety mean to different people emotionally."

It is also noteworthy that the decision to rent can be made from outside Finland. The advantage of the Lumo online store is that available apartments can be browsed anywhere in the world.

“In the future, we need to consider how to simplify the rental process for customers who do not yet have Finnish bank credentials,” Nieminen says.

“We need to monitor where the trend towards service-oriented living is heading and consider what easy and effortless living means in the 2030s,” Nieminen ponders.

Over the past ten years, the importance of services has grown. Lumo homes currently offers various resident benefits and additional services, such as free interior paints, internet included in the rent, and options to purchase services that make moving easier, such as cleaning, moving services, and key courier services.

“Sustainability has always been at the core of our operations, and it has changed significantly over the past ten years,” Nieminen says.

Living in a Lumo home means living sustainably, as a large team of housing professionals makes every day acts of sustainability easy to implement.

In addition to these important themes, Lumo homes has a significant social responsibility.

“As a major landlord, we have a great responsibility to ensure that our residents have a roof over their heads. We have worked tremendously to keep our company financially strong. Only in this way can we guarantee our residents long-term and secure living in the future as well,” Nieminen states.