SATO enhances everyday rental living with its residents through home visit tours

SATO has found that having a housing advisor involved directly in residents' daily lives effectively prevents disturbances and helps improve overall living comfort.

SATO, one of Finland’s largest rental housing providers, believes it is essential that guidance related to rental living and the resolution of challenges are handled with a personal and attentive approach.

"Understanding the full spectrum of life is crucial, in addition to quick technical actions. This is the only way we can create the foundation for long-lasting and successful rental relationships, as well as maintain comfortable living environments," says Essi Helander, a housing advisor at SATO.

SATO's housing advisors work directly with residents, addressing various issues, such as disturbances. They also provide advice on daily living and assist, for example, the elderly, immigrants, families with children, and residents with disabilities in dealing with housing-related challenges.

One important tool in the housing advisors' work is arranging home visit tours as needed. A visit to a building and homes is arranged if there is a strong indication of recurring issues in a particular building, and traditional communication methods have not been effective. These issues can include vandalism, disruptive behaviour, or problems with cleanliness and recycling at waste collection points.

Everyone’s voice matters

During a home visit tour, the SATO housing advisor gathers residents' perspectives on the situation at hand. According to Helander, this has proven to be an excellent tool for addressing the root causes of problems and finding solutions that may not have been obvious to outsiders.

"Residents often provide great suggestions, such as ways to improve cleanliness at waste collection points. Even small insights, like rearranging the placement of bins, have been invaluable in helping us resolve difficult situations," Helander explains.

She emphasises that this approach also helps reach those residents whose voices might otherwise go unheard.

"Not everyone uses digital communication tools in their daily lives, or perhaps in their culture, it is customary to discuss important matters face-to-face. We want all our residents to feel heard. Our work is very personal and people-oriented, which makes it meaningful for us housing advisors," Helander reflects.

Preventive action

Home visit tours are also an excellent opportunity to provide guidance and remind residents about proper apartment maintenance. Helander recounts coming across situations during the tours where a resident had placed a bucket under a leak but had not reported the issue. At times, housing advisors have encountered piles of belongings that pose a significant fire safety risk.

"Sometimes only a small amount of encouragement is needed to improve things, while in more difficult cases, we have been able to guide the resident towards the right kind of help," Helander says.

Housing advisory services are an integral part of SATO’s service offering, and they are continuously being developed to best meet the needs of residents. In addition to housing advisory services, SATO uses several resident communication channels: a monthly newsletter, the OmaSATO digital service, SATO’s House Experts who work on-site, and building-specific Service Managers.

"Thanks to our services, we stay close to our residents and can respond quickly to any issues. This ensures equal conditions for everyone to manage their daily lives and helps us maintain the wellbeing of our neighbourhoods."

For more information, please contact:

Elina Vaurasalo, Executive Vice President, Housing Business, SATO Corporation
elina.vaurasalo@sato.fi