Digital leap is an advantage for both the housing company and the residents – Juli Living Finland Oy
What if you could book the sauna, laundry room and club room on an app? Or if the housing company’s current information was published directly in a resident app and on a digital notice board? That is how One4all’s digital housing services work in Juli Living Finland Oy’s properties. Using digital housing services saves time and money, lightens the environmental load and makes living easy and comfortable.
When tenants enter Juli Living’s property, they can immediately stay up to date with the housing company’s news and information: the entrance has a digital notice board, where resident information and bulletins are updated in real time.
The digital notice board replaces traditional notice boards, where old and new information are often mixed up – and where the information can be updated with delay. The digital notice board is one of the many digital housing services that make living easy and comfortable for Juli Living’s tenants.
“All of One4all’s digital services are used in our properties: digital notice board, resident application and digital booking calendar, including access control and payment service. Some properties also have relay start for the sauna, which means the heater switches on and off according to the sauna bookings. Through the booking calendar, residents can book common spaces, such as saunas and laundry or club rooms”, says Aki Baarman, Juli Living Oy’s Facility Manager.
Easy and fast resident communication
The digital service platform enables housing services regardless of time and place: the residents are not dependent on other people, such as the property manager, but can use the services independently in the app. The residents receive bulletins by e-mail and in the app, and all the housing company’s booking calendars can also be found in the app.
The booking calendar can be used to book not only shared spaces, but also shared goods, such as tools or shared bikes. The need for invoicing is also removed because bookings can be paid through the app.
“We want it to be as easy as possible for residents to rent apartments – and for that same ease to continue during living as well. One4all supports us in this goal. A good example is the booking of common spaces: instead of residents needing to go to the sauna or the laundry room and fill their name on a piece of paper, they can create a booking through the app”, explains Milla Kettunen, Juli Living’s Country Manager for Finland.
The benefits of digital services are equally directed towards residents and the housing company. With automation, the availability of services, cost-effectiveness, resident satisfaction, and the comfort of living increases as residents get up-to-date information easily and quickly.
Saving time is an additional advantage from the maintenance company’s and property management’s point of view: communication is handled at the work desk without printing papers or traveling to the properties.
“Thanks to digital resident communication, there is no longer need for the maintenance company to deliver printed bulletins on site. Digital communication reduces unnecessary driving and paper waste, which also supports sustainable development”, Baarman emphasizes.
One4all’s services are always scaled according to the customer’s needs. The company’s experts map out the customer’s needs, whereafter solutions to meet given goals are chosen in mutual agreement, like the fact that the One4all app will shine in Juli Living’s own brand colors in Juli Living’s properties.
“It feels good to welcome a resident in our own brand colors”, Kettunen acknowledges.
Responsibility as a common goal
One4all’s goal is to make people’s everyday lives easier without compromising on responsibility. In addition to the fact that digital housing services reduce the carbon footprint by reducing consumption and movement, all digital notice boards manufactured by One4all after April 2021 are carbon neutral. The resulting carbon dioxide emissions are compensated for in nature projects.
Juli Living’s operations are guided by carbon neutrality in both the construction and living phases. Together with its owner, NREP, the company is committed to a carbon-neutral real estate portfolio by 2028.
“All our properties are already carbon neutral in terms of energy and district heating. Responsibility guides everything we do, from housing materials and lighting to water fixtures and household appliances. We evaluate the effects of all solutions on people and the environment critically”, says Janine Fager-Jokisalo, Juli Living’s Product Manager.
Established in autumn 2020, Juli Living offers rental housing in five cities in Southern Finland. The company has supplemented its services with customer service and property management, aiming to ensure that housing services are largely in the company’s own hands.
The digitization of everyday life requires new and innovative digital solutions in the field of housing. These are offered by One4all, founded in 2011 – a pioneer in the development of comprehensive housing quality in Finland.
“In cooperation with One4all, we want to continue to explore what it would be possible to do in the digital field to promote even easier and more comfortable living”, Baarman sums up.
Text: Maria Paldanius Images: Atte Makkonen