Chungnam Expands Housing Benefit Eligibility and Increases Support Amounts

(Status of standard rent for tenant households (above) and repair support limits for owner households (below). Provided by Chungnam Province)

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is expanding the eligibility and support amount for housing benefits for vulnerable groups in the region.

According to the province on the 6th, starting this year, the eligibility for housing benefits will be expanded from 44% to 45% of the median income standard, and rental fees (7% to 9% increase compared to last year) and repair and maintenance benefits (21% increase compared to last year) will also be raised and supported respectively.

The eligible recipients are all households with an income at or below 45% of the median income (income of 2,137,000 KRW for a 4-person household), and support is provided after income and property investigations and housing inspections such as lease contract relationships upon application for benefits.

Among these, rental benefits are determined differently based on the recognized household income and the number of household members. For example, this year, a single-person household will receive 158,000 KRW (an increase of 11,000 KRW), a two-person household 174,000 KRW (13,000 KRW increase), a three-person household 209,000 KRW (15,000 KRW increase), a four-person household 239,000 KRW (19,000 KRW increase), a five-person household 249,000 KRW (20,000 KRW increase), and a six-person household 291,000 KRW (24,000 KRW increase), respectively.

Repair and maintenance benefits for owner-occupied households vary depending on the housing's aging level: minor repairs are supported every 3 years with 4,570,000 KRW (790,000 KRW increase), moderate repairs every 5 years with 8,490,000 KRW (1,470,000 KRW increase), and major repairs every 7 years with 12,410,000 KRW (2,150,000 KRW increase).

The province will provide benefits on the 20th of each month through a qualification conversion process without a separate application procedure for the existing 47,211 beneficiary households, and will accept applications through individual guidance for those who were previously excluded or are near-poverty recipients.

Cash benefits will be provided to eligible rental households, while owner-occupied households will receive housing repairs through the selection of repair companies according to the housing's aging level.

A provincial official stated, “We operate a continuous pre-application period to prevent omission of new beneficiaries and to eliminate welfare blind spots,” and added, “We plan to provide individual guidance separately to new eligible recipients.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.