Supply of 210,000 Public Rental Houses, 31 Trillion Won Housing Support Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] This year, 210,000 public rental housing units will be supplied, and housing support for vulnerable groups living in small rooms or goshiwon will also be strengthened.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the "2020 Comprehensive Housing Plan" on the 20th after deliberation by the Housing Policy Deliberation Committee. The main points include △realizing inclusive housing welfare without blind spots △strengthening housing market management centered on actual demand △establishing a fair and transparent market order △creating a high-quality and comfortable residential environment.

The government plans to support a total of 1.63 million households this year through public rental housing, housing benefits, and financial support to stabilize housing for low-income non-homeowners. This year, 210,000 public rental housing units will be supplied, including 141,000 public rental units, 40,000 public support rental units, and 29,000 public sale units.

Among public rental housing, 27,000 units are purchase rentals, 44,000 units are jeonse rentals, and 70,000 units are construction rentals. Newlywed couple-specialized public rental housing will expand from 43,000 units last year to 52,000 units this year. Customized public rental housing for multi-child families will also supply 25,000 units, with strengthened financial support.

Customized housing for youth totaling 40,300 units and dormitory-type housing of 1,000 units will also be supplied respectively.

One thousand units of senior-customized public rental housing, which removes barriers and installs height-adjustable washbasins, will be supplied. In particular, a smart healthcare demonstration complex for the elderly will be established. Customized housing for low-income vulnerable groups will also supply 76,000 units.

The income standard for housing benefits will be raised from "44% of median income" last year to "45%" this year. The standard rent will also increase by 7.5% to 14.3%. A total of 1.13 million households, an 8.7% increase from last year, will receive support.

Through the Housing and Urban Fund, low-interest purchase and jeonse rental funds will be supported annually to about 290,000 households. To this end, a total of 31.9 trillion won will be invested this year, including 1.7 trillion won in fiscal funds and 30.2 trillion won in the Housing and Urban Fund.

The current administration's real estate policy direction of "management centered on actual demand" will continue. If market overheating occurs, stabilization measures will be implemented immediately. The official property prices will continue to be adjusted, focusing on properties whose prices have recently surged or had a large gap compared to market prices.

Follow-up legislation for the December 16 measures and amendments to the Housing Act to impose residence obligations (up to 5 years) on housing subject to the metropolitan area price ceiling system will be promptly pursued. Major amendments include restricting subscription for 10 years in case of illegal resale, strengthening registration requirements for rental business operators, and preventing tenant deposit damages.

In areas where speculation is feared due to development projects, such as near Yongsan Maintenance Depot, land transaction permission zones will be designated if necessary, and major abnormal transactions will be cracked down on through focused investigations by the real estate market illegal activity response team.

Plans include establishing standards for building additional costs review, revising price review guidelines, providing local government education, and regularly checking review status to enhance the effectiveness of price reviews under the price ceiling system.

From 2023 onward, the foundation for supplying an average of "250,000 households + α" annually in the metropolitan area will be actively promoted. To this end, related institutional improvements such as introducing the housing supply activation district system and exempting public participation street housing maintenance projects from the price ceiling system will be completed within this year.

Public redevelopment pilot project contests, second contests for public participation street housing maintenance projects, joint public-private projects in semi-industrial areas, and pilot projects for office and commercial use changes will also be promoted to accelerate project implementation.

To rapidly promote 300,000 housing units in the metropolitan area, designation of districts totaling 210,000 households, including four 3rd new towns in Namyangju, Hanam, Incheon, and Goyang, has been completed, and designation of districts for 40,000 households will be completed within the first half of the year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also focus on creating a rental market where landlords and tenants coexist. To this end, it will reintroduce the rental reporting system bill, which was not passed in the 20th National Assembly. This system requires landlords renting out jeonse or monthly rent to report contract details unconditionally to the relevant local government.

Once this law is implemented, rental contract status will be aggregated in real time, enabling the government to secure rental-related information. It will also allow taxation on rental income from housing that had previously been in blind spots.

The Ministry will conduct joint inspections to verify whether rental business operators comply with public obligations and operate a reporting center for illegal activities related to registered rentals.

Transparency and public nature of maintenance projects such as reconstruction and redevelopment will also be strengthened.

The Ministry will specify prohibited proposals such as guaranteeing sale prices in related laws to prevent excessive bidding competition among construction companies and establish punishment standards.

Maintenance associations will be required to obtain general meeting approval when using association fees, and related information disclosure will be expanded. Mandatory rental housing secured through redevelopment projects will be supplied as public rental housing.

The upper limit of the mandatory rental housing ratio in redevelopment projects will be raised, and the supply ratio of public housing will be further expanded in redevelopment projects involving public institutions such as the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

The Ministry has set a goal to increase the long-term public rental stock rate to 10% by 2025 and plans to achieve more than the OECD average (8%) this year.

Complex types of public rental housing such as Happy Housing, permanent rental, and national rental will be integrated into one type. Two pilot complexes for type integration will begin construction in the second half of this year, and detailed standards for supply and rent will be prepared by the first half of next year.

A Ministry official said, "We will manage the housing market stably while making the results of inclusive housing welfare policies visible," adding, "We plan to block speculative demand, expand public housing, and create a sound rental market."

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