Seoul City to Supply 3,000 Jeonse Rentals for Low-Income Families and Newlyweds

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that it will supply 3,000 existing housing jeonse rental units to ensure housing stability for low-income households and newlyweds.

Existing housing jeonse rental units refer to a system where eligible tenants directly select the housing they wish to reside in and apply to the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH). SH then reviews the possibility of jeonse, signs a jeonse contract with the homeowner, and re-rents the property to the tenant at an affordable rate.

For low-income households, 95% of the jeonse or monthly rent deposit is supported at a low interest rate within a limit of 120 million KRW per household, and up to 98% support is available for those who wish.

Since 2008, the city has supplied a total of 22,213 jeonse rental units up to last year, and this year plans to expand the supply by 200 units compared to the previous year. Of the total 3,000 units, 2,700 will be supplied to low-income households and 300 to newlyweds. Additionally, considering the burden of rising jeonse prices on ordinary citizens' housing costs, the support limit for low-income households has been increased from 110 million KRW to 120 million KRW.

Applicants must be non-homeowners registered as household members residing in Seoul as of the resident recruitment announcement date (February 28). For low-income households, eligible applicants include livelihood and medical benefit recipients, single-parent families, households urgently needing housing support, persons with disabilities and elderly whose monthly average income is below 70% of the previous year's urban worker household income. Newlyweds have different detailed qualification criteria according to priority types 1, 2, and 3.

The eligible housing includes pure jeonse houses with exclusive area of 85㎡ or less (60㎡ or less for single-person households) and deposit-based monthly rent houses (ban-jeonse). The deposit limit for low-income households is that the sum of the basic deposit and the jeonse conversion deposit must be within 300 million KRW. The lease period is 2 years, and as long as eligibility is maintained, it can be renewed up to 9 times in 2-year increments, allowing support for up to 20 years.

Those wishing to move in can apply through the resident center of their registered residence from the 14th to the 18th. Since the application period varies depending on the applicant type, it is important to check the available application dates carefully. The support recipients will be decided about three months later.

Kim Seongbo, Director of Seoul Housing Policy Office, said, "The role of existing housing jeonse rental units, which have been promoted since 2008 to strengthen housing welfare for vulnerable and socially considerate groups, is significant," adding, "We will continue to expand housing welfare projects to ensure housing stability for low-income citizens and newlyweds."

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