Seoul Expands 'Safe Monthly Rent Contract Assistance Service for Single-Person Households' to 14 Districts... "81% Say It Helps Solve Issues"

Help Service Expanded from 5 to 14 Districts Starting the 19th
Residential Safety Managers Familiar with Local Conditions Provide Expert Consultations on Jeonse Fraud Prevention... Accompany Clients During House Viewing and Contract Signing
328 Cases Supported Over 2 Months, User Satisfaction Over 81.4%... 88% of Users in Their 20s and 30s

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's "Seoul Single-Person Household Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safe Contract Assistance Service," which helps single-person households such as young adults preparing for independent living and elderly people vulnerable to real estate information to safely find jeonse and monthly rental housing, will expand from the initial 5 districts to 14 districts just two months after its launch.

On the 18th, Seoul announced that, following an additional public recruitment, nine more districts (Seongdong-gu, Jungnang-gu, Gangbuk-gu, Dobong-gu, Nowon-gu, Gangseo-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seocho-gu, Gangdong-gu) were selected to join the existing five districts (Jung-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Gwanak-gu, Songpa-gu), and the service will begin in these areas starting from the 19th.

Housing Safety Managers (licensed real estate agents) familiar with local conditions provide counseling to prevent unfair situations such as double contracts and "empty jeonse" during the rental contract process. They also accompany clients when viewing properties to check and inspect points that might be overlooked when viewing alone. The service is available to any single-person household regardless of age and is free of charge.

The Single-Person Household Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safe Contract Assistance Service began as a pilot project on July 4th in five districts (Jung-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Gwanak-gu, Songpa-gu). Over the past two months, the service was provided twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays for four hours a day across the five districts, supporting a total of 328 cases. Among these, consultations on precautions during contracts such as checking the certified copy of the register, verifying the building register, and contract drafting accounted for 192 cases (58%), the highest proportion. Other services included providing information on the living environment near the residence (20%), guidance on available housing policies from Seoul City and the central government (15%), and accompaniment during property viewing (7%).

In a satisfaction survey conducted among service users, 81.4% responded that the service helped resolve their issues. The professional expertise (83.0%) and kindness (88.2%) of the Housing Safety Managers, as well as user convenience factors such as the application process (88.1%), received consistently high evaluations overall.

The service will be available from the 19th to any single-person household seeking jeonse or monthly rental housing. After selecting participating districts in the second half of the year, the city will appoint "Housing Safety Managers" recommended by local real estate agent associations and provide job training. These managers will be pre-informed about "key targets and types of jeonse fraud crackdowns (Police Agency)" to focus on preventing damage during rental contracts.

Selected "Housing Safety Managers," recommended by local real estate agent associations, provide four main assistance services: ?Jeonse and monthly rent contract consultation ?Support for housing search ?Accompaniment during property viewing ?Policy guidance. Applications can be made through the Seoul Single-Person Household Portal. Inquiries and applications can also be made at dedicated district offices on weekdays between 1:30 PM and 5:30 PM.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Policy Office, stated, "Based on the results of the past two months of operation, we are expanding the Single-Person Household Jeonse and Monthly Rent Safe Contract Assistance Service early to prevent the increasing number of jeonse fraud cases in advance and support the stable housing settlement of single-person households. We hope this will alleviate some of the difficulties in securing housing for single-person households, and based on the pilot project performance analysis, we will work to implement the service in all districts starting next year."

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