Empty Houses of Housing Pension Subscribers to Be Rented Cheaply to Youth and Newlyweds

Seoul City and Korea Housing Finance Corporation Introduce 'Sedaeieum Asset-Sharing The Dream Housing' Together

Apartment view in Songpa-gu, Seoul / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 28th that it will officially launch the public rental housing project "Segyeieum Asset Sharing Type The Dream Housing," which utilizes vacant houses of housing pension subscribers, in collaboration with Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH).

The Dream Housing project involves SH leasing houses from housing pension subscribers who vacate their homes due to admission to nursing homes or hospitals, and then renting them out to young people and newlyweds at about 80% of the surrounding market price.

As of the end of September, there are 22,399 housing pension subscribers in Seoul who have pledged their homes as collateral and receive monthly pensions. However, Seoul explained that many vacant houses are left unattended for long periods when elderly subscribers are admitted to nursing homes or hospitals.

Through this rental project, elderly people who vacate their homes can earn additional rental income besides their housing pension, and young people and newlyweds are expected to secure housing at relatively affordable prices.

Earlier this year, Seoul piloted The Dream Housing project in four districts (Dongdaemun, Yeongdeungpo, Gangbuk, and Yangcheon) for about nine months, supplying one unit in each district. As a result, an elderly homeowner in Yeongdeungpo-gu saw a 43% increase in monthly income compared to the previous pension. This elderly person received 1.05 million KRW monthly from the housing pension but was able to earn an additional 450,000 KRW in monthly rent through The Dream Housing project, totaling 1.5 million KRW.

The three organizations, including Seoul City, will sign a written memorandum of understanding on the 28th to expand the project after the pilot phase.

HF is responsible for recruiting participants among housing pension subscribers and signing lease contracts with SH, while SH handles sublease contracts with young people and newlyweds. Seoul City supports environmental improvement construction costs (1 million KRW per household) for contracted houses.

Seo Jeong-hyeop, Acting Mayor of Seoul, said, "This new concept of public rental housing is expected to simultaneously address the rapid aging population and the housing issues of newlyweds and young people."