Seoul City to Support 5,000 Youths with 200,000 Won Monthly Rent... Applications Open Next Month

For Youth Aged 19-39... 200,000 KRW per Month, Up to 10 Months
Applications from Next Month 3rd to 12th... Payments Start in May

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide a monthly "Youth Rent" support of 200,000 KRW for up to 10 months to ease the burden on young people suffering from high housing costs.

Seoul announced on the 24th that online applications will be accepted through the Seoul Housing Portal from the 3rd to the 12th of next month.

Any single-person household of youth aged 19 to 39 who is registered as a resident in Seoul and actually resides there as of the application date can apply. Especially this year, siblings and cohabiting youth (aged 19 to 39) can also apply if they are the head of the household. Those living in share houses, etc., who have individually signed lease contracts with landlords and are not the head of the household on their resident registration but are cohabitants, can also apply simultaneously.

To receive support, applicants must be homeless tenants living in buildings with a lease deposit of 50 million KRW or less and monthly rent of 600,000 KRW or less. This is a downward adjustment from the previous criteria (100 million KRW or less and 600,000 KRW or less). This measure was taken considering that seven times more youth applied compared to last year's support scale. Those paying monthly rent exceeding 600,000 KRW can apply if the sum of the converted monthly rent from the lease deposit and the monthly rent is 700,000 KRW or less.

The resident registration must be listed at the leased building's location according to the lease contract, and the applicant's household income must be 120% or less of the median income (75,224 KRW for workplace subscribers, 30,663 KRW for regional subscribers). This is judged based on the health insurance premium amount. If the applicant belongs to a household as a member of parents or others, the judgment is based on the health insurance premium amount of the supporter.

▲ Those who own a house or hold pre-sale rights or cooperative membership rights ▲ Those whose total general assets exceed 100 million KRW ▲ Those who own a vehicle with a market standard value of 25 million KRW or more ▲ Those living in public rental housing are excluded from eligibility. Those receiving national basic livelihood security or Seoul youth allowance cannot apply either.

However, youth receiving benefits from Seoul-type housing vouchers or public jeonse loans are eligible for support.

After the application deadline, Seoul will select 5,000 people in April through an investigation of income, assets, and eligibility. Seoul has expanded the selection ratio for the first income bracket, which has the worst housing environment, by 1.5 times compared to 1,660 people last year. Rent support will be paid bimonthly starting in May, with two months' worth paid at once.

Kim Seongbo, head of the Seoul Housing and Architecture Headquarters, said, "The number of single-person youth households in Seoul has surged from 520,000 in 2015 to 620,000 in 2019, and most live in monthly rent housing with a high cost burden. We will do our best to stabilize youth housing by linking various youth housing policies along with youth rent support."

For more details, please check the "Application Recruitment Announcement" posted on the Seoul Housing Portal. Inquiries can be made to the Dasan Call Center, Youth Rent Support Counseling Center, or Seoul Housing Policy Division.