Another Bold Measure Announced... 'Housing Cost Support' for Childbirth in Muju Housing-Nonowners

Seoul City Provides Housing Cost Support to Homeless Households Nationwide for the First Time
300,000 KRW per Newborn per Month... Total 7.2 Million KRW over 2 Years
Mayor Oh Se-hoon: "Practical Help for Homeless Households with Children"

Seoul City will provide housing cost support for up to 2 years to non-homeowning households with newborn children, the first such initiative nationwide. This is another groundbreaking low birthrate measure following the previously announced childbirth allowance support plan for solo self-employed and freelancers.

On the 28th, Seoul City announced that it will promote a new 'Birth Support Seoul Project' containing these support measures to overcome the low birthrate. A Seoul city official stated, "To minimize the cases of people leaving Seoul or giving up having children due to housing costs, we have established a policy, the first in the nation, to support housing costs for non-homeowning households who give birth, alongside the interest support project for rental deposit for youth and newlyweds."

While existing housing support policies such as rental housing supply have focused on 'securing housing,' this new measure differs in that it aims to alleviate the increasing housing cost burden for non-homeowning households as they give birth and raise children. Accordingly, starting next year, Seoul City will provide 300,000 KRW per month for 2 years, totaling 7.2 million KRW per newborn child, regardless of income criteria or parents' age, to non-homeowning households with newborns. In the case of multiple births, support will be proportional to the number of fetuses. Eligible households are those with children born on or after January 1, 2025, and multicultural families can also receive support if one parent is Korean and the newborn has Korean nationality.

However, the housing eligible for housing cost support must be a rental property located in Seoul with a jeonse (key money deposit) of 700 million KRW or less, or a monthly rent of 2.68 million KRW or less (amount varies depending on the deposit). Residents of public rental housing managed by SH Corporation (Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation) or LH (Korea Land & Housing Corporation) are excluded. The household must remain non-homeowning during the 2-year support period, and support will be discontinued if the household purchases a home or moves out of Seoul or to another city.

The 'Housing Cost Support Project for Non-Homeowning Households with Children' is scheduled to be implemented from 2025 after prior procedures such as consultation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on establishing social security systems and ordinance amendments. Seoul City expects that about 10,000 households will benefit from housing cost support annually once this policy begins. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "So far, through the 'Birth Support Seoul Project,' we have continuously promoted tailored low birthrate measures for specific groups such as infertile couples, pregnant women, large families, and solo self-employed individuals. The non-homeowning households with children supported this time have been a blind spot excluded from previous policies, so we hope this will provide practical help to couples who have hesitated about pregnancy and childbirth due to housing cost burdens."