A way multicultural families can move into affordable public rental housing

The Korean government has built and leased a variety of public rental housing to stabilize houses for the underprivileged.

These rental housing have the advantage of being able to live for a long time at a low price than the market price. In Korea, where apartment prices are very high, the advantages of moving into these rental housing at low rents are huge.

Let's take a look at the types and conditions of three typical rental housing where multicultural families can move in.

1. Types of public rental housing

① Permanent rental house: A small square of about 40 square meters of apartments are mainly supplied to socially vulnerable groups such as those receiving basic livelihoods. The rent is also much cheaper than the national and public rentals, so you can live at 45,000 won per month based on 13 pyeong, which is 30% of the market price. But instead, the living environment is very poor compared to other apartments. There are many places where the buildings are severely deteriorated because there are many corridor-type apartments built mainly in the 1990s to early 2000s.

② Citizen rental house: This is a public rental housing designed for the purpose of promoting housing stability for the homeless and low-income group. The lease period is 30 years, and the income level is re-checked every two years and the contract is renewed. The exclusive area is less than 60 ㎡ and the rent is 60~80% of the market price.

③  Haengbog house:  Haengbog house is a rental housing mainly supplied to college students, young people, and newlyweds. It is same as citizen rental in that the exclusive area is less than 60㎡ and that the rent is 60~80% of the market price. However, the income standard is less than 100% of the median income, which is more flexible than the citizen rental. Since  Haengbog House is built in the middle of the city considering the characteristics of people who want to live in the city, transportation is convenient. There are many apartments built within the last 5 years, so the living environment is nice.

④ Other rental house: In addition, there are various types of rentals, such as public rental apartments with conversion to sales that can be sold after rental, long-term Jeonse housing supplied through a Jeonse contract, and the purchase living rental housing considering for those who wants to stay in the same living.

2. Resident Eligibility by case

   For the move in qualifications for each type of public rental housing, follow the table below.

3. How to research public rental

To move into public rental housing, it is recommended to use rental housing portal My Home (www.myhome.go.kr, 1600-1004) which is created by the government. Although the Korea Land & Housing Corporation mainly does business for public rental housing in Korea, it is not easy to find and apply a large number of rental housing alone because local governments also does business with building and rental houses.

If you call 1600-1004, information customized to the needs of multicultural families is provided. Ask about the type of housing you want and the size of the deposit, and find a rental housing that suits you. If you are in a more difficult situation, it will also connect you with government support such as payment of housing benefits and emergency housing assistance.

If using the phone is inconvenient, you can visit the ‘myhome’ website and use the ‘self-diagnosis’ service.

By checking various questions, you can find the rental housing you want.

Above all, if you can't find a desired condition of rental house you right away, you can use the alarm service to notify you by text message when the rental house you want is announced.

4. How to apply for rental housing

You can apply for public rental housing in the following three ways. All three methods do not provide multilingual services, so it can be difficult if you do not speak Korean well. It would be good to get help from the Multicultural Family Support Center or Papaya Story.

① online application

Log in with joint certificate at ‘LH Subscription Center’ → Look up Housing complex → Look up Housing type inquiry → Confirm notification → Confirm the Rank → Write a pledge → Write a score sheet → Check application details → Complete application

② Mobile application

Install ‘LH Subscription Center’ app and login to joint certificate → Click rental housing and then click Subscription Application → Select a complex → Select a rank → Confirm notes and agree to personal information → Fill out subscription application and scoring criteria information → Submit subscription application

③ Application for on-site visit

Bring the submitting documents and required documents to the on-site of subscription evidence and submit it at the applied place.

Reporter Hasung Song