The government is pushing a plan to grant priority move-in rights to lineal descendants of residents in long-term private rental housing for seniors (Silver Stay) as a policy to enhance housing stability and convenience for older adults. If the child of parents who moved into Silver Stay is without a home, the child would be given priority to move into a rental unit in the same complex.
Silver Stay is a 20-year long-term private rental housing program for middle-class seniors aged 60 and older that offers senior-focused design and services such as housing, meals, and daily living support. Tenants pay rent at or below 95% of market rates, and annual rent increases are capped at 5%.
According to the Ministry of Government Legislation on the 12th, the ministry has been reviewing since on the 10th the Enforcement Rule of the Special Act on Private Rental Housing that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced for legislation last year. The enforcement rule states that a person who is both a lineal descendant of someone supplied with Silver Stay dwellings and a member of a household without a home can be given priority for public-supported private rental dwellings located in the same apartment complex as the relevant dwelling.
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "In some cases, Silver Stay is built as 100% seniors-only dwellings, but depending on the operator, there are cases where a certain proportion is Silver Stay and a certain proportion is general private rental, mixed," and added, "When an older adult moves into Silver Stay, the policy allows the child to have priority to move into the same complex so they can live close to their older parents." MOLIT plans to promulgate and implement this immediately after the review by the Ministry of Government Legislation is completed.
The government designed a policy to allow lineal descendants and Silver Stay residents to live together as part of a generation mix housing policy, a model that local governments have already tried. In July 2022, the Seoul city government said it would develop the Eunpyeong-gu Innovation Park site into a generation-coexistence senior housing complex called "Gold Village." However, the plan fell through as the business case deteriorated. Japan, which experienced aging before Korea, introduced the concept of "nearby housing" in the 2000s, supplying housing so that parents and children could live close to each other. The Japanese government officially defined nearby housing as "living within a range that allows daily visits while living in separate dwellings."
Yoo Seon-jong, a professor in the real estate department at Konkuk University, said, "The policy of granting priority move-in rights to lineal descendants of Silver Stay residents reflects the government's intention to create generation-mixed complexes through Silver Stay," adding, "However, whether parents and children actually want to live nearby is a matter of personal choice, so when implementing the policy, measures should ensure individual choice is not infringed."
Earlier, the government selected the Galmae District in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, as the first Silver Stay site last year. In the Silver Stay complex to be built by a WOOMI Construction Co. consortium, 346 of the 725 apartment households—half—are planned to be supplied as Silver Stay. Move-in is expected in 2029.