The Seoul city government said on the 1st it will ease the application requirements for the "housing cost support program for childbearing households without homes," which provides up to 7.2 million won over two years starting this year.
The housing requirement will be eased from a previous jeonse deposit of up to 300 million won (monthly rent 1.3 million won) to up to 500 million won (monthly rent 2.29 million won). The application window, which lasted about five months last year, will shift to rolling submissions starting this year. However, to allow for eligibility screening and payment, applications will be accepted twice a year through recruitment notices in the first and second half.
For each household's actual expenditure on jeonse deposit loan interest or monthly rent, the city will provide 300,000 won per month—the housing cost gap level between Seoul and the greater Seoul area—for two years, up to a maximum of 7.2 million won.
If a child is additionally born during or after the support period, support is extended by one year per newborn, for up to four years. For multiple births, twins receive a one-year extension and triplets or more receive a two-year extension.
Seoul launched the program in May last year and supported a total of 654 households with an average of 1.8 million won in housing costs per household by year-end. Of the supported households, 66% lived in monthly rentals, and of these, more than 78% had monthly rent expenditure of at least 600,000 won.
The housing types of supported households were ▲ row/townhouses and multiplex houses (36%) ▲ apartments (25%) ▲ detached/multifamily houses (21%). Eighty-six percent of supported households lived in small dwellings with an exclusive area of 60 square meters or less, and were bearing high fixed expenditure each month for items such as jeonse loan interest and monthly rent.
Monthly rent burdens were under 600,000 won (22%), 600,000–under 800,000 won (35%), 800,000–under 1 million won (26%), and up to 1.3 million won (17%), meaning 78% of all monthly rent households were paying at least 600,000 won and up to 1.3 million won.
For the first half of this year, households that gave birth on or after Jan. 1 last year are eligible, and applications are accepted from the 2nd through June 30. A separate recruitment notice for the second half will be issued in July.
Only households within one year after childbirth are eligible to apply. Accordingly, households that gave birth from Jan. 1 to June 30 last year must apply within the first-half submission period (Feb. 2–June 30). Households that gave birth from July 1 to Dec. 31 last year should apply as much as possible in the first half or within their own application deadline during the second-half submission period.
Eligibility includes households without homes that have given birth, with income at or below 180% of the standard median income, and residing in rental dwellings in Seoul with a jeonse of 500 million won or less or monthly rent (converted amount) of 2.29 million won or less. Households benefiting from public rental housing or from government or Seoul city housing support policies such as Seoul's tenant deposit interest support are excluded.
Applicants in the first half of this year will undergo eligibility verification, with results announced in July, and must submit proof of housing costs. Once housing cost expenditure is confirmed, payments will be made in August.