Seoul city will ease the income criteria and streamline procedures for its program that supports interest on lease deposits to reduce housing costs for young adults without homes.
The city said on the 19th it will relax the applicant income threshold for the youth lease deposit interest support program from an annual income of 40 million won to 50 million won. For married applicants, the eligibility ceiling will be expanded from a combined annual income of 50 million won or less to 60 million won or less.
Since 2017, the city has supported part of the interest on loans up to 200 million won when young adults ages 19 to 39 without homes borrow for lease deposits. Loans are available from Hana Bank, which has an agreement with the city. Dwellings must meet the conditions of "lease deposit of 300 million won or less, monthly rent of 900,000 won or less." The loan limit is up to 200 million won (within 90% of the lease deposit), and the support rate is up to 3.0% per year.
The application process will also be streamlined. Currently, a separate income review is conducted at the stage of issuing Seoul city recommendation letters, requiring submission of various income documents, but going forward this step will be integrated into the review conducted when the bank executes the loan. Accordingly, when applying for a recommendation letter, only a resident registration certificate and documentation proving non-eligibility for housing benefits need to be submitted.
A Seoul city official said, "Considering the growing housing cost burden on the young, we have updated the income criteria to reflect reality and simplified administrative procedures," and added, "We expect more young adults will be able to use the program."