Going forward, renter households with infants under age 2 are expected to gain much broader opportunities in the private dwellings subscription market.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 14th it will enforce a revised "Rules on the Supply of Dwellings" starting on the 15th, which includes newly allocating a special supply quota for households with newborns.
The move is intended to lower the barrier to homeownership for families who have had children, while supporting the settlement of corporations' employees relocating to the provinces to achieve balanced national development.
The most notable change is the creation of a "newborn special supply," which allocates 10% of supply in private apartment subscriptions exclusively to households with newborns. Previously, a portion of the special supply for newlyweds or first-time homebuyers was prioritized for households with births. As a result, there was a blind spot in which households that had a child but had lost newlywed status because 7 years had passed since registering their marriage could not receive benefits. To address this flaw, the government revised the system so that, regardless of the length of marriage, households can apply as long as they have a child under age 2 (including fetuses and adopted children).
This special supply is divided into three stages based on the applicant's income level, and when competition is fierce, a lottery system is introduced instead of a complex points system to simplify procedures. To apply, in addition to the child's age criterion, the applicant must be a household member without a home as of the date of the recruitment announcement and meet asset or income thresholds.
In addition, to drive growth in provincial cities on the brink of decline, the government streamlined housing support systems led by local governments. Until now, when local governments offered special-supply dwellings to households or corporations' executives and employees relocating into the area, they had to meet stringent standards promulgated by provincial governors, making swift action difficult. Going forward, however, if a local government head deems it necessary for attracting population or luring large corporations, support can be provided immediately upon the provincial governor's approval, with procedures greatly reduced.
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) Housing Policy Director Jang U-cheol said, "With this enforcement rule revision, we expanded subscription opportunities for households with births and put in place mechanisms to improve living conditions for transfer corporations moving to the provinces," adding, "We will continue to do our best to redesign the incentive structure so that marriage and childbirth are rewarded in housing subscriptions and the provinces are favored."