The government’s new public rental housing plan, set to be introduced next year, has come under scrutiny for its short basic residency period. While families with three or more children can potentially stay for up to 20 years, the actual number of households eligible for long-term residency benefits is limited.
On October 7, Jang Jong-tae, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party, emphasized during a National Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit that the basic residency period and long-term residency requirements for the new public rental housing should be redesigned to better reflect reality.
The new public rental housing, which the government plans to launch next year, aims to provide a more accessible type of public rental housing by relaxing income and asset criteria and focusing on mid-sized units in new towns and near transportation hubs. A total of 6.2159 trillion won will be invested to supply 36,000 units.
However, the basic residency period is a point of contention. The standard residency period for the new public rental housing is set at six years, which is significantly shorter compared to the existing integrated public rental housing, where residents can stay for up to 30 years. In comparison, private rental agreements can be extended for four years using the right to request a lease renewal, making the new public rental housing only two years longer.
Residency can be extended based on the number of children born, but to qualify for the maximum 20-year stay, families must have three or more children.
Jang pointed out that this requirement does not align with current realities. According to Statistics Korea, only 6.4% of the 254,500 babies born in 2025 were third children or more. This means that very few families will actually benefit from the maximum 20-year residency.
Concerns about policy consistency have also been raised. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport relaxed the criteria for public housing for families with multiple children from three to two in response to the low birth rate in 2023. However, the new public rental housing reverts to requiring three children for long-term residency, raising the bar for families.
Jang has called for the basic residency period to be extended to at least 10 years and for the long-term residency extension criteria to be reconsidered based on two children. He also suggested that instead of immediately evicting tenants whose income exceeds the threshold after moving in, the government should allow them to continue residing by increasing their rent.
For the new public rental housing model to effectively serve the middle class, it is crucial not only to ensure sufficient supply but also to design a residency period that guarantees actual housing stability.
Jang stated, “While the maximum stay is 20 years, if the condition applies only to families with three children, the actual residency period felt by most tenants will be closer to six years. Since the Ministry has already lowered the multiple child criteria to two, this system should also be designed with realistic and consistent standards.” He added, “Simply broadening the eligibility for public rental housing does not complete the program. The government must reassess the residency period and extension requirements to ensure they contribute to actual housing stability before finalizing the detailed criteria.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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