Gov’t to offer cheaper leases to young jobseekers

The government announced Tuesday that it plans to allow young job-seekers to move into cheap rental apartments to avoid the high price of jeonse, or lump-sum deposit rental contracts.

Currently, only college students were eligible to lease units owned by state-run builder Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), which offer cheaper rents than private owners in the market.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will expand the program to young graduates - as well as high school or college dropouts - looking for jobs. They will be eligible for up to two years from the time of their graduation.

“College students were only allowed to lease units near their schools, but job-seekers will be able to live wherever they want,” the ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. “In other words, graduates who studied in the non-metropolitan regions can find new places to live near Seoul while looking for job.”

In the metropolitan areas, eligible young people can pay some 5 million won ($4,261) as a deposit and 80,000 to 100,000 won a month to live in a 50-square-meter (538.2 square-foot) apartment unit. People from low-income families and the disabled are eligible for further benefits.

The leasing process for young people will be simplified. Previously, prospective tenants needed to prepare seven documents, which will now be reduced to three: as a copy of the resident registration, family relation certificate and a certificate of registration issued by their educational institutions. The length of the process will be reduced from a week to a day or two.

The ministry will also introduce a mentoring system to help departing tenants find new occupants for their apartments.

The ministry will try the new plan in the Seoul metropolitan area later this year and will expand the program in other places starting next year.

“We will also share information on real-estate agents that helped college students find new residences so that new renters can get information they need ahead of time,” said the ministry. As of the end of last year, there were a total of 525 agents nationwide helping college students and 277 of them work in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Meanwhile, the average deposit for jeonse increased 36.2 percent from 2012 to 2016 to reach 227.5 million won, according to data compiled by the JoongAng Ilbo. In Seoul alone, the jeonse price rose 41.4 percent, or by 110 million won, to 372.6 million won from 2012 to this year.

BY KIM YOUNG-NAM [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]