Hello. Today, I'm writing this article to introduce you to social housing. This system was introduced in 2019, so many people may not be familiar with it. I will write about the pros and cons while living as a resident myself.

1. What is social housing?

First, "Social housing is a rental housing that is supplied and operated by social economy entities, where citizens can live in peace for a long time at an affordable rent. The operating entity operates and supports programs that utilize various community spaces so that residents can actively recover their sense of community." (Excerpt from the Seoul Metropolitan City Social Housing Introduction Homepage)

Social housing is a lower concept that belongs to social housing. In other words, if you divide it into three stages based on the owner, it is located exactly in the middle. That is, you can think of it as [public housing provided by LH SH] - [social housing] - [general housing owned by individuals]. Social housing is a type of rental housing where public institutions provide construction costs, and social enterprises provide rent and rent guarantees. This social enterprise selects tenants in the form of subletting and rents the house once again. It's not just about supplying housing by lottery, but also about having a group involved to foster a sense of living together.

So, what are the advantages of social housing? The deposit + monthly rent is cheaper than the surrounding market price. However, since it is a sub-leasing type, it is very important whether the social enterprise properly guarantees the deposit. In fact, there were some companies that failed to return the deposit properly and caused problems.

Chosun Ilbo article: Young people who entered Seoul's social housing face losing their monthly rent deposit
https://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/02/11/2020021100261.html 

For this, please refer to the additional explanation material provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
https://opengov.seoul.go.kr/mediahub/19758372

2. Deposit and monthly rent levels

As of 2020, the minimum amount for the Junggok-dong Social Housing (LH Junggok Snail House) of the Minsnail Housing Cooperative is 1 person -> deposit of 10 million won + monthly rent of 208,000 won. If you apply for the minimum deposit conversion, the deposit will be reduced to 1 million won + monthly rent of 260,000 won. The number of recruits is small.
Since it is a rental house, not an apartment, only 10-20 people are recruited per recruitment announcement.

※ For your reference, social housing is not 1 person 1 room, but it is also operated as a share house, so you should definitely check the announcement carefully. The cheaper places are mostly in the form of share houses where you share the living room and kitchen. There are also forms where you share the room itself, such as a double room. In the case of a share house, it is good to decide whether to move in after carefully considering whether you have any aversion to community life. Of course, it would be great if you find a rental house with a 1-person- 1-room concept!

3. Advantages of social housing +

4. Bad points?!

5. Eligibility for social housing

Basically, it is the condition below, but it can change frequently depending on the announcement, so be sure to check the relevant announcement first!

It is approximate, so be sure to check the conditions listed in the actual resident recruitment announcement!

6. How to actually move in?

Seoul Social Housing Platform http://soco.seoul.go.kr/soHouse/index.do 
Green Friends https://www.greenfriends.co.kr/community/notice_list.php?page=1&page_mode=&key=ALL&keyword=&sh_category=ALL 
Sharing and Future https://www.yesnanum.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=notice 
Minsnail Housing Cooperative https://minsnailcoop.com/137 

There are many other companies besides the above. Refer to the announcement, fill out the application within the deadline of the announcement -> submit the documents -> LH or SH Housing & Urban Corporation will check the non-housing status, income and asset fulfillment, etc. -> You will then receive additional interviews from the social enterprise itself for education and tenant selection. The education or interview varies slightly from group to group. Be sure to check if there are any investments or mandatory education!

I hope it helped. Thank you.