The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport finalized ballot rules Friday for September’s first-time-buyer rental-block lots, setting how Korea Land and Housing Corporation and municipal housing corporations will rank childless wage earners under 34 against newlywed households that missed earlier 매입임대 rounds.
What changed in the ballot
Under the September notice, first-time buyers who have never owned a home and earn below 130 percent of the metro median will enter a single pool for 2,180 nationwide rental-block units priced at 70–80 percent of market rent. MOLIT scrapped a contested tie-breaker that favored applicants living in the same district as the lot; instead, winners will be drawn by public lottery after income and asset tests, with separate sub-queues for disability and multi-child households unchanged from July guidance.
Officials said the shift responds to lawsuits from Gyeonggi applicants who argued district priority locked out commuters working in Seoul. Housing lawyers told InfoHandle the new rule may speed appeals but could dilute local political support for siting rental blocks.
Who qualifies this month
Eligibility still requires no home ownership history for any household member, verified through the national housing registry. First-time buyers must sign two-year leases with option notices if they later purchase through other programs. Income caps mirror the third-quarter 매입임대 thresholds: roughly 5.4 million won monthly for a two-person Seoul household, with assets excluding jeonse deposits held under legal limits.
Newlyweds married within two years receive a 1.2x weight in the lottery—not a guarantee—after tenant groups protested pure randomization. Childless under-34 applicants share the general pool but may not combine newlywed weights, preventing double stacking.
Calendar and supply
LH will open online applications 22 September on 청약플러스, with document uploads due before Chuseok. Move-ins target December for Incheon and Busan clusters and January for two Seoul infill lots where environmental reviews finished late. SH Corporation posts parallel notices for 640 capital-region units with identical ballot math.
MOLIT said total first-time rental-block supply this year reaches 8,900 units, short of the 12,000 pledged in the spring housing package but aligned with acquisition budgets after rate hikes slowed municipal purchases.
Politics
Democratic Party lawmakers from Yeongdeungpo pressed for larger Seoul quotas; the ministry redirected them to November’s dedicated youth lots. People Power Party members asked whether lottery weights help families delaying childbirth; officials promised a review after census updates. For now, the whip is irrelevant—this is administrative balloting, not a floor vote.
What applicants should watch
Tenant counselors urge applicants to pre-clear income certificates at community centers to avoid holiday backlog. Winners must deposit two months’ rent within five business days or forfeit to alternates—a rule tightened after summer no-shows in Daegu. MOLIT will publish anonymized draw logs for auditors, a transparency step tenant unions demanded after 2025’s opaque tie-breakers.
