Nowon-gu in Seoul, led by District Mayor Seo Jun-o, is at the forefront of easing housing costs for vulnerable residents by subsidizing shared maintenance fees not only at permanent rental apartments but also at public and redevelopment rental complexes.
Shared maintenance fees cover the operating costs of common facilities — such as shared electricity and water — and represent a recurring monthly expense that weighs heavily on low-income tenants. The Seoul Metropolitan Government already runs a subsidy program for permanent rental housing to help vulnerable residents maintain stable living conditions.
Nowon-gu has gone a step further. By enacting its own ordinance on shared maintenance fee support for rental apartments, the district expanded eligibility in July 2023 to include public and redevelopment rental complexes beyond the permanent rental units covered by Seoul. It is the only local government in South Korea to fund shared maintenance fee support for public and redevelopment rental apartments from its own budget.
The subsidy structure is tiered. For permanent rental apartments, the full shared maintenance fee is covered — Seoul pays 70 percent and Nowon-gu covers the remaining 30 percent. For public and redevelopment rental apartments, Nowon-gu draws on its own budget to subsidize 50 percent of shared maintenance fees. Payments are made monthly upon application by each complex's management body.
The program covers 24 complexes in total: seven permanent rental apartment complexes and 17 public and redevelopment rental complexes — eight public rental and nine redevelopment rental. As of January, about 22,000 households are benefiting, including 12,715 in permanent rental apartments and 9,374 in public and redevelopment rental complexes.
Since the program launched, the district has provided a cumulative total of about 1 billion won in shared maintenance fee support for public and redevelopment rental apartments through June 30, meaningfully reducing the financial burden on residents.
Reflecting the fact that roughly 80 percent of all housing in the district consists of apartments, Nowon-gu is also working to improve the residential environment for general apartment complexes beyond rental housing. Through its 2026 Apartment Complex Support Project, the district provides complex-by-complex assistance covering maintenance of aging shared facilities, improvements to community spaces, and upgrades to basic facilities for security and cleaning staff — all aimed at creating a comfortable and safe living environment for all residents.
"Maintenance fee burdens are directly tied to the daily lives of housing-vulnerable residents, so support that makes a real difference matters," District Mayor Seo said. "We will continue to develop residential welfare policies that residents can actually feel, and build Nowon into the finest residential city in the country."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
