LH rental housing stock tops 1.5 million units, saving households W3.92m a year

Korea Land and Housing Corporation said Monday that its rental housing stock — spanning constructed, purchased and jeonse-type units — has surpassed 1.5 million homes. The state housing agency said its rental units save tenants about 3.92 million won ($2,930) per household annually in housing costs.

The LH rental inventory has grown by 555,000 units over the past decade, exceeding 1.5 million as of August this year. That figure represents 77 percent of the country's total stock of about 1.95 million long-term public rental homes with tenancies of 10 years or more.

About 2.66 million people currently live in LH rental units — more than the population of Daegu, which stands at about 2.35 million, and equivalent to 5.1 percent of South Korea's total population of about 51.61 million.

LH sets rental terms at roughly 45 percent of prevailing jeonse market prices, translating into annual savings of about 3.92 million won — or about 330,000 won a month — per household. That monthly saving is equivalent to roughly 20 percent of the average single-person household's monthly living expenses of 1.69 million won, based on 2024 figures.

In the Greater Seoul area, where jeonse market pressures are most acute, the annual saving rises to about 4.86 million won per household, or about 410,000 won a month. Across all LH tenants, the aggregate annual housing-cost saving comes to about 5.1 trillion won — equivalent to 12 percent of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 41.7 trillion won housing and welfare budget for 2026.

LH rental housing also contributes to long-term residential stability for vulnerable groups. The average length of stay for LH tenants is 7.3 years, more than double the national average of 3.6 years for general rental households.

Female-headed households account for the largest share of LH tenants at 49.4 percent, followed by single-person households at 42.8 percent, welfare-recipient households at 38.5 percent and elderly households at 34.0 percent. By income bracket, households in the bottom four of ten income deciles make up about 70 percent of all LH tenants, underscoring the program's heavy concentration among socioeconomically disadvantaged residents.

Quality improvements are keeping pace with the expansion in supply. The average floor area of an LH rental unit is 44 square meters, more than 20 percent above the 36-square-meter minimum living standard set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for a three-person household.

LH also carries out annual renovation work on about 9,000 aging units — primarily permanent and national rental homes more than 15 years old — and facility improvement projects at more than 160 complexes each year. A satisfaction survey of tenants whose units had undergone repairs scored 98 out of 100 as of 2025.

LH is also accelerating new housing supply to stabilize the Greater Seoul jeonse market and strengthen residential support. This year the corporation is targeting a combined supply of 75,000 constructed, purchased and jeonse rental units.

On the constructed-rental side, LH is targeting a supply of 11,669 units this year. In the fourth quarter, it plans to recruit tenants for 4,721 units nationwide, including 3,612 in the Greater Seoul area — among them 1,424 units at Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town S-12 in October and 609 units at the transit-oriented Guri Galmae Station A-1 complex in December.

For purchased rentals, LH is targeting 26,000 units this year and has shifted from periodic to rolling regional recruitment to speed up supply. For jeonse rentals, it is targeting 38,000 units and accepting applications on a continuous basis. Looking further ahead, LH plans to supply more than 140,000 constructed, purchased and jeonse rental units annually in the Greater Seoul area from 2027 through 2030, in line with the government's housing supply measures.

"We will continue to provide an affordable housing safety net for women, youth and others on the basis of 1.5 million rental homes," LH President Lee Seong-hun said. "In accordance with the government's residential stability plan, we will actively work to expand supply — including by introducing universal-type rental housing in prime locations such as the third-generation new towns."

At an earlier press briefing, Lee addressed the corporation's target of breaking ground on 50,000 units, saying that a large portion of the pipeline was already in the permitting process and that approvals tend to concentrate in the autumn. "We will make sure the target is met by December," he said.