Seoul City offers short-term loans for more tenants

Seoul City offers short-term loans for more tenants. February. 01, 2016 07:27. by 황태호기자 taeho@donga.com.

The Seoul metropolitan government will increase the scope of its loan program for tenants who are financially stressed on a temporary basis due to the mismatch between their moving dates.

The scope of the program will increase from tenants who pay 200 million won (165,840 U.S. dollars) or lower for housing deposits to 300 million won (248,700 dollars) or lower, and the interest rate will decrease from 2 percent to 1.8 percent. The limit of the loans will remain the same at 180 million won (149,250 dollars).

The program offers loans at low interests for tenants who suffer a financial problem temporarily due to the mismatch between their moving dates. A total of 261 cases or around 2.6 billion won (2.1 million dollars) have been extended to borrowers from 2013 to 2015.

“As many houses are changing from jeonse (lump-sum deposit rental) to monthly rents, the number of houses available for jeonse is dwindling," said Jeong Yoo-seung, head of housing construction bureau of the Seoul metropolitan government. "To help citizens not fail get a house due to a short-term financial mismatch, we plan to increase the number of beneficiaries for our program.”

Tenants who want to get a loan may contact the support center of the program of the Seoul metropolitan government for consultation and apply for a loan. To get a loan upon the termination of the contract, they should complete application one or two weeks before the end of the term of their current residence.