Review one Korean senior welfare housing notice at a time
Senior welfare housing in Korea combines public rental housing for older people with access to a social-welfare facility. It is not one nationwide product with a single rent, deposit, income ceiling, or application timetable. A project may use permanent rental, national rental, Happy Housing, or integrated public rental rules, while a local authority can add a separate allocation rule.
This calculator separates the common legal signals from the project-specific notice. It reviews age on the notice date, unhoused-household status, a notice-confirmed priority category, income, assets, vehicle value, local conditions, and evidence readiness. It then compares the exact deposit and rent in the notice with the applicant's current housing over one, three, and five years.
The result is not an approval, legal opinion, or selection probability. The original Korean notice, the housing provider's administrative checks, and its final decision always control. All market-cost fields start at zero because a national default would be misleading.
The common 2026 legal structure
Article 23 and Annex 6-4 of the Enforcement Rule of the Special Act on Public Housing, effective June 22, 2026, provide the selection framework for senior welfare housing. The common starting point is that the applicant is at least 65 on the public notice date and is an unhoused household member. As a rule, one unit is supplied to one household.
Notice-date age
Calculate full age on the notice date, not today or the move-in date.
Household housing status
Check every person included in the notice definition, not only the applicant.
Notice-specific thresholds
Use the notice income, asset, vehicle, residence, and evidence rules.
“Unhoused household member” is an administrative term. It is not necessarily satisfied merely because the applicant personally owns no home. A spouse, household-member scope, a separated household, housing or presale rights, the relevant date, and listed exceptions can affect the official result. Choose “Needs confirmation” until the notice and evidence make the answer clear.
Identify the supply type before entering a priority
Senior welfare housing selection structure by supply type| Supply type | Legal structure | What to enter | Calculator output |
|---|
| Permanent, national, or Happy Housing | Annex 6-4 maps listed Annex 3 categories to priority 1, 2, and 3 | Priority confirmed from the notice and evidence, plus notice ceilings | Priority review signal |
| Integrated public rental | Senior eligibility plus a lottery that considers minimum income-band shares | Household size, monthly income, and the actual notice ceiling | Income band and share |
| Local allocation | A local authority may request a limited separate allocation and set criteria | Residence, duration, welfare status, and every local notice condition | Manual review |
Do not infer a classic-type priority from income alone
For the permanent, national, and Happy Housing routes, Annex 6-4 connects specific Annex 3 categories to priority 1, 2, and 3. Those categories can depend on livelihood or medical benefit status, a listed veteran or survivor category, household income, and asset requirements. The calculator therefore asks for the priority already confirmed in the Korean notice instead of guessing from one number.
An integrated income-band share is not a winning chance
For integrated public rental senior supply, Annex 6-4 states that the lottery considers at least 45% for households at or below 50% of median income, at least 30% for those over 50% and at or below 100%, and at least 15% for those over 100%. Local conditions may change the allocation. These are supply-composition minimums, not the applicant's probability of selection.
Use the 2026 income reference carefully
The integrated public-rental senior category generally uses a 150% median-income ceiling, increased to 170% for a one-person household and 160% for a two-person household. The calculator includes the official 2026 monthly median-income table for household sizes one through eight and can load the corresponding reference ceiling.
Selected 2026 median-income and senior reference ceilings| Household size | Median income 100% | Senior ratio | Reference ceiling |
|---|
| 1 person | KRW 2,564,238 | 170% | KRW 4,359,205 |
| 2 people | KRW 4,199,292 | 160% | KRW 6,718,867 |
| 3 people | KRW 5,359,036 | 150% | KRW 8,038,554 |
| 4 people | KRW 6,494,738 | 150% | KRW 9,742,107 |
A notice may define the applicable household, income components, lookup period, exception, or supply-specific ceiling more precisely. Always overwrite the reference with the number printed in the actual notice when the two differ. A zero ceiling in the calculator means “not confirmed,” not “no income allowed.”
Review total assets and vehicle value as separate tests
The 2026 public-rental reference loaded by the calculator is KRW 345,000,000 for total assets and KRW 45,420,000 for vehicle value. These are editable references, not a promise that every senior welfare housing notice uses the same figures or exceptions.
- Total assets generally combine real estate, vehicles, financial assets, and general assets, then deduct recognised debt.
- A lease deposit can be a general asset, so include the current jeonse or monthly-rent deposit in the official review where required.
- Vehicle value is not necessarily the price the applicant expects to receive in a private sale.
- Where multiple non-business passenger vehicles are involved, the separate vehicle ceiling generally uses the highest applicable value under the administrative rule.
- Disability-use vehicles, qualifying veterans' assistive vehicles, low-emission subsidies, and other exceptions require notice-specific evidence.
The housing provider performs official data matching and may request an explanation or updated document. Treat the entered figures as a preparation worksheet and keep the source date and evidence for every major asset or debt item.
Compare refundable deposits without treating them as spent
A larger converted deposit can lower monthly rent, but it also ties up cash. The calculator first adds the base deposit and added conversion deposit. It estimates monthly rent reduction as the added deposit multiplied by the entered annual conversion rate and divided by twelve, then limits converted rent at zero.
Monthly cash cost
Converted rent plus management fees, utilities, and other monthly charges. This approximates the recurring amount leaving the household's bank account.
Monthly economic cost
Monthly cash cost plus the deposit's opportunity cost. It recognises tied-up funds while keeping refundable principal out of consumed cost.
Gross move-in cash includes the effective deposit, moving cost, and other initial cost. Net additional cash subtracts the current deposit expected to be returned. The one-, three-, and five-year comparison includes non-refundable moving and initial costs plus monthly economic cost; it excludes refundable deposit principal. Deposit-return risk, borrowing interest, rent escalation, contract renewal, and future maintenance changes require separate scenarios.
Worked synthetic example
The synthetic-example button uses an imaginary one-person integrated-rental application. Monthly income is KRW 2,000,000, total assets are KRW 80,000,000, and the applicant is recorded as unhoused and age-qualified. These values are for testing and explanation only; they are not averages or a quote for any project.
Effective deposit
KRW 30,000,000
Converted rent
KRW 130,000/month
New economic cost
KRW 425,000/month
Additional cash
KRW 22,500,000
A KRW 10,000,000 added deposit at 6% reduces monthly rent by KRW 50,000, from KRW 180,000 to KRW 130,000. Management, utilities, and other monthly costs bring cash housing cost to KRW 350,000. A 3% opportunity-cost rate on the KRW 30,000,000 deposit adds KRW 75,000, producing a KRW 425,000 monthly economic cost. The current home's comparable cost is KRW 665,000.
After KRW 2,500,000 of non-refundable moving and other initial costs, the one-year saving is only KRW 380,000. The five-year saving becomes KRW 11,900,000 under unchanged inputs. This illustrates why both move-in cash and duration matter; it does not predict future fees, eligibility, renewal, or service quality.
A practical notice-to-application workflow
- Save the Korean original. Download the public notice PDF and rent schedule from MyHome or LH, then mark every filing and evidence deadline.
- Identify the legal supply type. Do not infer it solely from a project name that contains a phrase such as senior welfare housing.
- Enter common tests. Use the notice date, birth date, household status, confirmed priority, income, total assets, and vehicle value.
- Enter one unit type. Copy its base deposit, rent, conversion cap, conversion rate, and any confirmed management or utility estimate.
- Reconcile the current home. Include the deposit to be returned, recurring charges, moving cost, and a financing or opportunity-cost rate appropriate to the household.
- Resolve every amber item. Match each open signal to the notice, housing-provider help desk, local authority, or required evidence.
Some Korean notices provide an in-person route for older applicants who have difficulty with online filing, but procedures differ. Confirm whether a representative may file, which IDs and powers of attorney are required, where the desk is located, and its exact opening hours.
Frequently asked questions
Does age 65 automatically qualify an applicant?
No. Age is only one common test. Household housing status, the supply-type rules, income, assets, vehicle value, local conditions, and evidence also matter.
Does the 45% integrated band mean a 45% chance of selection?
No. It is a minimum supply-allocation consideration for the lowest income band, not an individual probability.
Are long-term care grades 1 and 2 the listed same-rank factor?
Annex 6-4 cites Decree Article 7(1), items 3 through 6, which are grades 3, 4, 5, and cognitive-support grade. Check the actual notice for any additional rule.
Why is the deposit principal excluded from five-year cost?
The model assumes refundable principal remains an asset. It includes the deposit opportunity cost instead. Review borrowing cost and return risk separately.
Can an English result be submitted as evidence?
No. The English page is a planning aid. Use the Korean notice, official forms, certified evidence, and the provider's filing instructions.
Official sources and final checks
Return to the original notice before applying
Save the notice-date evidence, resolve every “Check the notice” signal, replace zero cost fields with actual terms, and confirm filing dates and representation rules. If the Korean notice is more specific than this common legal summary, follow the notice and ask the housing provider to clarify any conflict.