LH expands dormitory-style rental housing for students

The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) is expanding its ‘dormitory-style jeonse rental’ program to improve housing stability for university students and young adults. LH has announced a public tender for 500 housing units, targeting local governments and universities to secure high-quality housing near campuses or subway stations. Under this scheme, LH directly secures properties and provides them as dormitory-style housing through operating institutions, significantly reducing the burden of deposits and rent for residents.

In a previous partnership with Seoul National University, LH agreed to supply 200 units by 2030 to provide alternative housing for students during dormitory reconstruction. The first 30 units are already occupied by 60 students.

However, data reveals a mismatch between existing public housing and actual demand. Approximately 84.2% of the 69,945 Happy Houses provided for youth are 26 square meters or smaller. While the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH are planning to increase the minimum size for new public housing to 31 square meters starting in 2025, there remains a significant surplus of small units and a shortage of larger ones. Currently, there are more applicants waiting for units larger than 26 square meters than there are vacancies, while smaller units face a different supply-demand imbalance.