Korea's Housing Benefit (주거급여) supports low-income households with housing costs. For foreign residents, the benefit is real but narrow. Do not treat it as a general rent subsidy for all visa holders.
The safest way to read the rule is this: you need both a qualifying foreigner category and a qualifying income/assets result. If either side fails, the application fails.
Who Can Qualify
MOHW's public selection-criteria page lists the foreigner special cases for basic livelihood benefits. The categories are:
- A registered foreigner married to a Korean citizen where the foreigner or Korean spouse is pregnant
- A registered foreigner married to a Korean citizen and raising a Korean-national minor child
- A registered foreigner living with the Korean-national lineal ascendant of the Korean spouse
- A person divorced from or widowed by a Korean-citizen spouse and raising a Korean-national minor child
- A person widowed by a Korean-citizen spouse and pregnant with the deceased spouse's child
- A person recognized as a refugee by the Minister of Justice under the Refugee Act
The official category list does not say that F-2, F-5, F-6, E-2, E-7, D-2, or any other visa status is enough by itself. If your eligibility depends on family relationship with a Korean citizen, bring official family and household documents to the administrative welfare center and ask staff to check your case.
The 2026 Income Test
Housing Benefit uses recognized income (소득인정액), not raw salary. MOHW defines recognized income as:
- Income evaluation amount (소득평가액)
- Plus property income-conversion amount (재산의 소득환산액)
For 2026, the Housing Benefit threshold is 48% of standard median income.
| Household size | 2026 monthly threshold |
|---|---|
| 1 person | ₩1,230,834 |
| 2 people | ₩2,015,660 |
| 3 people | ₩2,572,337 |
| 4 people | ₩3,117,474 |
| 5 people | ₩3,627,225 |
| 6 people | ₩4,106,857 |
The government calculation includes assets, so a household can fail even when monthly salary looks low. Use the official application review or Bokjiro/MyHome tools as the decision point.
Rental Benefit Amounts
For renters, Housing Benefit is paid against actual rent but capped by household size and region. If your actual rent is lower than the cap, the actual-rent figure matters. If your actual rent is higher than the cap, the cap matters.
2026 Monthly Rent Caps
| Household size | Seoul | Gyeonggi/Incheon | Metropolitan, Sejong, non-capital special cities | Other regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | ₩369,000 | ₩300,000 | ₩247,000 | ₩212,000 |
| 2 people | ₩414,000 | ₩335,000 | ₩275,000 | ₩238,000 |
| 3 people | ₩492,000 | ₩401,000 | ₩327,000 | ₩283,000 |
| 4 people | ₩571,000 | ₩463,000 | ₩381,000 | ₩329,000 |
| 5 people | ₩591,000 | ₩479,000 | ₩394,000 | ₩340,000 |
| 6 people | ₩699,000 | ₩568,000 | ₩463,000 | ₩402,000 |
MyHome also notes that deposit is converted to monthly rent using an annual 4% rate when calculating actual rent. For example, a ₩10,000,000 deposit counts as ₩33,333 per month before adding monthly rent.
Owner-Occupied Homes
Owner-occupied households use the repair-benefit track (수선유지급여), not the monthly rental-benefit track. MyHome's 2026 table lists repair support by repair category:
| Repair category | 2026 support amount and cycle |
|---|---|
| Light repair (경보수) | ₩5,900,000 every 3 years |
| Medium repair (중보수) | ₩10,950,000 every 5 years |
| Major repair (대보수) | ₩16,010,000 every 7 years |
MyHome states that no separate cash is provided outside home improvement for this track.
How To Apply
MyHome lists two application routes:
- Visit the eup, myeon, or dong administrative welfare center for your resident-registration address.
- Apply online through Bokjiro.
If you are applying under the foreigner carve-out, an in-person visit is usually the clearer route because the office needs to check family relationship, resident registration, and foreigner registration details. If you need help preparing your case in your own language, Seoulstart's support center directory lists free foreign-resident support centers by region.
Documents
MyHome lists these documents:
- Social security benefit application form
- Income and asset declaration
- Financial-information consent
- Lease or sublease contract and use-loan confirmation
- Bankbook copy
- ID
The administrative welfare center can request extra documents. MyHome gives examples such as wage confirmation, disability registration, and family-register documents. For foreign-resident cases, expect staff to ask for documents that prove your registered foreigner status and the qualifying family relationship with the Korean citizen or child.
What Happens After Applying
MyHome describes a four-step process:
- Application receipt at the eup, myeon, or dong office
- Income and asset investigation by the city, county, or district
- Housing survey by LH
- Guarantee decision and payment by the city, county, or district
The LH housing survey checks the lease relationship, actual residence, and housing condition for renters. MyHome says LH sends advance notice, arranges a visit, and visits the household. If the household refuses the survey, the benefit may not be paid.
Common Pitfalls
Do not rely on visa status alone. The official foreigner list is based on registered foreigner status plus specific family or refugee conditions.
Do not rely on raw salary alone. The means test uses recognized income, including a property income-conversion calculation.
Do not apply without lease evidence if you are a renter. MyHome says households without a lease contract, or with a lease contract but no actual rent, are excluded from rental-benefit payment.
Do not skip the LH housing survey. MyHome warns that refusing the survey can stop payment.
Appeals
MyHome lists an objection route for people who applied for the benefit.
For a first-level objection, file within 90 days of receiving the city, county, or district decision. The filing goes through the relevant guarantee agency to the city or province governor.
For a further Housing Benefit objection after the city or province decision, file within 90 days of receiving that decision. The filing goes through the city or province governor to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
For a housing-survey objection, MyHome says the objection is filed with the guarantee agency, which asks LH to conduct a re-survey and report back.