[Edaily Reporter LEE DAWON ] It has been revealed that it takes an average of eight months for the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) to recruit tenants even after securing ownership of “Ddeun-deun Jeonse Housing” units. Among the three housing units for which recruitment announcements were completed, two began recruiting tenants more than half a year after securing ownership. Even when recruitment announcements are finally posted, there have been a series of cases where prospective tenants back out of contracts, leading to calls for better management not only of public rental housing supply performance but also of the process leading up to actual occupancy.

According to data submitted by HUG to Rep. Yoon Jong-gun of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, on the 15th, it took an average of 244 days from securing ownership of a “Ddeun-deun Jeonse Housing” unit to issuing the first recruitment announcement. The median—the middle value when the time periods are listed in order—was 221 days.

The “Ddeun-deun Jeonse Housing” program is an initiative in which HUG repays jeonse deposits on behalf of tenants and then provides the purchased homes as public rental housing to households without their own homes. Eligibility is not based on income or assets, and residents can live there for up to eight years. The goal is to support housing stability for those without homes by utilizing existing housing stock.

Of the 3,240 households for which the initial tenant recruitment announcement was completed, 2,188 households (67.5%) were recruited only after more than six months had passed since ownership was secured. By time interval, the largest group—1,732 households—took between six months and less than one year. There were also 456 households for which the process took one year or longer.

In contrast, only 283 households had recruitment announcements issued within three months, while 769 households fell into the three-month-to-less-than-six-month category. Among all homes for which recruitment announcements were completed, the proportion that began recruiting residents within three months was a mere 8.7%.

HUG maintains that delays are unavoidable given the nature of its business, which involves acquiring homes through auctions. Even after purchasing a home, there are cases where negotiations with existing occupants for eviction are required, or procedures such as delivery orders and compulsory enforcement must be followed; additionally, the process of inspecting and repairing the home’s condition is necessary. Therefore, HUG explains that the average of 244 days cannot be viewed as the total period during which the homes were left vacant.

The problem is that even after going through these procedures to recruit tenants, there are quite a few cases where this does not lead to an actual contract. Of the 2,835 households eligible for viewing during HUG’s first through ninth recruitment rounds, 698 households decided not to sign a contract after inspecting the homes. This represents 24.6% of the total—roughly one in every four households.

The most common reason for declining a contract was the condition of the home, cited in 187 cases. This was followed by dissatisfaction with the surrounding environment (184 cases) and difficulty securing the jeonse deposit (181 cases). Although this was a voluntary survey allowing for multiple responses, the condition of the home, its location, and the financial burden of securing funds were cited as reasons for declining contracts.

There are also 140 units that have yet to find tenants despite having recruited residents twice or more. This reflects a combination of issues: it takes several months from securing ownership to issuing the first recruitment announcement, and even when tenants are finally recruited, it often fails to result in a signed contract.

In light of this situation, HUG is expanding the supply of “Ddeun-deun Jeonse” housing. HUG plans to supply a total of more than 3,600 units this year—double last year’s supply of 1,800 units. Starting on the 30th of last month, the agency recruited tenants for 900 units—the largest single recruitment drive in history—in the Seoul metropolitan area (including Seoul, Incheon, and Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province) and Busan.

Apart from increasing the supply volume, some point out that it is crucial to determine how quickly secured housing units actually lead to residents moving in. Since the “Steady Jeonse” program involves supplying already secured housing units for rent, it is essential that the track record of purchasing and securing ownership actually translates into housing support. Even if HUG increases the supply volume, delays during the tenant recruitment and contract stages will inevitably delay the effectiveness of housing support.

Consequently, calls have been made for HUG to manage the “Ddeun-deun Jeonse” housing supply process. Specifically, it is argued that HUG should distinguish between timeframes that are unavoidable due to the nature of auctioned properties and factors causing delays that can be addressed, and should identify and address the reasons why contracts are not being finalized for certain units.

Rep. Yoon Jong-gun stated, “The HUG ‘Ddeun-deun Jeonse’ housing program is a project where the policy effect is realized only when it leads to actual occupancy, not merely through the purchase itself,” adding, “We must identify the time required at each stage, from securing ownership to occupancy, and separately manage units where occupancy is significantly delayed or contracts are repeatedly not finalized by identifying the underlying causes.”