There are no studies researching the relationship between house-poor persons and mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between house-poor status and depressive symptoms.

To examine the relationship between the house-poor and depressive symptoms according to household income.

Data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study were used. House-poor were defined as people having possession with over 10% house-related interest in disposable income. About 7,565 participants over the age of 19 years were followed up from 2011 to 2013. The generalized estimating equations were used for analysis.

Individuals with more house-related debt showed increasingly higher depression scores (possession with under 5% related debt to disposable income β = 0.2024, p = .1544; under 10% β = 0.7030, p = .0008; over 10% β = 1.3207, p < .0001). Individuals possessing houses with over 10% ratio of house-related debts to disposable income had higher depression scores than individuals without house ownership (no possession β = 0.8927, p < .0001).

Individuals without houses and individuals owning houses with higher percentages of house-related interests showed higher levels of depressive symptoms. Therefore, this study affirmed that the importance of considering the most vulnerable groups in addressing the mental health of individual.