Seoul City Designates Siheung 5-dong 919 Area as 'Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has newly designated the area of 919 Siheung 5-dong, including the Siheung 2 Redevelopment Promotion Zone release area in Geumcheon-gu, as a 'Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone' to revitalize home repairs in old and deteriorated low-rise residential areas.

The 'Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone' refers to areas designated to receive home repair support beyond the existing 'Urban Regeneration Activation Areas' and 'Managed Residential Environment Improvement Projects,' which have previously benefited from various home repair support policies of Seoul. To provide this support, Seoul revised the 'Ordinance on Support for Home Repairs in Low-Rise Residential Areas of Seoul' and newly introduced the Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone system.

Areas where more than 60% of low-rise houses are over 20 years old since approval for use, such as ▲planned managed residential environment improvement project sites ▲redevelopment zone release areas ▲scenic and height control districts ▲alleyway regeneration project zones, can be designated as 'Housing Performance Improvement Support Zones' after review by the Urban Regeneration Committee. Once designated, these zones can receive home repair subsidies under the 'Seoul Beautiful House Project.' Depending on the type of housing, 50-100% of construction costs, up to a maximum of 20 million KRW, can be supported. They also benefit from Seoul's 'Housing Improvement Loan Support Project,' a low-interest loan program for home repair construction costs. Before designation, the city subsidized 2% of the market interest rate; after designation, a low-interest loan at an annual rate of 0.7% is provided.

The newly designated area, including the Siheung 2 Redevelopment Promotion Zone release area, is a cluster of old low-rise houses such as detached and multi-family homes, following the cancellation of redevelopment projects in December 2016. With the decision to designate it as a Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone at the 3rd Small Housing Authorization Subcommittee of the Urban Regeneration Committee held on the 17th, old houses in this area can now receive Seoul's home repair support benefits.

Ryu Hoon, Director of the Seoul Urban Regeneration Office, said, "We will continue to expand the Housing Performance Improvement Support Zones in areas densely populated with aging low-rise houses that urgently need repairs, so that old and deteriorated houses can be repaired through Seoul's home repair support projects," adding, "We expect sustainable residential environment improvements to be achieved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.