"I'll Return as Much as You Cut" Busan City Greatly Expands Support for Good Landlords

From February 15, Online Continuous Recruitment on District and County Websites

Property Tax (Buildings) Support Expanded from 50% to 100%

Removal of Cap Amount, Establishment of Minimum Guarantee Amount, and Other Practical Support Measure

Panorama of Busan City Hall. (Photo by Busan City Hall)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The ‘Good Landlord’ support program, which returns as much as the rent reduction, will be significantly expanded in Busan.

Busan City (Acting Mayor Lee Byung-jin) announced that it will officially implement the ‘Busan City Good Landlord Support Program’ from February 15 to alleviate the rent burden of small business owners who are experiencing severe business difficulties such as decreased sales due to the impact of COVID-19.

This program provides incentives to landlords who voluntarily reduce commercial rent.

Busan City plans to actively expand the Good Landlord program by significantly improving this year’s policy to ensure its effectiveness.

The improvements include: First, the support amount has been greatly expanded from 50% of property tax (building) to full support. The previous regulation that capped the support amount at 2 million KRW has been removed to practically compensate landlords who reduce rent beyond the cap.

Additionally, to encourage participation from small taxpayers due to building aging, a minimum guaranteed amount has been newly established to support up to 500,000 KRW within the reduction amount regardless of the taxable amount if the property tax is 500,000 KRW or less.

Second, the program, which was previously promoted only by the city (Busan Economic Promotion Agency), will be conducted in collaboration with districts and counties starting this year.

The recruitment window will be expanded and shifted from the city to 16 districts and counties to prevent cases where policies cannot be applied on-site.

Third, while applications were previously only accepted during the announcement period, from this year, the recruitment window will be open continuously from February 15 to November, allowing participation at any time within the period.

Applications are accepted online at the websites of the districts and counties where the commercial (business) locations are situated, and on-site applications will also be accepted to assist those vulnerable to online access.

Fourth, the support requirements have been significantly lowered. Previously, support was only available if rent was reduced by at least 10% monthly for more than three months, but now any landlord who reduces rent regardless of period or amount can participate.

The applicants are landlords who have signed a win-win agreement to voluntarily reduce commercial rent with tenants between January and December of this year, and delegation to a third party is also possible.

Tenants must be small business owners as defined in Article 2 of the ‘Act on the Protection and Support of Small Businesses,’ must not be special relatives such as blood relatives or in-laws of the landlord, and must not operate businesses in restricted industries according to the Enforcement Decree of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (Appendix 14).

Required documents include ▲ ID card (power of attorney if not the applicant) ▲ bankbook copy ▲ business registration certificate (tenant) ▲ small business confirmation (tenant, issued by Small Enterprise and Market Service) ▲ copy of lease contract ▲ win-win agreement (standard form) ▲ personal information consent form (standard form), all of which must be submitted by uploading to the online application portal.

Acting Busan Mayor Lee Byung-jin said, “If linked with the government’s separately implemented ‘Good Landlord Tax Credit’ support (tax credit up to 70% of the reduction amount for income under 100 million KRW), the rent reduction amount can be compensated more realistically.”

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