Voluntary Rent Reduction: Up to 1 Million KRW Seoul Love Gift Certificate Support for 'Seoul-type Good Landlords'

Lease Reduction 'Win-Win Agreement' Signed for Landlords Owning Commercial Properties with Converted Deposit Under 900 Million KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will select ‘Seoul-type Good Landlords’ who voluntarily reduced rent for tenants struggling due to COVID-19 and support them with Seoul Love Gift Certificates worth up to 1 million KRW, which can be used like cash.

This is the second time since April when Seoul selected 878 Good Landlords and distributed gift certificates worth a total of 420 million KRW. The decision was made based on the recent sharp increase in new COVID-19 infections and the need to ease the rent burden on tenants due to strengthened social distancing measures, prompting an additional implementation of the ‘Seoul-type Good Landlord’ support project.

The support targets landlords of commercial properties located in Seoul with a converted deposit amount (deposit + ) of 900 million KRW or less, who have reduced or plan to reduce rent from January to December this year and are subject to the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act. Landlords and tenants become eligible applicants by signing a ‘win-win agreement’ to reduce commercial rent.

The gift certificates are provided according to the total amount of rent reduction: 300,000 KRW (for reductions between 1 million KRW and less than 5 million KRW), 500,000 KRW (for reductions between 5 million KRW and less than 10 million KRW), and 1 million KRW (for reductions of 10 million KRW or more). The recipients will be finalized in September and the certificates will be distributed to landlords by early October. If one landlord signs win-win agreements with multiple tenants, the amount of gift certificates will be determined based on the total rent reduction amount.

Landlords who wish to participate in the additionally recruited ‘Seoul-type Good Landlord Support Project’ should submit application documents to the Good Landlord project department of the district office where the commercial building is located after signing a rent reduction win-win agreement with the tenant. The application period is from the 19th to August 31 and applications can be submitted in person or by mail.

This project can be applied for concurrently with the government support measure that provides a 70% tax credit on the rent reduction amount for small business owners affected by COVID-19.

Meanwhile, in April this year, Seoul supported 878 Good Landlords with Seoul Love Gift Certificates worth 420 million KRW. Approximately 5 billion KRW of rent was reduced across a total of 1,749 stores. Seo Byung-cheol, Director of Fair Economy, said, “To overcome the difficult times caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, coexistence and cooperation between landlords and tenants are necessary,” adding, “Furthermore, the use of the distributed Seoul Love Gift Certificates is expected to have a virtuous cycle effect by helping to recover sales of small business owners in local commercial districts.”

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