[Taemin Ryu's Real Estate A to Z] 'Bottomless Jar' Regional Housing Cooperatives... Is Mid-Term Withdrawal Possible?

Landowner Obstruction Causes Years of Delays
Additional Charges May Arise or Projects May Collapse
Voluntary Withdrawal and Refunds Difficult... Be Cautious Before Joining

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] As housing prices soar to unprecedented levels, more buyers are turning to regional housing cooperatives (Jijutaek). This is because Jijutaek allows people to secure a home at a relatively affordable price without needing a subscription savings account. However, since securing land is complicated, many projects have been stalled for years or ultimately fail, and withdrawing from the cooperative midway is difficult, so caution is advised.

Jijutaek is a project where non-homeowners or owners of small homes (85㎡ or less) who have lived in a specific area for more than six months form a cooperative to build housing. Since the cooperative directly raises funds to purchase land, the sale price is low, and membership is possible without a subscription savings account.

The problem lies in the risks. To obtain project plan approval, the land acquisition rate must exceed 95%. Landowners often raise land prices and attempt to block the project by holding onto land, causing the project to be stalled for years. As the project delays increase costs, cooperative members must bear additional contributions. However, even if members want to withdraw midway, it is often difficult to do so or to get back the money they have already paid.

Once Joined, Withdrawal is Difficult... Contributions May Not Be Refunded

First, voluntary withdrawal from a regional housing cooperative is difficult. If it is within 30 days from the payment of the joining fee, withdrawal is freely possible. However, in most other cases, cooperatives stipulate in their bylaws that voluntary withdrawal by members must be decided by a general meeting or board resolution, so voluntary withdrawal is generally not accepted in practice.

If members joined the cooperative due to deceptive acts such as false or exaggerated advertising during the contract process, they have the right to cancel the contract and demand a full refund of the contributions paid. Also, if the explanations given at the time of joining differ significantly from the current project status, members can claim contract invalidity based on this.

However, experts explain that it is difficult to obtain a court ruling to cancel the contract and get a full refund. Attorney Kim Ye-rim of Deoksu Law Firm said, “Courts tend to take a conservative approach to contracts already concluded, so winning is not easy,” and advised, “Many contracts include clauses stating that the project may proceed differently than planned, so careful consideration before signing is necessary.”

Ultimately, many are forced to withdraw due to loss of cooperative membership qualifications. Members must meet qualifications such as non-homeownership and residency requirements stipulated in Article 21 of the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act. If membership is lost, members cannot recover costs such as agency fees from their contributions, but most choose this reluctantly to avoid further burdens. Attorney Kim explained, “Although some loss of contributions may occur, many victims choose this to prevent additional contributions later, thereby reducing long-term damage.”

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