Seoul City Extends Expansion of Residential Floor Area Ratio for Urban Maintenance-Type Redevelopment by 3 Years

Urban Maintenance-Type Redevelopment Area (Provided by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has extended the validity period for the expanded residential floor area ratio within urban maintenance-type redevelopment project zones by an additional three years.

On the 18th, Seoul held the 4th Urban Planning Committee meeting and announced on the 19th that it had approved a revision to the '2025 Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Basic Plan' reflecting this change.

This revision applies to the urban maintenance-type redevelopment sector and extends the validity period of the expanded residential floor area ratio, which had been temporarily in effect for three years since October 2019, until March 27, 2025.

The urban maintenance-type redevelopment project is implemented to restore urban functions and revitalize commercial districts, responding to social demands for an adequate supply of housing even in downtown areas by temporarily expanding the residential floor area ratio for three years.

With this extension, when public housing is introduced within urban maintenance-type redevelopment project zones, the residential ratio standard in commercial areas is allowed to increase from 50% up to 90%. In quasi-residential areas, additional floor area ratio is granted within 100%, and half of the relaxed floor area ratio must be allocated to public housing. A Seoul city official stated, "This decision was made to meet ongoing social demands for housing supply and to ensure the stability of redevelopment projects already underway."

The city also prepared supplementary measures. First, it clarified the standards for securing public housing constructed due to the relaxation of residential ratios. While the principle is to secure half of the increased residential floor area ratio as public housing, if it is recognized as ineffective during prior consultations, it can be replaced with private rental housing according to revised standards. The standard area for public housing construction was also adjusted from mainly small units (40㎡ or less) to units up to 85㎡. However, the area within the Four Great Gates (Sadaemun) will be exempt from the obligation to secure public housing, as before 2019, to promote housing supply activation.

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