Gyeonggi-do to Hold Discussion on Eliminating Semi-Basement Housing on 25th... Gyeonggi Research Institute Urges Urgent Amendment of Related Laws

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

There have been calls for amendments to the three laws addressing the elimination of banjiha (semi-basement) housing.

On the 25th, Nam Ji-hyun, a research fellow at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, stated at the ‘Banjiha Housing Elimination’ forum held by Gyeonggi Province at the National Assembly Members' Office Building Seminar Room 3, "Banjiha housing, which is vulnerable to disasters, must be promptly renovated. To achieve this, legal amendments are needed to improve the standards for redevelopment projects in areas densely populated with banjiha housing and to relax floor area ratio regulations for the swift elimination of banjiha housing."

During the subsequent discussion, participants agreed on the serious issues of banjiha housing as extremely vulnerable residential spaces and reached a consensus that reasonable institutional improvements should be made to address the challenges in eliminating banjiha housing.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province proposed legal amendments to eliminate banjiha housing, including ▲providing incentives such as increasing floor area ratio and expanding implementation areas when establishing small-scale housing maintenance management plans, and constructing 50% of the increased floor area ratio as rental housing (Special Act on the Maintenance of Vacant Houses and Small-scale Housing) ▲relaxing the criteria for aged and poor-quality banjiha housing from the current 20-30 years to 10-30 years (Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Act) ▲introducing a provision to increase the floor area ratio by the amount of existing residential banjiha floor area when reconstructing houses with existing banjiha after demolition (Building Act).

Additionally, to secure the housing rights of current residents displaced by the demolition of banjiha housing, Gyeonggi Province is concurrently promoting housing upgrade projects such as residential support and financial assistance (housing benefits, interest support, deposits, etc.) for relocation to public rental housing, and is also considering plans to build additional public rental housing.

Yeom Tae-young, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "Banjiha housing is a serious social issue nationwide that can no longer be ignored, as seen in the flooding accident in the banjiha houses of Sillim-dong during the heavy rains last August. There has been no significant legal progress in banjiha policies so far. The National Assembly, government, and local governments must unite and work together to promptly eliminate banjiha housing."

According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census, out of 327,000 banjiha housing units nationwide, 314,000 units (96%) are located in the Seoul metropolitan area, with 89,000 units in Gyeonggi Province alone. These banjiha houses pose safety threats due to risks of casualties from typhoons, heavy rains, and fires, and also suffer from poor living conditions such as inadequate lighting, ventilation, moisture, and mold.

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