'Relaxation of Redevelopment Aging Requirements' and 'Abolition of Small Housing Room Regulations' Amendment Accelerates

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Announces Legislative Notice for Subordinate Laws on '1·10 Housing Supply Expansion Plan'

Fast-Track Reconstruction Delayed by Safety Inspections Requires Legislative Amendment in the National Assembly

Seoul City approved the architectural plan for the reconstruction project of Sanggye Jugong Complex 5 at the 15th Architecture Committee meeting. The photo shows Sanggye Jugong Complex 5 in Nowon-gu, Seoul, on the 31st. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will issue a legislative notice starting from the 31st for a total of 11 proposals, including amendments to enforcement decrees and administrative regulations that ease redevelopment aging requirements and abolish regulations on urban-type residential housing. This is a follow-up measure to the '1·10 Housing Supply Expansion' plan. The Ministry stated, "Through this amendment of subordinate laws and administrative regulations, regulations such as aging requirements for redevelopment and small-scale maintenance projects will be relaxed," adding, "This will increase opportunities for residents to freely promote projects and greatly help activate housing supply within urban areas."

Announcement of Enforcement Decree and Administrative Regulation Changes Starting from the 31st

First, as part of improving maintenance project regulations, the 'Urban Maintenance Act Enforcement Decree' will be amended. The amendment includes easing the redevelopment aging requirement to 60% (50% in redevelopment promotion districts). Areas that do not meet the initiation requirements can also be included up to 20% of the target site area. In residential environment improvement and redevelopment projects, consent for shared land can be recognized with the agreement of three-quarters of the co-owners.

The 'Housing Act Enforcement Decree' will also be amended to abolish restrictions on room installation in small urban-type residential housing, allowing various spatial configurations regardless of exclusive area. Accordingly, even if the exclusive area is less than 30㎡, it will be possible to configure 1.5-room or two-room layouts separating the kitchen and living room. Installing rooms in all units under 60㎡ will also become possible.

An administrative regulation change is also announced to ease officetel construction standards. The key content is abolishing the regulation that prohibited balcony installation in officetels, thereby allowing balconies to be installed.

To prevent delays in compensation procedures in public projects, an administrative notice on the 'Public Housing Work Processing Guidelines Amendment' will be issued. After the designation and announcement of a public housing district, the project implementer will be obligated to start on-site investigations for land and fixtures within 120 days. Additionally, before starting the on-site investigation, the project implementer must report the compensation work promotion plan to the public housing district designator.

Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "It is important to sufficiently supply the housing that people want, where they want, and when they want it," and added, "We plan to focus our capabilities on the swift implementation of follow-up tasks so that the public can feel the government's policies."

'1·10 Plan' Key Issues Require Passage of Laws in the National Assembly

On the 24th, KB Real Estate Trust posted a bid announcement for the selection of a contractor for the reconstruction and maintenance project of Hanyang Apartment in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. This comes 20 days after the sudden cancellation of the contractor selection due to controversy over the wording related to bid participation qualifications on the 4th. The photo shows the Hanyang Apartment in Yeouido. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Although the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is accelerating changes to enforcement decrees and administrative notices, most of the key follow-up measures of the '1·10 Housing Supply Expansion' plan require legislative amendments by the National Assembly. The 'Reconstruction Fast Track,' which allows apartments over 30 years old after completion to pass safety inspections only before project approval, requires amending the 'Urban Maintenance Act.' Once this law is passed, a union promotion committee can be formed before the safety inspection. The Ministry plans to propose the amendment next month and work toward its passage in the National Assembly.

Tax reductions to stimulate demand for unsold houses in local areas also require legal amendments. The plan to apply the one-household one-home special case when an existing one-householder purchases an unsold house in local areas after completion requires an amendment to the 'Restriction of Special Taxation Act.' The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which oversee this area, aim to propose the amendment by February.

The plan to abolish the restriction that urban-type residential housing must be built with fewer than 300 units requires an amendment to the 'Housing Act.' Reviving the short-term registered rental system requires an amendment to the 'Private Rental Housing Act.'

A real estate industry expert said, "Even if the government has the will, if the opposition party does not agree, legal amendments cannot be made, so the timing of implementation is uncertain."

The Democratic Party of Korea expressed a negative stance shortly after the announcement of the '1·10 Housing Supply Expansion' plan regarding the government's redevelopment regulation easing measures, stating, "Reckless deregulation not only inflates housing prices but also violates the purpose of the Urban Maintenance Act, which prioritizes safety," and added, "It is problematic to announce policies impulsively without any communication with the opposition party, even though these are matters that clearly require legal amendments."

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