Only Apartments Face Stricter 'Floor Noise' Regulations?…Villas and One-Rooms Remain Blind Spots

New Apartment Buildings Must Meet Interfloor Noise Standards for Completion Approval
Villa Interfloor Noise Issues Lead to Murder Case
Interfloor Noise Regulations for Multi-family Houses Still Lax

In February last year, an incident occurred in a villa in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, where a man in his 40s, Mr. A, killed a neighbor after a dispute over noise. On the day of the incident, Mr. A lured the victim to his home, claiming "the amplifier sound is too loud." During their conversation, a scuffle broke out, and Mr. A retrieved a weapon from the kitchen and committed the crime. The court sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

As cases of noise complaints between floors escalating into violent crimes continue, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced stricter regulations than before. The main point is that newly built apartments that do not meet the government’s noise standards between floors will not receive completion approval without remedial construction. However, multi-family houses and one-room units are excluded from management, leaving them in a blind spot regarding noise issues between floors.

The appearance of a villa-dense area in downtown Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Multi-family houses are legally classified as 'detached houses'... lower noise regulation standards between floors

According to the 'Noise Between Floors Neighbor Center' under the Korea Environment Corporation on the 7th, the number of noise complaints related to noise between floors received by the center last year reached 36,435 cases. This is a 38.8% increase compared to 26,257 cases in 2019, before the spread of COVID-19.

Although complaints about noise between floors are on the rise, multi-family houses and one-room units are not even properly counted in statistics. Under current law, noise between floors is defined as noise generated by residents’ activities in 'multi-unit housing' such as apartments.

Multi-family houses and one-room units, classified as 'multi-housing,' are categorized as detached houses under the Building Act, so noise generated there is not classified as noise between floors. Complaints cannot be filed with the Noise Between Floors Neighbor Center, so individuals must directly mediate disputes with other residents. A representative from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) said, "Multi-family houses are not subject to complaint reception, so the center does not accept reports. In fact, there is virtually no way to resolve these issues."

The level of regulation applied to noise between floors is also lower compared to apartments. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to enforce mandatory remedial construction for apartments that fail to meet noise standards measured before construction completion. However, multi-family houses are excluded from mandatory enforcement. A ministry official explained, "According to the Building Act, officetels and multi-family houses are not subject to the construction standards for multi-unit housing."

Although administrative rules require multi-family houses to have impact sound insulation structures on floors during construction, their effectiveness is questioned. Multi-family and multi-housing buildings must have floor structures that meet 50 dB for heavy impact noise and 58 dB for light impact noise.

However, unlike apartments where noise performance inspections are conducted during construction, multi-family houses are inspected by construction supervisors only after completion to determine if standards are met. This creates a problem where the quality of floor impact sound insulation cannot be guaranteed.

A ministry official said, "For multi-family houses, construction supervisors check whether the building was constructed according to design drawings after completion and then apply for completion approval. Pre-inspections require significant time and cost, so it is difficult to conduct mid-term inspections for small housing types like multi-family and multi-housing due to physical and administrative limitations."

"Noise between floors triggers anger... housing classification needs redefinition"

Experts agree that urgent additional measures are needed regarding noise between floors. According to statistics estimated by CCEJ, violent crimes such as murder triggered by noise between floors increased tenfold from 11 cases in 2016 to 110 cases in 2021 over five years.

Seungbeom Pyo, director of the Multi-unit Housing Culture Research Institute, said, "Noise between floors stimulates the senses, so even a slight discomfort that continues can quickly trigger anger. It is important to form noise management committees at the local government level to promptly address noise conflicts in multi-family houses, which are blind spots."

There are also calls to redefine housing classifications under the Building Act so that multi-family houses can be protected from noise conflicts between floors. Youngmin Park, policy committee member of the CCEJ Urban Reform Center, suggested, "Under current law, only problems occurring in multi-unit housing are classified as noise between floors, so multi-family houses are not protected. Even buildings like multi-family and one-room units with two or more households should be classified as communal residential facilities so that noise issues there are also included in the noise between floors category and protected."

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