Eligibility Expanded, Floor Area Ratio Raised... Seoul to Supply 92,000 Additional Long-Term Lease Units Near Stations

Expansion of Project Scope to Intersections of Arterial Roads Over 20m Outside Station Areas
239 New Sites to Be Included, 92,000 Additional Units Expected
Standard Floor Area Ratio to Increase by Up to 30%
Project Timeline to Be Shortened by Over 5 Months

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has completely revised its operational standards for long-term lease housing in station areas, deciding to supply units even near major arterial roads. The project areas have been expanded from within 500 meters of subway stations to intersections of arterial roads at least 20 meters wide. By easing these criteria, the city expects to be able to supply an additional 92,000 units throughout Seoul.

On March 17, the city announced a comprehensive revision of the operational standards for long-term lease housing in station areas, expanding project eligibility to include not only within 500 meters of stations, but also intersections of arterial roads at least 20 meters wide. Previously, long-term lease housing could only be built within 500 meters of a station, but this scope has now been increased. Under this system, private developers who construct housing near stations are granted higher floor area ratios, and more than half of the additional units created must be supplied at less than 80% of the prevailing market price in the surrounding area.

The policy was changed because, despite high transport accessibility, some areas have seen less development compared to station zones. The city projects that about 239 new sites across Seoul will be newly included, potentially allowing for the supply of an additional 92,000 units.

By region, the southwest area has the most sites with 83, followed by the northeast with 73. The southeast and northwest each have 67 and 14 sites, respectively, and the central area has 2. A city official explained, "As resident consent is also required, it is expected that applications will take some time."

The city also plans to expand supply by raising the standard floor area ratio by up to 30% for sites where projects are already underway or expected to apply in the future.

For station area housing projects promoted through the Urban Environment Improvement Project (redevelopment), incentives are offered by raising the standard floor area ratio by up to 30%. If small-sized units (exclusive area of 60 square meters or less) for 1-2 person households and newlywed couples account for at least 20% of the supply, the floor area ratio will be increased by 20%. In areas with weaker business feasibility, the city plans to add up to an additional 10%. The city expects that applying these incentives could reduce the additional contribution per cooperative member by about 70 million won.

Efforts will also be made to shorten the project period. Previously, procedures were carried out stepwise in the order of preliminary review followed by plan review, but these will now be integrated into a preliminary (plan) review, reducing the timeline by at least five months.

The revised operational standards will take effect immediately. The incentive to increase the standard floor area ratio by up to 30% can be applied to all projects prior to groundbreaking. For cases where a preliminary review has already been requested, applicants can choose whichever is more advantageous between the previous and the revised standards. A total of 56 sites, with 62,799 units at the early stages such as preliminary review, will benefit from this deregulation.

Previously, the city had relaxed operational standards and improved regulations to revitalize the long-term lease housing program in station areas, such as the temporary expansion of the station area range (from 250 meters to 350 meters) in 2020 and the height restriction (to 35 stories or less) in 2022. From 2008 to December last year, a total of 54,536 units were supplied.

On this day, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon visited the Singil Station Area in 39-3 Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, where the revised operational standards have been applied. The Singil Station Area received approval for the establishment of a cooperative in 2021, followed by integrated deliberation next month and project implementation approval scheduled for June next year. Construction is targeted to begin in June 2029 for 999 units (including 337 long-term lease units). The site, adjacent to Subway Line 1, required additional noise barrier construction, which delayed the project due to poor business feasibility, but the project has resumed after receiving incentives such as an increased floor area ratio.

Mayor Oh stated, "By easing operational standards, we will provide unprecedented incentives to ensure project profitability and quickly supply housing in areas preferred by citizens."

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