Seoul City to Develop 'Seoul-Style High-Quality Rental Housing' with Larger Floor Areas and Premium Interior Materials

by Kim Minyoung

Published 18 Apr.2022 14:20(KST)

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Announces 'Three Major Innovation Plans for Seoul Rental Housing'

Asia Exclusive_Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Floor area expanded by more than 1.5 times

Application of high-quality interior materials

Securing medium-sized units ratio from 8% to 30%

Phased redevelopment of 33,083 rental housing units over 30 years old by 2026... First project: ‘Hagye 5 Complex’

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand rental housing floor areas by more than 1.5 times compared to current sizes and apply high-quality interior materials such as flooring, wallpaper, and lighting. Thirty percent of newly supplied rental housing units will be medium-sized or larger.

On the 18th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced three major innovation plans aimed at realizing ‘Seoul-style high-quality rental housing’ at the Hagye 5 Complex in Nowon-gu. He pledged to transform rental housing into spaces that residents feel pride in, rather than shame. The three major innovation plans for Seoul rental housing mark a paradigm shift from the past 30 years of supplier-centered policies focused on quantitative supply, aiming to eliminate negative perceptions of rental housing and make it a desirable place to live for everyone.

The three major innovation plans for Seoul rental housing are ▲‘Quality improvement’ for comfortable and safe living spaces ▲‘Complete social mix’ to fundamentally prevent discrimination and exclusion ▲‘Phased redevelopment of aging complexes’ over 30 years old.

First, the ‘Seoul-style residential area standard’ will be introduced, significantly expanding the floor area criteria for small-sized rental units by more than 1.5 times, increasing the ratio of preferred medium-sized units from 8% to 30%. The city formed a task force (TF) last October to devise plans for expanding medium-sized unit supply. Over the next five years, 30% of the 120,000 new rental housing units to be supplied through construction and acquisition will be units of 60㎡ or larger, suitable for families of three to four members.

Interiors will reflect the latest trends found in private apartments, such as island kitchens, no-molding finishes, and system air conditioners. High-quality materials will be used for flooring, wallpaper, and lighting. Community facilities never before seen in rental housing, such as fitness centers and pet parks, will be provided. Additionally, a cutting-edge ‘Smart One-Pass System’ enabling contactless access from the complex entrance to the front door will be introduced.

For existing rental housing, the replacement cycle for facilities such as wallpaper, flooring, and sinks will be drastically shortened, and new insulation and ventilation systems will be installed to improve living conditions. Replacement cycles will be shortened as follows: window frames and doors from 30 years to 20 years, sinks from 15 years to 10 years, and wallpaper and flooring from 10 years to 6 years.

To realize a true social mix without discrimination between rental and sale housing, the city will fully implement a public lottery system for building and unit numbers, and preemptively eliminate discriminatory factors such as placing rental units in separate buildings or restricting access to community facilities. Furthermore, the policy will be improved to allow any resident wishing to ‘relocate’ within the rental housing to do so, removing previous restrictions that only allowed limited cases.

The city will redevelop the Hagye 5 Complex as the first pilot model reflecting the rental housing innovation plans. Hagye 5 Complex, the country’s first permanent rental housing complex completed over 33 years ago, is currently undergoing redevelopment. The project will officially begin this year and by 2030, it will be reborn as a high-quality rental housing complex with a total of 1,510 units. Starting with Hagye 5 Complex, the city plans to phase the redevelopment of 24 rental housing complexes that have exceeded 30 years since completion between 2019 and 2026.

Additionally, even if the buildings are less than 30 years old, remodeling will be pursued for 75,000 aging housing units between 15 and 30 years old, following consultations with sale and rental households.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, “It is time to move away from the past approach of simply increasing quantity, improve the quality of rental housing, and remove the shadows of discrimination and prejudice that have long hung over rental housing, opening a new era where anyone wants to live, envies, and takes pride in rental housing. We will innovate rental housing not only as a means to solve housing problems for low-income vulnerable groups but also as housing that enhances the quality of life for Seoul citizens and raises the dignity of the city of Seoul.”