Relaxed Standards for Long-Term Rental Housing near Subway Stations and Expanded Information Disclosure... Seoul City Implements Citizen-Centric Regulatory Reforms

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has begun regulatory reforms to address inconveniences in citizens' daily lives and to revitalize redevelopment projects. The plan is to accelerate citizen-centric regulatory improvements, such as relaxing standards for long-term rental housing projects near subway stations to boost supply, and expanding the scope of public land information disclosure to prevent tenant damages.

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On March 12, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will promote four regulatory reform measures to lower the barriers to redevelopment projects and strengthen citizens' right to know and property rights. The measures are as follows: ▲ Relaxation of site requirements for long-term rental housing near subway stations (Deregulation No. 165) ▲ Addition of donation information on land use planning confirmation documents (No. 166) ▲ Extension of negotiation-based acquisition period and creation of an online bulletin board for urban natural park zones (No. 167) ▲ Relaxation of requirements for recognizing vehicle destruction (No. 168).

First, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will relax the site requirements for long-term rental housing projects near subway stations, lowering the threshold for such projects. Previously, all three of the following conditions had to be met: ▲ Over 60% of buildings being older than 30 years ▲ More than 40% of land parcels being less than 150 square meters or over 50% of buildings being two stories or less ▲ Exclusion of areas where more than 15% of buildings were newly constructed within the last 10 years.

Going forward, only the criterion regarding the proportion of old buildings will remain, and the other conditions will be removed. This is expected to enable proposals for long-term rental housing projects even in areas near subway stations that previously could not proceed due to failing to meet the obsolescence criteria.

The disclosure of real estate information will also be expanded. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will improve the system so that information on donations related to privately funded public facilities will also be included in land use planning confirmation documents. This measure aims to prevent tenant damages that occur when the management and operation period for privately funded facilities is unclear. Previously, last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government improved the system to indicate the management and operation period of privately funded public facilities in the building registry, in order to prevent so-called "Second Yang Chiseung" incidents.

As land use planning confirmation documents are public records that anyone can view via systems such as Toji-eum, it is expected that citizens will now be able to more easily check the end date of private management and operation periods, among other information.

The accessibility of the negotiation-based acquisition system for urban natural park zones will also be improved. Beginning with applications received this year, the application period will be extended from the current 35 days to 60 days, and an online bulletin board providing guidance on procedures and required documents will be established on the "Garden City Seoul" website. This will allow citizens to more easily access information about, and participate in, the negotiation-based acquisition system.

Additionally, the requirements for recognizing the destruction of vehicles will be relaxed. Previously, in order to have the administrative authorities recognize that a vehicle no longer exists in practice, it had to have remained unused and uninsured for at least four years. From now on, this period will be shortened to three years. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to revise the relevant guidelines within this month and implement the new standard from April.

Lee Junhyung, Director of Regulatory Innovation Planning at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "These regulatory improvements focus on resolving hidden inconveniences citizens experience in daily life and on rationalizing excessive standards. We will continue to reflect voices from the field and pursue regulatory innovations that enhance the quality of life for our citizens."

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