Remodeling apartments allowed to be built up to three stories higher

Remodeling apartments older than 15 years can be built up to three stories higher from the current level as early as January next year.

In addition, up to 15 percent of newly built units are allowed to be sold, which will help reduce the financial burden on the residents of remodeling apartments.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry announced Thursday the above measures to allow a vertical extension of remodeling apartments, followed by the April 1 Real Estate Policies. A bill to amend the Housing Act has been submitted by Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the ruling Saenuri Party on Wednesday and is expected to be passed during the June provisional session of the National Assembly.

The bill will enable buildings of 14-story or lower to be vertically extended up to two floors and buildings of 15-story or higher up to three floors. The fact that lower buildings can sustain less weight has been taken into consideration. About 4 million apartment homes across the country are older than 15 years, being eligible for remodeling.

If not owned with blueprints at the time of initial construction, vertical extension cannot be permitted due to safety reasons. Currently two structure safety tests by experts are required, but two more tests will be added under the new system.

Vertical extension remodeling is a significant change in that the number of homes to be built and sold will be increased by up to 15 percent. Thus far, up to 10 percent of homes can be added by extending buildings horizontally or constructing new buildings. Under the existing system, the number of homes hasn`t been increased through remodeling.

Kim Jae-jeong, the head of housing policy bureau of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, said, “Increasing homes is easier when extended vertically than by extending horizontally or constructing a new building. We expect extra homes for sales will help facilitate remodeling of old apartments by reducing financial burden on residents.” It is expected that a 15 percent-increase of homes can reduce about 35 percent of financial burden on home owners who have to pay reconstruction project cost.

As more people prefer small apartments, the size of each home will remain unchanged, while allowing adding new homes by regulating up to 40 percent for homes that are 85 square meters or smaller, and up to 30 percent for homes larger than 85 square meters.

Yoon Yeong-seon, a researcher at the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea, said, “The government has lifted regulations on remodeling as much as possible to revive the housing market. Seoul’s Gangnam district and the first-generation new towns such as Seongnam’s Bundang district will take the lead in facilitating remodeling of apartments.”