Seoul City Hall. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Seoul City Hall. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Residents of Seoul's public rental housing who have children through marriage or childbirth will soon be able to move to a larger unit regardless of their current home's size.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday it had drawn up three regulatory reform measures: easing the residential transfer criteria for public rental housing tenants who have given birth, establishing detailed guidelines for cash contributions in lieu of public facilities, and improving the mandatory training format for redevelopment and reconstruction association officers.

Under the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation's internal rental regulations, only households whose current unit falls below the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's minimum housing standard — 36 square meters for a couple with one child — were eligible to apply for a transfer to a larger unit. Critics said the rule failed to adequately reflect actual child-rearing conditions, prompting the city to pursue a reform.

A legal basis for such transfers was already established when the special act on public housing was amended in March last year, allowing households with a child under two years of age — including unborn children — born during their tenancy to apply for a move to a larger unit. Building on that, Seoul plans to revise the relevant internal regulations in the second half of this year to remove the "below minimum housing standard" requirement and support housing stability for families with newborns.

The city will also establish detailed guidelines setting out the timing and installment principles for cash contributions — payments covering the cost of installing public facilities — in various development projects. Previously, the payment amount, method and timing were determined project by project under individual agreements, but the law broadly defined the payment deadline as "from the ground-breaking date to before the use approval or completion inspection," leading to inconsistent conditions across projects.

Going forward, installment payments will in principle follow a "five equal installments" structure. The first payment — 20 percent of the total — is due at ground-breaking, with the remaining four installments spread evenly over the project period before completion. Exceptions may be negotiated only when a project's special circumstances are recognized.

Weeknight and weekend training sessions will also be added to reduce the burden on officers of redevelopment, reconstruction and small-scale housing improvement associations, who are required by law to complete at least 12 hours of association management and ethics training within six months of taking office. The existing program has centered on weekday daytime sessions, making it difficult for part-time officers who hold other jobs to participate.

Weeknight and weekend classes will be introduced in the second half of this year. For redevelopment and reconstruction projects, weekend sessions have been offered since June, and the city plans to add weeknight sessions in the second half of the year based on demand and participation conditions.

"This round of regulatory reform focused on creating tangible change by actively incorporating the inconveniences raised by citizens and businesses on the ground," said Jo Wan-seok, Seoul's director of regulatory innovation planning. "We will continue to improve unreasonable regulations and do our utmost to enhance the quality of life for citizens and the city's competitiveness."


hope@heraldcorp.com