A government initiative to convert vacant urban spaces — including empty shops and lodging facilities — into quality public rental housing is set to move forward at an accelerated pace.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) said they will hold a business forum Thursday afternoon at LH's Gyeonggi Province southern headquarters to explain the non-housing remodeling project, outline related regulatory improvements and gather opinions from private operators.
The ministry has been pursuing the non-housing remodeling project as part of broader efforts to boost housing supply. Remodeling takes less time than new construction, allowing residential space to be delivered more quickly, while also making productive use of idle urban properties that would otherwise sit neglected.
Because such properties tend to be well-served by public transit and located close to workplaces, the ministry expects the converted units to serve as tailored residential spaces for young people.
To encourage private-sector participation, the ministry plans to expand the list of eligible properties beyond shops and lodging facilities to include knowledge industry centers, maximizing the volume of housing that can be supplied.
The ministry also plans to pursue a range of supporting measures: amendments to the enforcement decree of the National Land Planning Act to allow knowledge industry centers in general industrial zones to be converted into officetels, revisions to the enforcement decree of the Parking Lot Act, authoritative interpretations of the Building Act and the Industrial Cluster Act, and expanded fund loans and Korea Housing Finance Corporation guarantee programs for non-housing remodeling projects.
At the forum, the ministry plans to collect opinions from private operators and identify improvements to help accelerate the non-housing remodeling project and ensure that residential spaces young people and others need can be delivered promptly.
Han Seong-su, the ministry's director general for residential welfare policy, said the government is working to supply newly built purchase-and-lease housing — which can deliver a large short-term boost to supply — in order to stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent market. "We will move with urgency to convert vacant shops, lodging facilities and knowledge industry centers located in urban areas into residential spaces through non-housing remodeling," he said.
smh@heraldcorp.com
