Seoul City Expands 'Jipsuri Specialist' Home Repair Consultation Service Operation

Expanded to 109 Home Repair Specialists, Starting from the 9th: Aging House Condition Diagnosis and Home Repair Visit Consultations
Owners of Houses Over 10 Years Old Can Apply

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will start a newly improved operation of the ‘Visiting Consultation Service’ from the 9th, where home repair specialists directly visit citizens living in old houses who want to repair their homes to provide consultation and guidance on insulation, waterproofing, diagnosis of the condition of old buildings, and home repair methods.

The ‘Visiting Consultation Service’ is an administrative service where home repair specialists visit the applicant’s house directly to guide on overall home repair methods, ranging from simple repairs to complex construction such as extensions and remodeling. This year, the service scope has been expanded by increasing the number of home repair specialists and supporting facade design.

To provide high-quality services to citizens, Seoul revamped the home repair specialists system in December last year, expanding the workforce from 71 to 109 and strengthening qualification requirements to include architects and architectural construction technicians. Additionally, starting this year, when home repair specialists carry out home repair work including exterior changes on old houses within the Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone, they plan to support facade design as well.

Owners of old houses within the Housing Performance Improvement Support Zone can now receive full support including construction consultation, facade design, and home repair cost subsidies. The ‘Visiting Consultation Service’ is available to anyone who owns an old house (excluding apartments) that is more than 10 years old since completion, and the consultation is free of charge. However, consultation is restricted for illegal buildings or unauthorized constructions.

Ryu Hoon, Director of the Seoul Urban Regeneration Office, said, “We are conducting the visiting consultation service by home repair specialists composed of architects and others so that citizens living in old houses can systematically repair their homes,” and added, “We hope that by actively utilizing professional consultation and guidance on home repairs and the home repair cost support system, old houses will be improved and a high-quality residential environment will be created.”