Sharp Increase in Non-Resident Move-In Reports in Seongnam, Incheon, and Namyangju Areas
To Meet Resident Conditions... "Greatly Advantageous for Winning Housing Subscription"
About 500 Cases of Falsified Move-Ins Detected in Last Year's Sale Complexes
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] "Looking for a one-room or gosiwon in Seongnam where non-residents can register their residence for 6 months." (Post on a rental-specialized online community)
As the pre-sale of apartments in the 3rd phase new towns in the metropolitan area approaches, cases of false residence registration disguised as cheap gosiwons or one-rooms are increasing. The intention is to increase the chances of winning by fulfilling the residency requirement without actually living there. In particular, since the sale price of apartments subject to pre-sale is expected to be set at 60-80% of the market price, there are concerns about illegal and illicit acts aiming for a 'lottery win.'
According to the industry on the 6th, posts seeking gosiwons in Seongnam, Incheon, and Namyangju areas where non-residents can register their residence have recently surged on online communities specializing in renting one-rooms and gosiwons. As the pre-sale start date for the 3rd phase new towns approaches, a 'last-minute demand' has gathered to meet the application qualification requiring residency in the area.
A, who operates a one-room hotel in Sujin-dong, Seongnam, said, "Inquiries for short-term contracts of up to 6 months have increased ahead of the pre-sale," adding, "From the landlord's perspective, it is more beneficial to rent out at a low price than to leave it vacant, so it is difficult to refuse such inquiries."
The increase in false residence registration demand in the 3rd phase new town areas is because the probability of winning the pre-sale is significantly higher for residents of the area. According to Gyeonggi Province standards, 30% of the 3rd phase new town pre-sale is supplied as the first priority to residents who have lived in the city or county for more than one year, followed by 20% to Gyeonggi Province residents (more than 6 months) as the second priority, and then to metropolitan area residents as the third priority. Even if applicants fail in the higher priority application, they are included in the next priority selection, giving residents of the area up to three chances to win.
Moreover, the resident category of the area has relatively lower competition rates and score cutoffs. Jeong Ji-young, CEO of I'm Happy and a subscription expert, explained, "The first priority supply category for residents of the area has an average winning score about 10 points lower than the second and third priority categories," adding, "This effectively saves more than 3 years of subscription period, greatly increasing the chances of winning."
False residence registration is a clear illegal act. If caught, the housing supply contract is canceled, and the offender may face imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Additionally, the eligibility to apply for housing subscription is restricted for 10 years thereafter.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in a joint inspection with the Korea Real Estate Board on complexes sold last year, detected a total of 499 cases of fraudulent subscription and referred them for investigation. Among them, 191 cases were false residence registrations. The Ministry announced on the 25th of last month that it plans to intensively inspect fraudulent subscriptions for complexes sold in the first half of this year starting this month.
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