Seoul City Lifts 7-Story Limit in Type 2 General Residential Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is lifting the 7-story height restriction in Category 2 General Residential Areas to revitalize housing supply and increasing the residential ratio in commercial areas.

The city announced that it will implement the "Seoul Metropolitan Government District Unit Planning Establishment Standards" containing these details starting from the 21st.

First, in Category 2 General Residential Areas where a 7-story height limit exists, when redevelopment or reconstruction is pursued or a district unit plan is established to build apartment complexes, construction up to 25 stories (based on apartment complexes) will be allowed, the same as other Category 2 General Residential Areas. The floor area ratio will be raised from 190% to 200%.

The condition requiring a mandatory public contribution ratio of 10% or more when changing the zoning to a Category 2 General Residential Area without height restrictions has also been removed. However, some areas requiring height and landscape management are excluded from this deregulation.

Category 2 General Residential Areas subject to the 7-story height restriction account for about 14% of Seoul's total area and 26% of residential area. Currently, among 388 areas where maintenance projects have been lifted, about 160 areas wholly or partially fall under this category.

To expand housing supply in commercial and semi-residential areas, Seoul has lowered the non-residential facility ratio such as stores from the existing 10% or more to 5%, and temporarily eased the mandatory non-residential use ratio for three years. The city explained, "Reducing the non-residential ratio allows for increased housing supply and lowers risks such as unsold stores. It also helps respond to decreased demand for commercial spaces due to COVID-19 and the rise of online consumption."

Seoul plans to prioritize applying the easing of non-residential ratios to maintenance projects through rapid integrated planning and those implemented by the public sector, and will consider expanding this later.

Ryu Hun, Seoul's Deputy Mayor for Administration 2, said, "We have flexibly eased regulations that were uniformly applied regarding housing supply. We will continue to encourage voluntary market participation to ensure timely housing supply in the future."