Incheon City Supports Renovation Costs for 23 Commercial Buildings with 'Over 10 Years Rent Increase Suppression'

Before and after renovation of the Win-Win Cooperation Store (left) [Photo provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City announced on the 25th that it will significantly expand the 'Win-Win Cooperation Shopping District' support project, which provides repair costs to landlords who suppress rent increases for a long period.

The Win-Win Cooperation Shopping District support project provides up to 20 million KRW in repair costs for commercial buildings to landlords who sign a win-win agreement to restrain rent increases to less than 2% of the rent or deposit for more than 10 years.

Through this project, the city supported repair costs totaling 263 million KRW for 20 stores in 7 shopping districts in 2020 and 310 million KRW for 31 stores in 10 shopping districts last year, resulting in a rent burden relief effect of 1.314 billion KRW.

This year, the city plans to increase the number of supported shopping districts to 23 and will accept applications from March 3 to March 11.

Eligible applicants will be selected through document screening, on-site verification, and review by the 'Win-Win Cooperation Shopping District Committee' composed of experts. Support funds will be provided from a minimum of 12 million KRW to a maximum of 20 million KRW per shopping district, considering the number of leased stores and the rent increase rate.

The support funds can only be used for repair work such as waterproofing, carpentry, water supply and drainage, and electricity, excluding simple interior work.

The city will inspect the implementation of the win-win agreement of the Win-Win Cooperation Shopping District annually, and if any violations are found, it will recover the entire support fund along with interest and penalties.

An Incheon City official stated, "Tenants can operate their businesses stably without worrying about rent increases for more than 10 years, and landlords can increase the value of their buildings through repairs, receiving positive evaluations from both sides," adding, "We plan to gradually expand the Win-Win Cooperation Shopping District to prevent the collapse of local communities caused by the unreasonable relocation of small merchants and to protect local commercial areas."