Reducing Interfloor Noise Leads to Incentives on Sale Prices and Floor Area Ratios... Noise Reduction Mats Cost 3 Million Won

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Announces Measures to Reduce Interfloor Noise
Up to 3 Million KRW Support for Noise Mats for Low-Income Households
Price Increase for High-Performance Floor Structures Included

"When I lie down to sleep, I expect to hear some noise, and I get fixated on it. Sometimes it goes on until 3 or 4 a.m.... I even became afraid to come home." (Resident of Daegu, downstairs)

"I installed the woofer that I had only seen on TV to attack us, but at first, I didn't even realize it was a woofer." (Resident of Chungnam, upstairs)

"I spoke to the management office and the resident representatives, but no one took action. Even when applying to the dispute mediation committee, it seemed like there was no response." (Resident of Sejong, downstairs)

"Our whole family wears slippers and has mats on the floor. We even covered the chair legs with clothes. Despite all that, letters saying it's noisy kept being posted outside our door." (Resident of Incheon, upstairs)

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is announcing the "Measures to Improve Noise Between Floors in Multi-family Housing" on the 18th.

If the floor thickness is increased during construction to reduce apartment noise between floors, the cost can be reflected in the sale price, and the building height limit can also be raised. For older apartments, financial support is available for installing noise reduction mats.

On the 18th, Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, visited a rental housing complex in Mangwoo-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, held a meeting on inter-floor noise, and announced the "Improvement Plan for Inter-floor Noise in Multi-family Housing" to address the chronic problem of noise between floors in apartment buildings.

This measure is the first follow-up to the "Plan to Realize National Housing Stability" announced on the 16th. It consists of measures for both newly built and existing housing, as well as plans to promote the development of inter-floor noise reduction technologies.

First, regarding newly built housing, incentives for companies excelling in inter-floor noise reduction will be expanded.

Companies with excellent post-construction noise results will receive discounts on sale guarantee fees (up to 30%), and if they secure additional floor thickness (210mm or more), they will be allowed to add construction costs to the sale price and pursue relaxation of height restrictions.

From August 4th onward, when using high-performance floor structures that pass the strengthened inter-floor noise performance standards and receive grade 1 or 2, additional sale price increments will also be allowed.

Post-construction noise verification results will be disclosed. Residents of the respective housing will be individually notified of the post-verification (performance inspection) results to guarantee their right to know, and based on these results, excellent construction companies will be selected and publicly announced annually to encourage healthy competition.

The post-verification system will apply to projects that submit new business plan approvals after August 4th, so considering construction periods, it is expected to apply to completed projects in 2 to 3 years. Until then, quality inspections during construction will be strengthened, and pilot complexes for post-verification will be operated to discover and spread best practices.

For existing housing, interest-free loans will be provided to low-income households for installing noise reduction mats.

Financial support of up to 3 million KRW will be provided as loans for the installation and construction costs of noise reduction mats proven to reduce inter-floor noise.

Low-income households (approximately 1st to 3rd income quintiles) will receive interest-free loans, and middle-income households (approximately 4th to 7th quintiles) with children will have access to low-interest loans at around 1% interest.

To activate residents' voluntary resolution functions within complexes, complexes with a certain scale (500 households or more) will be required to establish an Inter-floor Noise Management Committee. Until now, when noise occurs, the building manager has recommended stopping the noise (Article 20 of the Apartment Management Act), but this has not been a practical solution.

Among the 18,515 apartment complexes registered in the Apartment Management Information System (K-Apartment), 8,116 complexes have 500 or more households, accounting for about 44%.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong (left) is inspecting issues related to noise between floors at a rental housing complex in Mangu-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul on the 18th.

Additionally, excellent factors for reducing inter-floor noise will be identified and technology development promoted.

The government will promote research and development to verify the effectiveness of the Ramen structure, known for its excellence in reducing inter-floor noise, and also consider conducting in-depth studies analyzing factors affecting inter-floor noise (such as floor thickness and floor height).

If the effectiveness of the Ramen structure is proven in the future, the government plans to relax building standards to promote its spread, and if improvements are verified during construction by strengthening floor thickness and floor height standards beyond current levels, raising minimum standards will also be considered.

Before the full application of the post-verification system, excellent technologies such as high-performance floor structures with superior impact sound insulation will be proactively applied starting with public housing (LH rental housing).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, "To ensure the smooth implementation of the measures announced today, including support for installing noise reduction mats, mandatory establishment of inter-floor noise management committees, disclosure of post-verification results, incentives for excellent companies, and development of excellent technologies, we will promptly begin follow-up actions such as legal revisions and budget securing."

Following the announcement of detailed inter-floor noise measures, the Ministry plans to sequentially announce follow-up measures such as reduction of reconstruction charges (September) and the "Comprehensive Youth Housing Support Plan" (September).