Tenants in Rental Housing Also Granted Decision-Making Rights... Seoul City Revises Apartment Management Regulations

Principle of 'Direct Election' Also Applied in Electing Apartment Residents' Representative Committee Officers
Seoul City: "Apartment Management to Be Rational and Transparent"

Seoul mixed housing complex panorama.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] In the future, tenants living in rental housing within mixed residential complexes will be able to participate in joint decision-making within the complex upon delegation from the rental business operator. When electing officers of the apartment residents' representative meeting, a 'direct election' by all residents will be the principle.

Seoul City announced on the 2nd that it will implement the revised "Seoul City Multi-family Housing Management Bylaws." This revision comes 16 months after the amendment in April last year and reflects legal amendments made over the past year as well as improvements based on complaints and management issues in Seoul apartments. Approximately 2,300 apartment complexes in Seoul with more than 300 households or more than 150 households with elevators installed are subject to this.

With this revision, tenant representative meetings in "mixed residential complexes," where both sale and rental households coexist, will be able to jointly decide on matters related to the management and operation of the complex together with the residents' representative meetings. According to Article 10 of the current Multi-family Housing Management Act, the joint decision-making entities in mixed residential complexes are rental business operators such as Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) and the residents' representative meetings, while tenant representative meetings are only granted prior consultation rights.

Seoul City has revised the bylaws to allow tenant representative meetings to participate in complex operations within the scope delegated by the rental business operator, responding to criticisms that tenants' opinions were not sufficiently reflected. The city plans to work with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to legally protect tenants' rights through future amendments to the Multi-family Housing Management Act.

Furthermore, in principle, the president and auditor will be elected through a 'direct election' involving all residents and others. This is to reduce concerns about collusion among some members of the residents' representative meetings and to ensure transparent operation.

Additionally, related regulations have been revised to reduce disputes over personal information infringement concerning the preparation, broadcasting, recording, and filming of residents' representative meeting minutes. When minutes are disclosed, specific non-identification measures and methods are stipulated considering privacy concerns, and when meetings are broadcasted, recorded, or filmed, personal information collection consent must be obtained, and access is allowed only when necessary.

Moreover, the city clarified the division of duties so that the election management committee can conduct tasks such as hearing opinions or obtaining consent from residents beyond election management duties. Regulations related to by-elections for representatives of each building and officers have also been detailed. When selecting businesses necessary for complex operations, a majority vote of all residents is required, and the highest vote-getters are awarded the contract in order.

Each complex must report the bylaws established or revised according to the regulations to the district office within 30 days. Materials related to the revised bylaws can be found at the Seoul City Multi-family Housing Integrated Information Plaza. Yoo Changsoo, Director of Seoul City's Housing Policy Office, said, "We will continue to improve residents' rights and provide multifaceted administrative support, including institutional improvements, to ensure that apartment complexes are operated transparently and fairly."