Exclusion from Floor Area of Evacuation Space in New Apartments

Preventing Hasty Construction on Balconies
Expanding Exercise Facilities in Neighborhood Parks
Jeonse Loans Available for Prospective Household Heads

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] The government is pushing forward with a plan to exclude the area of 'evacuation spaces' from the floor area of apartments. 'Prospective household heads' who plan to separate their households will also be able to receive the Buttress Jeonse Loan.

(Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

On the 24th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will promote this regulatory improvement proposal after deliberation and resolution by the Land and Transport Regulatory Reform Committee.

Apartment evacuation spaces or alternative facilities are spaces created to allow evacuation in case of emergencies such as fires. Although they should be built to an appropriate size, sufficient space has not been secured so far because these spaces are only used in emergencies. Low-cost facilities such as boundary walls, which raised concerns about privacy invasion of neighboring houses, were also installed.

To address this issue, the government plans to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act. Going forward, when calculating the floor area ratio of apartments, the area of evacuation spaces will be excluded from the standard floor area. However, to prevent excessive securing of evacuation spaces for other uses, an upper limit on the excluded area will be established. Additionally, evacuation spaces will be allowed to be installed not only on balconies but also adjacent to balconies.

The glass standards for firefighter access windows will also be improved. Currently, firefighter access windows restrict glass thickness and prohibit the use of triple glazing to facilitate easy breakage of the glass. In the future, the government plans to relax these standards to allow selective application of glass thickness within a range that does not affect rescue activities during fires. The minimum height of firefighter access windows (within 80 cm) will be aligned with the railing height standard (at least 120 cm). Until now, these standards differed, making it difficult to install access windows on balconies.

Furthermore, regulations will be changed to allow an increase in exercise facilities in neighborhood parks. Currently, sites such as libraries and exercise facilities cannot exceed 20% of the park area, but exercise facilities that are not buildings will be excluded from this regulated area.

In addition, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has revised the eligibility for the Buttress Jeonse Loan, which was previously limited to household heads, to include prospective household heads starting this month. As a result, those who have been living with their parents and planning to become independent can now receive government-operated Jeonse loans. However, there is a condition that they must become household heads within one month from the loan execution date.