Yongin City Revises Basic Plan for Apartment Remodeling

Among 590 Complexes, 392 Have Surpassed 15 Years Since Completion
Plans to Include Floor Area Ratio Relaxation and Landscape Management Standards

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province is redrafting a basic plan to revitalize the remodeling of aging apartments and other multi-family housing units, totaling 400 locations.

Yongin City announced on the 1st that it is reorganizing the 'Basic Plan for Multi-family Housing Remodeling' to support remodeling projects and secure public interest as the number of aging multi-family housing units increases.

Remodeling refers to major repairs or partial expansions to suppress aging or improve the function of a building while maintaining the existing framework, unlike reconstruction which involves demolishing and rebuilding the housing.

According to Yongin City, among the 590 multi-family housing complexes in the area, 392 complexes (as of October 1) have reached the remodeling eligibility age of 15 years or more since completion, accounting for 66.5% of the total. This means that two out of every three complexes are eligible for remodeling. Among these, 227 complexes are over 21 years old, and 36 complexes are aging complexes over 30 years old.

Officials from Yongin City are discussing the plan at an interim briefing session for establishing the "Basic Plan for Apartment Remodeling."
[Photo by Yongin City]

The newly prepared 'Basic Plan for Multi-family Housing Remodeling' must be revised every five years according to the Housing Act. Previously, the city established a remodeling basic plan in 2018.

Through the revision of the basic plan, the city intends to reassess the validity of the existing plan and reflect the changed conditions of the city.

To this end, the new basic plan will include ▲ remodeling demand forecasting ▲ review of infrastructure impact for remodeling facilities that increase the number of households ▲ phased remodeling implementation plans ▲ support measures to revitalize remodeling, among others.

The city pointed out that unlike reconstruction, remodeling does not have a separate public contribution obligation due to floor area ratio relaxation, raising issues such as fairness with neighboring complexes and urban overcrowding. The new basic plan will incorporate measures to address these concerns. It plans to establish floor area ratio relaxation standards through public contributions such as infrastructure maintenance and installation of community facilities, and also include urban landscape management plans related to remodeling projects.

Earlier, the city held an interim briefing session on the revision of the basic plan for multi-family housing remodeling on the 25th of last month to discuss these issues.

Once the basic plan draft is prepared, the city plans to finalize it after public inspection, hearing opinions from the city council, and review by the Urban Planning Committee, followed by approval from Gyeonggi Province in the second half of next year.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, said, "Although the demand for remodeling is increasing, there are no specific standards for easing the application of building laws such as floor area ratio. We have prepared detailed operational standards suitable for Yongin City's urban environment." He added, "We will establish optimal standards considering urban growth and citizens' opinions."