Mandatory 3-Year Deferral on Actual Residence for Apartments under Price Ceiling System... Housing Act Passed in Plenary Session

A bill to postpone the mandatory residence requirement for apartments under the price ceiling system for three years has passed the National Assembly plenary session. With the passage of this amendment, homeowners will be able to lease their apartments once on a jeonse (long-term lease) before moving in.

On the 29th, the partial amendment to the Housing Act was passed at the plenary session held at the National Assembly.
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The partial amendment to the Housing Act was approved on the afternoon of the 29th at the National Assembly plenary session with 174 votes in favor, 16 against, and 11 abstentions out of 201 members present. This amendment relaxes the start date of the mandatory residence requirement for apartments under the price ceiling system from the original "earliest move-in date" to "within three years after the initial move-in."

The government announced in January last year its intention to abolish the mandatory residence requirement to revitalize the housing market. However, the amendment to the Housing Act was delayed for over a year due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the government's announcement. Eventually, both sides agreed to a three-year postponement following concerns that many homeowners were suffering losses by paying the remaining balance without leasing on jeonse due to the mandatory residence requirement.

With the three-year postponement of the mandatory residence requirement, homeowners can now enter into one jeonse contract. This applies retroactively to complexes where residents have already moved in, allowing for non-continuous residence where one can lease on jeonse after residing and then move back in. According to industry sources, as of the end of last month, there are 77 complexes with a total of 49,766 households subject to the mandatory residence requirement. Among them, 11 complexes with 6,544 households have already started move-ins.