Second Housing Construction Permit Consultation Meeting Held on the 24th
Permits from January to May Down 24% Compared to the Same Period Last Year
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has called together 17 local governments to request the resolution of factors delaying housing supply. The goal is to increase the housing supply volume by accelerating the approval process of local governments. Recently, concerns over sluggish housing supply have led to rising housing prices in major areas of Seoul, indicating that the government’s sensitivity to the speed of housing supply has increased.
On the 24th, the Ministry announced that it will hold the 2nd Housing Construction Project Approval Council with this agenda. Following the 'Housing Supply Activation Plan' announced on September 26 last year, the Ministry formed a council with 17 cities and provinces to promote the approval of housing construction projects.
Due to worsening housing supply conditions caused by rising construction costs, the number of housing approvals from January to May this year was 126,000 units, a 24% decrease compared to 166,000 units during the same period last year. A decrease in approval volume means that the number of housing units completed and ready for occupancy in the future will decline. It takes about 4 to 5 years from approval to completion for apartments.
At this meeting, held about nine months after the first council, the Ministry plans to share cases of delays in housing construction and maintenance project approvals, investigated through housing-related associations, with each local government and urge them to prevent similar cases from occurring. The government stepped in after pointing out that delays in approval processing at project sites have led to poor approval performance.
Major delay cases include ▲ demanding contributions exceeding legal standards or not providing sufficient incentives such as floor area ratio ▲ requiring building standards stricter than legal requirements, increasing project costs ▲ requesting verification results even when maintenance project construction costs are not subject to verification, causing delays in approval and commencement ▲ demanding price adjustments during tenant recruitment approval even in areas not subject to the price ceiling system ▲ rejecting rental housing project approvals due to complaints from nearby residents ▲ imposing restrictions on building floors or number of households without legal grounds ▲ and imposing building use restrictions inconsistent with district unit plans.
Kim Young-ah, Director of the Housing Construction Supply Division at the Ministry, said, "Looking at the cases of approval delays, it is less of a systemic issue and more that internal approval line officials in each local government have independently set higher approval standards, causing delays." She added, "We will propose resolving these delay factors at the council."
The Ministry will also investigate items requiring improvement in approval-related systems such as environmental impact assessments and disaster impact assessments. On the 17th, to shorten approval periods, the 'Housing Act' introduced delegated approval items and mandatory integrated reviews, but environmental impact assessments and disaster impact assessments are not included in delegated items or integrated review targets, thus slowing down approval speed.
However, despite central government efforts, local governments judge that shortening approval periods is difficult. This is because various reviews and consultations with related agencies must be conducted for approval. Also, design changes reflecting review results and re-review procedures take considerable time. Director Kim stated, "We will listen to local governments’ requests and improve systems through cooperation with relevant ministries if necessary."
The Ministry plans to continue holding local government councils regularly to monitor the status and delay cases of housing construction and maintenance project approvals. Next month, a 'Basic Local Government Approval Council' will be held with all basic local governments (cities, counties, districts) attending. This council will be held by region, starting with the Seoul metropolitan area.
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