Advance Notice of Amendment to 'Officetel Building Standards' Including Abolition of Floor Heating Regulations

Saengsuk → Officetel, Exclusive Entrance and Anmok Measurement Exemption
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Responding to Diverse Housing Demand in Cities"

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 25th that it will publicly notify the amendment to the "Officetel Building Standards," which allows the installation of floor heating regardless of the officetel area, from the 26th of this month until the 16th of next month.

An officetel located in Noryangjin, Dongjak-gu, Seoul / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The amendment removes the last regulation restricting the residential use of officetels. Until now, floor heating installation was prohibited if the exclusive area of an officetel exceeded 120㎡, but this area restriction has been abolished through this amendment.

This measure takes into account changes in social and economic conditions such as the increase in single-person households, telecommuting, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and the expansion of supply close to workplaces where demand is rising. The purpose is to activate buildings that can be used for various purposes. Other regulations that prevented residential use of officetels, such as restrictions on the proportion of residential areas and bans on balconies and bathrooms, have already been abolished.

The amendment also includes follow-up measures to support the legal use of life lodging facilities (hereinafter referred to as Saengsuk), announced by the government last month. It supports the change of use of Saengsuk to officetels and applies to Saengsuk buildings that received construction permits before the announcement.

First, when owners voluntarily choose to convert part of a Saengsuk building into officetels, it is no longer necessary to install a separate dedicated officetel entrance. Also, previously, when converting Saengsuk to officetels, the area measurement method had to be changed from the centerline dimension to the inside dimension standard, but from now on, the existing centerline standard can be applied. This is to reduce additional burdens during the change of use process and to increase convenience for owners.

However, when signing sales contracts, it is mandatory to clearly record related details such as the absence of a dedicated entrance and the application of inside dimension measurement in the building register so that licensed real estate agents and contracting parties can clearly understand them.

Jang Woo-cheol, Director of Building Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Unlike the era of the First Industrial Revolution, when it was necessary to strictly separate residential and industrial areas due to pollution and hygiene issues, in today's AI revolution era, the convergence and fusion of buildings is an unstoppable trend." He added, "From this perspective, abolishing the floor heating area restriction will contribute to the diversification and revitalization of supply of officetels, which are representative mixed-use buildings under the current Building Act."

He continued, "We expect that the improvement of dedicated entrances and area measurement methods, which were obstacles to the conversion of Saengsuk to officetels, will promote the legal use of Saengsuk. We will work to speedily advance follow-up tasks so that the Saengsuk market can normalize as soon as possible."