"Using Empty Houses as Parking Lots"... Seongbuk-gu Office Offers Free Demolition and Shares Operating Profits

'Vacant House Maintenance Village Community Parking Lot Creation Project'
Applications Accepted Starting from the 4th of Next Month

A policy is being promoted where the district office will demolish old and abandoned privately owned vacant houses for free if the owner rents the land as a parking lot site, and will even pay operating income.

From the vacant house owner's perspective, it is beneficial as they can reduce the number of houses while earning income without management burdens until the land is utilized. From the autonomous district's perspective, it is a win-win policy to secure insufficient public parking lots.

The appearance after the creation of the community parking lot in Jeongneung-dong. Provided by Seongbuk-gu.

Seongbuk-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) announced on the 27th that it will promote the "Vacant House Maintenance Village Community Parking Lot Creation Project" to resolve parking difficulties in multi-family and multiplex housing areas and to prepare for risks caused by abandoned vacant houses.

This year, the village community parking lot creation project, conducted for the first time by the district, is a project where if the vacant house owner agrees to use the site as a public parking lot for more than three years, the vacant house will be demolished free of charge, and operating income after the parking lot is created will be paid to the owner. Although there have been cases of using Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) sites as public parking lots, this is the first time in Seoul that privately owned vacant houses are demolished without purchase and utilized publicly.

Vacant houses that are not for sale or have been left unattended for a long time due to demolition costs are emerging as social problems, such as spoiling the aesthetics. This year, the district plans to maintain vacant houses owned by SH Corporation as well and create more than 51 parking spaces in 10 village community parking lots. The application target for the village community parking lot creation project is vacant houses rated grade 3 that have been unused and unoccupied for more than one year. Applications can be made by visiting or calling the Seongbuk-gu Office Traffic Administration Division from the 4th of next month until September 30th this year.

District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said, “We hope for active participation from residents who own vacant houses, and we will continue to do our best to expand the parking lot creation project through vacant house maintenance to create a pleasant and convenient transportation and residential environment.”