Gyeonggi Province Establishes Guidelines for Vacant House Maintenance Plans

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government has created and distributed the "Vacant House Maintenance Plan Guidelines," an operational manual, to cities and counties.

According to the guidelines, as soon as a city or county completes a survey on vacant houses, it should objectively analyze the owner's intention regarding maintenance, the condition of the vacant house, and the level of management. The guidelines also present principles for selecting annual targets for vacant house maintenance by comprehensively considering financial plans.

The main contents of the Gyeonggi Vacant House Maintenance Plan Guidelines include: ▲ Vacant houses that have experienced fires, crimes, large-scale illegal dumping, or multiple civil complaints in the past five years must be maintained within three years ▲ Specification of criteria for demolition orders ▲ Establishment of performance targets for vacant house maintenance ▲ Introduction of support for sales ▲ Implementation of "Vacant House Safety Inspection Day" (the 4th of every month) ▲ Detailed standards for recommending the appointment of "absentee property managers" or "inheritance property managers" for vacant houses with unknown owners.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Since 2021, Gyeonggi Province has begun maintaining vacant houses in the province through support projects, diversifying maintenance methods such as allowing cities to directly order demolition work. However, rather than cities actively designating vacant houses subject to "demolition orders" or "safety action orders," the projects are largely dependent on applications from vacant house owners.

In response, Gyeonggi Province has provided the guidelines so that cities and counties can swiftly establish actionable vacant house maintenance plans. Cities and counties with fewer than 30 vacant houses are encouraged to use the guidelines to develop their maintenance plans without the need for separate external services.

Kim Tae-su, Director of Urban Regeneration at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, stated, "Neglected vacant houses threaten the safety of local residents and negatively impact the local economy. Through these guidelines, we will support cities and counties in establishing feasible plans that accurately reflect local conditions, allowing us to quickly address neglected vacant houses in the province."