The Seoul city government will relax the floor area ratio of small buildings by a maximum of 300% for three years to stimulate the stagnant construction market and improve poor housing conditions.

Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul, is inspecting a small-scale reconstruction site in Guro-dong, Seoul. The city plans to apply the 'Regulatory Relief Plan No. 33' to temporarily ease the floor area ratio for small buildings starting from May this year. The city plans to supply about 10,000 dwellings over the next three years. Mar. 17, 2025 /Courtesy of News1

The Seoul city government announced on the 18th that it would relax the floor area ratio for small buildings from 200% to 250% in Category 2 residential areas and from 250% to 300% in Category 3 residential areas for three years, from the 19th until May 18, 2028. This is a key aspect of the deregulation proposal No. 33 (temporary relaxation of floor area ratio for small buildings) announced in February.

The targets for the floor area ratio relaxation are small-scale projects that are more significantly impacted by adverse conditions in the construction market compared to large-scale redevelopment and reconstruction. This includes small-scale reconstruction (site under 10,000㎡) and small-scale redevelopment (site under 5,000㎡) according to the Empty Homes and Small Dwellings Maintenance Act, as well as autonomous housing management projects (fewer than 36 households). The street housing maintenance project, which can cover an area of up to 20,000㎡, is excluded.

For construction permits and reports under the Building Act, there are no restrictions on land or building area, but residential multi-family dwellings and apartments can only be applied if the exclusive area is below 85㎡ per household, and officetels can only be applied when the exclusive area is below 85㎡ per unit.

When applying overlapping floor area ratio relaxations according to the National Land Planning Act or other regulations, the Urban and Architecture Joint Committee will review the adequacy of infrastructure and other matters, and relaxation can be applied up to the 120% limit set by the Enforcement Decree of the National Land Planning Act.

If a construction permit or report pertains to an urban unit plan area, the existing plan can be comprehensively readjusted before the floor area ratio relaxation is applied, and it is planned to allow an additional 50% beyond the permissible floor area ratio in Category 2 and Category 3 residential areas.

Small-scale reconstruction and redevelopment projects under the 'Empty Homes and Small Dwellings Maintenance Act' will have their floor area ratio relaxed up to the legal limit when they meet the 'business plan establishment standards' considering the impact on nearby areas. However, autonomous housing management projects will be relaxed to the legal limit regardless of separate business plan establishment standards.

To efficiently promote the relaxation of the floor area ratio for small buildings, criteria will be established and announced to minimize the impact on sunlight and views in nearby low-rise residential areas and to encourage harmonious architectural planning.

The announced criteria include ▲ topographical adaptation planning ▲ sunlight and view reviews ▲ creation of open complexes ▲ disaster safety ▲ infrastructure maintenance, among others. It also includes a provision that small-scale reconstruction for floor area ratio relaxation will be supplied below the scale of public housing.

The 'detailed operational guidelines for the temporary relaxation of floor area ratio for autonomous housing, small-scale reconstruction, and small-scale redevelopment ordinances' will be available on the Seoul city government website starting the 19th.

Meanwhile, the Seoul city government noted that to accelerate the progress of small-scale reconstruction projects, it will conduct free business feasibility analyses for prospective sites, considering the planned maximum floor area ratio and the possibility of zoning upgrades, to present optimal architectural plans. The value of assets before and after the project will be assessed, and estimated contribution fees will also be provided to assist rapid resident decision-making and project advancement.

Those wishing to analyze the business feasibility of small-scale reconstruction must submit a consent form from over 10% of landowners for projects with a site area of less than 10,000㎡, less than 200 households, and complexes with over 60% old or poor buildings between June 2nd and June 30th to the relevant district office (department in charge of small-scale reconstruction).