The Korea Housing Builders Association and the Korea Housing Association said on the 29th that they welcomed the passage on the 28th of the Housing Act amendment, proposed by lawmaker Yeom Tae-young and centered on easing the cap on the number of units in urban-style living dwellings, at the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee's subcommittee on bill review.
The amendment temporarily eases, through 2030, the limit on the number of units in urban-style living dwellings to expand housing supply in city centers. It relaxes the current standard of fewer than 300 units to fewer than 500 units, and, for areas within a 500-meter radius of a railway station, allows further easing to fewer than 700 units in accordance with a local government ordinance.
Urban-style living dwellings have the advantage of quickly expanding the supply of dwellings in prime urban locations, but there has been continued criticism that unit caps have constrained supply growth.
The housing industry said the amendment establishes an institutional foundation to supply dwellings swiftly and flexibly in city centers that meet demand from one- to two-person households and is expected to greatly help expand urban housing supply.
The association said, "With this legislative push, conditions for housing supply have improved, which could contribute to expanding private-sector supply of urban-style living dwellings," adding, "As it has cleared the biggest legislative hurdle by passing the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee's subcommittee on land-related bill review, we hope the remaining National Assembly schedule will proceed swiftly."