From now on, old public buildings that need energy performance improvements must carry out green remodeling.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 21st that three amendment bills, including the Green Buildings Construction Support Act that contains these measures, the Special Act on Private Rental Housing, and the Framework Act on the Construction Industry, cleared the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th.
First, under the amendment to the Green Buildings Construction Support Act, the public institutional sector will lead projects to improve building energy efficiency. The government plans to designate obligated institutions after on-site inspections and monitor compliance. To help expansion into the private sector, it also legalized multifaceted support measures such as subsidies, low-interest loan, advisory services, and interest support. The amendment will apply starting six months after promulgation.
In the private rental housing market, measures to prevent damage from illegal recruitment activities will be strengthened. This is to stop abuses in which would-be tenants are recruited under the guise of members or investors without formal registration and money is collected. Going forward, recruiting tenants by any method not specified in law will be strictly prohibited, and violations that involve taking money or valuables will be punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. Even if only the recruitment activity is carried out, fines of up to 30 million won will be imposed.
In addition, when promoting private rental housing projects, if conditions change such as community opposition, a basis has been established to lift the promotion district designation, and the law was revised so that heirs can succeed to status if a project operator dies. An exception to the prior reporting requirement will also be provided for changes to contracts for rental housing with 100 or more units so that residents can move in immediately.
The amendment to the Framework Act on the Construction Industry to eradicate wage arrears on construction sites and delays in subcontract payments will take effect in 2027. The "electronic direct payment system by the procurer," which had applied only to public projects, will be expanded to certain large-scale private projects and claims for construction equipment lending fees. The plan is to block at the source account seizures and diversion of payments that occur in multi-tier structures. Along with this, a legal basis was prepared for local governments to support fees for issuing guarantees for payment of construction equipment lending fees or subcontract payments.