The Seoul Metropolitan Government will expand its relocation loan support for urban redevelopment projects to include refinancing loans, aiming to accelerate the pace of such projects. The city will raise the loan cap from 300 million won to 500 million won and broaden eligibility from small and mid-sized associations with 500 or fewer members to all associations. The Housing Promotion Fund used for relocation loan support will also be increased from the current 50 billion won to 100 billion won.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was elected on a pledge to implement the "Rapid Integrated Planning (New Integrated Planning 2.0)" to speed up existing redevelopment and reconstruction projects, is expected to push forward an accelerated redevelopment drive by prioritizing the resolution of relocation cost issues.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other sources Monday, the city has decided to expand relocation loan support along these lines and is pursuing a revision of its ordinance. The city believes faster relocation can lead to quicker groundbreaking and completion, and intends to accelerate the pace of redevelopment projects by expanding relocation cost support.
Following last year's June 27 lending restrictions and October 15 measures, regulations were applied limiting single-home owners to a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 40 percent, multi-home owners to 0 percent, and a loan cap of 600 million won. As a result, a considerable number of redevelopment associations have faced project delays due to insufficient relocation costs. In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been providing relocation loan support using 50 billion won from the Housing Promotion Fund since last month. However, criticism arose that because a first-priority mortgage lien is required, those who already have existing loans cannot receive support. "We determined that the eligibility for relocation loan support needed to be expanded to achieve the goal of breaking ground on 85,000 housing units by 2028," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said. ▷See Page 22
