The government is pushing to lower the land ownership threshold required for project plan approval of regional housing associations (jijutaek) from 95% to 80%, but most project sites in Seoul are unlikely to see direct benefits from the reform. Most projects remain stuck at the member recruitment stage with low land acquisition rates, and analysts say simply easing the threshold has limits in unlocking long-stalled projects.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 8th, among 112 regional housing association project sites in Seoul as of the end of March this year, the average land ownership acquisition rate at the 105 sites where figures could be confirmed stood at 20.1%. By project, 69 sites — the largest group — had secured less than 10% of land ownership. Fifteen sites met the government's proposed relaxed threshold of 80% or higher, but 14 of them had already secured 95% or more under the existing standard. Only one project — the Jeongneung Station housing association in Seongbuk-gu — falls short of the current threshold but meets the new one, placing it in the direct beneficiary zone.
Project progress is also concentrated in the early phases. Of Seoul's 112 regional housing association projects, 82 — more than 70% of the total — were at the member recruitment filing stage. Fifteen sites were at the association establishment approval stage, five at the project plan approval stage, and 10 at the construction commencement stage. Only 15 projects had passed the project plan approval stage, the key permit needed for actual housing construction.
A regional housing association is a development model in which non-homeowners residing in a given area, or single-home owners with units of 85 square meters or less, form an association to purchase land directly and build apartments. Its advantage is that prices can be lower than general pre-sale apartments, but because the association must lead land acquisition and permitting, project risks are high. With repeated project delays, additional member contributions, and internal governance disputes, it is classified as one of the riskiest forms of housing development.
The reform being pursued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) focuses on accelerating projects held up by holdout landowners — so-called "albakgi" — despite having secured most of their land. Under current rules, a regional housing association must secure 95% or more of land ownership to obtain project plan approval, but the government is pushing to lower this to 80%, the level applied to general housing construction projects. The plan also allows remaining land to be resolved through forced sale claims after project plan approval. In addition, the government plans to introduce safeguards to reduce harm to association members, including a registration system for business agents, a construction cost verification system, and strengthened information disclosure.
The problem is that most of Seoul's regional housing associations fall far short of even the relaxed 80% threshold. Projects that have not sufficiently completed member recruitment, land purchases, and feasibility assessments cannot immediately advance to the project plan approval stage even with a lower bar. "Easing the land threshold can help otherwise sound projects stalled by holdouts, but its effect is limited for projects still in the early stages of land acquisition," an industry official said. "Since many of Seoul's regional housing associations are still at an early stage, the perceived impact of the reform will not be significant."
Industry voices argue that the government should not stop at easing the land threshold but also review measures to strengthen project feasibility alongside a public support framework. Some point to Germany's Baugruppen, a resident-led housing supply model, as a reference. Under Baugruppen, prospective residents form a community to secure land and directly plan and build housing. Cities such as Tübingen and Freiburg are cited as cases where combining public land allocation with planning-stage support enhanced project stability.
In Seoul as well, regional housing associations combined with public support programs were found to progress relatively faster. Of the 15 projects that reached the project plan approval stage or beyond, nine were linked to long-term jeonse housing near transit stations or station-area revitalization programs. Analysts attribute this to floor area ratio incentives and public contribution structures that bolstered project feasibility and strengthened the rationale for permitting.
"Public-led urban complex development projects are actually raising both feasibility and executability through mechanisms such as expanded floor area ratio incentives and integrated deliberation," said Shin Bo-yeon, a professor of Real Estate and AI Convergence at Sejong University. "If regional housing associations in station areas or districts with high urban supply needs shift to a public-support track — with land acquisition and fund management verification conducted from the earliest stages — housing supply in central Seoul can be delivered more quickly and stably."
