Businesses joining the new-build purchase rental program will now be able to apply with only a simplified business plan, without submitting design drawings. The change is expected to speed up the securing of new-build purchase supply on land held by the private sector in the greater Seoul area, expanding the overall supply of housing.
The Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) said on the 25th that it had introduced a simplified intake process for new-build purchases along with a preliminary site review system. Applications can now be filed with only a simplified business plan and no design drawings, and land in multiple locations can be submitted together online. In addition, applicants that pass the preliminary review are exempt from document screening and receive a perfect score on the site category of the purchase review.
Individuals or corporations applying with a site where at least 500 homes can be built in the greater Seoul area — 200 homes in regulated zones — are eligible. Qualifying land includes idle sites created by the consolidation of corporate headquarters or the relocation or closure of stores and factories, project sites managed by financial institutions through trusts, real estate investment trusts (REITs) or funds, and idle urban lots owned by individuals or family clans.
Until now, individuals or corporations with little experience in new-build purchases have found it hard to judge whether their land is suitable for a project, and the cost of design work while the possibility of a purchase remained uncertain has been cited as a barrier to entry. Companies that need a board resolution to sell a site also frequently called for advance information, such as whether a purchase would be possible.
In response, LH has made it possible to apply with only a simplified business plan rather than design drawings. The business plan can be written within five A4 pages, focusing on site factors such as public transit access, educational conditions, access to daily-life amenities and the residential environment. LH has also established a new preliminary site review committee that will assess whether a site is suitable for a new-build purchase based on the business plan. Sites that pass the committee are treated as having cleared the existing document screening and are given a perfect score on site-related categories in the later purchase review.
LH will also apply a fast-track strategy so that supply submitted for the program can be contracted within the year, in order to secure supply quickly. Sites that pass the preliminary site review must supplement their design drawings within one month for the preliminary review to remain valid.
