Redevelopment's 'steep hurdle' to ease as association consent threshold drops from 75% to 70%, speeding up projects

[Financial News] The National Assembly is moving to lower the consent rate required to establish a redevelopment association, a key initial hurdle in redevelopment projects, from the current 75% to 70%. Urban renewal industry officials expect the change alone to accelerate the formation of associations and reduce delays in the early stages of projects, as many projects remain stalled for long periods even after surpassing the 70% consent threshold.
According to the National Assembly Bill Information System on the 22nd, Kim Nam-geun of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced a bill on the 18th to partially revise the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments. Kim chairs the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul Metropolitan City Party Special Committee for Supporting the Revitalization of Redevelopment and Reconstruction to Improve Residential Environments.
The key provision of the bill is to lower the threshold for establishing a redevelopment association. Under current law, at least three-quarters, or 75%, of landowners and other property owners must consent to establish a redevelopment association. The bill would lower the requirement to at least 70%.
The requirements for designating a public project implementer would also be lowered. The bill would reduce the current requirement of consent from at least two-thirds of landowners and other property owners to at least 60%. In addition to easing the process for forming redevelopment associations, the measure would streamline the initial consent procedure for publicly implemented urban improvement projects to accelerate their launch.
The consent requirements for establishing reconstruction and redevelopment associations currently differ. A reconstruction association can be established with the consent of at least 70% of all sectional owners and at least 70% of the land area. Industry officials have continued to question whether redevelopment projects alone should be subject to a higher owner-based consent requirement.
Kim explained, "Housing supply has recently contracted, particularly in the Seoul metropolitan area, prolonging instability in the rental and home sales markets. The aim is to support the swift launch of projects by rationally adjusting the consent requirements for urban improvement projects."
A bill to ease the consent requirement for establishing redevelopment associations was also introduced in December last year. At the time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) took a cautious position in its review, stating, "A discussion that gathers the views of various stakeholders is needed, taking full account of the possibility that opportunities to reflect the opinions of residents and others opposed to projects could be reduced."
However, assessments indicate that the situation has changed since the government's 8.13 housing rapid-supply measures included plans to reduce the consent requirement for landowners and other property owners to establish redevelopment associations from 75% to 70%, as well as lower the consent rate for designating project implementers for public redevelopment and reconstruction projects from about 67% to 60%. As the bill aligns with the government's policy direction, attention is focused on whether it will gain momentum in the legislative process.
Industry officials believe that, if the law is revised, projects stalled at the 70%-75% consent range will be the first to feel a direct impact. According to the Seoul Urban Renewal Information Portal, 69 redevelopment and small-scale redevelopment projects are currently at the promotion committee stage.
An urban renewal industry official said, "Lowering the consent threshold to 70% alone could allow a considerable number of projects to move directly to the association-formation stage, significantly accelerating urban improvement projects. If associations are established sooner, projects can enter subsequent procedures, such as project implementation approval, more quickly, reducing the burden of projects languishing for long periods in their initial stages." 
[email protected] Choi A-young Reporter