Government legislation ministry rules multi-family homes excluded from shared land provision

The Ministry of Legislation said Tuesday that multi-family housing units built on a single plot of land do not qualify as cases where multiple parties share one building under urban redevelopment laws. The ruling clarifies that individual unit owners hold independent status as property owners rather than requiring a single representative to vote on their behalf.

The decision came after a citizen asked whether owners of separate units in a complex, where underlying land is registered as shared ownership based on unit area ratios, fall under the provision requiring three-quarters consent to appoint one representative owner. The ministry responded that such cases are not included in the definition of shared land or buildings under the Enforcement Decree of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Improvement Act.

The ministry explained that the representative consent rule aims to streamline procedures for standard shared ownership where the property purpose is identical, but multi-family housing operates under the Act on the Ownership and Management of Condominiums. This act treats each unit as an independent building with inseparable land use rights, meaning the land share is merely a form of expressing rights attached to the exclusive unit ownership rather than general shared ownership under the Civil Act.

The decree explicitly lists condominium ownership separately from general shared ownership, indicating that the legislative intent was to treat them differently. The ministry noted that interpreting these cases as shared land would contradict the essential nature of the condominium system and exceed the current legal framework that recognizes each unit owner as an independent building owner with full consent rights.