Legislation ministry rules remodel-linked building relief cannot cover pure use changes

The government legislation ministry said Tuesday that building owners and other construction parties cannot seek relaxed building-code standards for changing a building's use when the project does not involve remodeling.

The ministry's interpretation, issued in response to a query from the Seoul city government, turns on how the Building Act treats remodeling as a distinct concept from a use change. Under the act, remodeling means repairing major structures or extending or rebuilding part of a building to slow deterioration or improve its function. A use change that leaves the physical structure untouched is a different thing, the ministry said, and cannot borrow the looser standards written for remodeling work.

At issue was Article 5 of the act, which lets owners, designers, contractors and construction supervisors ask the permitting authority to relax code requirements for sites or buildings where strict application would be highly unreasonable. The enforcement decree lists the buildings eligible for such relief, including those inside zones the permitting authority has designated to encourage remodeling, and those that have held use approval for at least 15 years and need remodeling. It also limits which standards may be eased, covering landscaping, open space, building lines, building-to-land ratio, floor-area ratio, setbacks, height limits and sunlight-related height restrictions.

"In this case, relaxation cannot be requested under Article 5 of the Building Act and Article 6, Paragraph 1, Item 6, Subitems A and B of the act's enforcement decree," the ministry said.

The ministry reasoned that those provisions were written to serve remodeling work, and that the standards they cover concern land use and the size and shape of buildings, so easing them pays off mainly when physical construction is involved. It also pointed to the purpose of the provisions: the subitem covering designated zones was added to improve the business case for remodeling, while the 15-year provision is meant to encourage additions and rebuilding of older structures. A building does not qualify simply because it sits in such a zone or is old enough to need remodeling, the ministry said.

Seoul had asked whether the relief could be requested for a use change that does not accompany remodeling. The ministry also warned that reading the rules otherwise would mean identical use changes got different building standards depending on whether the site happened to fall inside a designated remodeling zone.