New Stay’s Mandatory Rental Period Ends: 25,000 Households Unite to Demand Priority Purchase Rights

Launch of the National New Stay Coalition

As the mandatory rental period for New Stay, a corporate rental housing program, nears its end, around 25,000 tenants nationwide have formed a large-scale coalition to demand the protection of their housing rights. With the prospect of conversion to ownership looming and uncertainty over whether tenants will be granted priority purchase rights, tenants have begun collective action.

The National New Stay Coalition announced on December 9 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building that it held its inaugural ceremony and officially launched. The coalition includes approximately 25,000 households (about 75,000 people) across 20 complexes supplied nationwide between December 2015 and December 2017. Major complexes in the Seoul metropolitan area such as Dongtan Lake Park I-Park, E-Pyunhansesang Terrace Wirye, and Hillstate Homeshil are among those represented.

These complexes are approaching the end of their eight-year mandatory rental periods between this year and 2027 and are on the verge of conversion to ownership. The coalition pointed out that, at the time of the project, the government and developers promised at least eight years of residential security and limited annual rent increases to 5% or less to ensure stability for the middle class. However, as the time for conversion approaches, they expressed concern that there are no safeguards in place to protect tenants.

Aerial view of 'E-Pyeonhan Sesang Terrace Wirye' News Stay. DL E&C

The coalition’s central demand is the guarantee of priority purchase rights for current tenants. They argue that, based on the transfer clauses in the lease contracts and investor prospectuses, tenants who have faithfully maintained their contracts should be given the first opportunity to purchase their homes.

They also called for improvements in price calculation methods to ensure transparency in the conversion process. The coalition insists that the current structure, where the developer unilaterally sets the price, must be reformed so that appraisal firms selected by the developer, tenants, and the local government all participate in determining a fair sale price. Furthermore, they emphasized that the same eligibility criteria (such as non-homeownership status) announced at the time of the initial tenant recruitment should apply during the conversion to ownership.

The coalition stated, “Although the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) invested 70% of the REITs’ capital, in reality, 75% of the project funds came from tenants’ deposits,” adding, “If unilateral conversion to ownership excluding tenants is pursued, it will undermine trust in government policy.” They continued, “New Stay began as a private rental housing project founded on the social promise of stable housing for the middle class,” and expressed hope that the conversion to ownership would proceed in a way that aligns with New Stay’s original purpose of ensuring housing stability for the middle class.

Starting with its launch, the coalition plans to ramp up pressure by visiting the Presidential Office and relevant ministries to protest, as well as organizing a large-scale signature campaign.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.