Check registration before your family’s first development contract
Building shops for rent on a parent’s land or selling homes through a family company can involve business-registration duties separate from building permission.
Finding a missing registration after design and financing commitments can disrupt supply schedules and cash planning.
Overlooking a housing-business exception can also lead to unnecessary duplicated capital and hiring preparations.
The decision this calculator supports
Compare developer, housing-construction and residential-land registration routes using project quantities and an authority-confirmed annual aggregation.
Review gaps in accepted capital or assets and qualified personnel if you choose own registration, alongside evidence needed for a landowner joint project.
This is a Korean 2026 planning tool for individuals and ordinary family corporations, with amounts in KRW and areas in square metres (㎡).
The review sheet is not a registration approval.
Developer, housing business and construction contractor
The business supplying the property
Article 2 of the Korean Real Estate Development Business Act includes both sales and rentals within supply.
Check whether the development business prepares land, constructs, substantially repairs, remodels or changes the use of buildings for supply to others.
Ownership of the land does not remove a rental or sale purpose.
The contractor doing the work
The same article excludes the act of undertaking construction from its definition of development.
Hiring a qualified contractor does not automatically resolve the landowner’s developer-business obligations.
Construction-sector registration, development permission and building-permit expenses are separate decisions covered by related calculators.
Own use removes the supply-to-others condition for developer registration in this model.
It does not cancel the Housing Act Article 4 annual housing-business criterion, which must be assessed separately.
If an own-use plan changes to a rental or sale plan, reassess the registration route when that change occurs.
2026 scale thresholds and inclusive boundaries
The statutory delegation floor in Development Act Article 4 differs from the actual scale prescribed by Decree Article 3.
Do not apply 2,000㎡ of building area or 3,000㎡ of land as the operational per-project threshold.
This calculator uses the decree values below; equality reaches the threshold.
Korean developer, housing-construction and residential-land registration thresholds| Business / condition | Per project | Annual |
|---|
| General building developer | ≥3,000㎡ | ≥5,000㎡ |
| Mixed building: non-residential ratio ≥30% | Non-residential ≥3,000㎡ | Non-residential ≥5,000㎡ |
| Non-residential land developer | ≥5,000㎡ | ≥10,000㎡ |
| Detached-home construction | Annual test | ≥20 homes |
| General multi-unit housing construction | Annual test | ≥20 units |
| Urban-type housing construction | Annual test | ≥30 units |
| Residential-land development | Annual test | ≥10,000㎡ |
Confirm the statutory urban-type classification instead of relying on a property’s marketing name.
Housing Decree Article 14(1)2 also includes the case specified in Article 10(2)1.
Different housing types are not simply added and assigned whichever 20- or 30-unit test seems preferable; mixed types remain pending authority confirmation.
Apply housing-business exceptions only within their scope
Registered housing or residential-land businesses
Development Act Article 4(1)4 provides an exception for a business registered under Housing Act Article 4 when carrying out its relevant housing-construction or residential-land business.
A housing registration is not a blanket developer-registration exception for shops or other non-residential projects.
Commercial-building rows are assessed separately against developer criteria.
Unregistered small housing or residential-land projects
Development Decree Article 3(3)3 addresses projects below 20 detached homes, 20 general multi-unit homes, 30 qualifying urban-type units or 10,000㎡ of residential land.
The calculator checks the project quantity together with the Housing Act annual registration criterion and confirmed aggregation before displaying this route.
An unregistered business already reaching the annual housing or land threshold must check that registration route first; the registered-business exception is not granted in advance.
Annual carry-in and mixed-building inputs
- Ask the authority which parcels, connected buildings and activities belong to the same project or connected land.
- Enter each project’s total floor area, non-residential floor area, developed land area and housing count as applicable.
- Enter only prior or other work not already included in the project list. Adding the entire annual total again duplicates the listed projects.
- Confirm the annual starting date, included activities and excluded duplicates. Without that evidence, the registration conclusion remains pending.
Two conditions for mixed buildings
Non-residential ratio = non-residential floor area ÷ total floor area × 100.
The ratio must be at least 30% AND the non-residential area must reach 3,000㎡ per project OR 5,000㎡ annually.
A large total building area alone does not satisfy the non-residential area test.
Carry-in for mixed non-residential work must relate to qualifying projects with a ratio of at least 30%, within the authority-confirmed aggregation scope.
A mixed project stays pending unless separate treatment of its non-residential part is confirmed.
The housing part is also assessed against annual housing counts; no whole-building exception is assumed.
Subdividing parcels, using different nominal owners or distributing titles among relatives does not automatically establish separate businesses or separate annual aggregates.
Capital, personal assets and staffing gaps
Ordinary developer registration
The minimum is KRW 300,000,000 for corporations and KRW 600,000,000 of appraised business assets for individuals.
For developer registration, use stock-company capital, other-company contributions, or other-corporation total assets less total liabilities, as applicable.
Two full-time development professionals and an office are required.
Count distinct people whose qualifications, experience, initial education and continuing education under Article 5 have been verified.
Housing and residential-land registration
Separately verify KRW 300,000,000 of corporate capital or KRW 600,000,000 of appraised personal assets.
Housing construction requires one architecture technician; residential-land development requires one civil-engineering technician, with an office suitable for the work.
When both businesses are operated together, capital and office requirements are not duplicated, but each technical field must still be checked.
Capital / asset gap = max(statutory minimum − accepted amount for that scheme, 0).
Personnel gap = max(required people − verified people, 0).
A cash balance or the market value of a mortgaged property is not automatically the accepted asset amount.
Leave missing evidence blank; a zero means the verified accepted amount is zero.
Developer and housing resources are not automatically shared, and their gaps are not added into a combined fee.
Construction-resource recognition and actual operating quotes
Housing Decree Article 14(4) allows existing capital, technical personnel and office area to be included when a registered building-construction or civil-and-building-construction business applies for housing or residential-land registration.
Do not generalise this provision to every specialist construction sector or use it as automatic developer / housing resource sharing.
Include authority-accepted resources in the relevant input amounts and headcounts; do not deduct them again as a newly invented discount.
Capital and assets are not registration expenses
A KRW 600,000,000 asset requirement or a capital shortfall is not a fee paid away.
Separate preparation-period operating cost = (actual monthly hiring quote + actual monthly office quote) × months.
The estimate is shown only when both quotes and the period are provided; missing quotes are not filled with market averages.
Do not add this expense to capital / asset gaps and call the result a total registration cost.
Three hypothetical examples
Two commercial projects reach the annual criterion
Commercial building A has 2,600㎡ and B has 2,400㎡, with zero other work and an authority-confirmed common annual scope.
The total is 5,000㎡, so developer registration needs review even though each project is below 3,000㎡.
An individual with KRW 450,000,000 of accepted business assets and one verified professional has a KRW 150,000,000 asset gap and a one-person gap.
Monthly hiring of KRW 3,000,000 plus office cost of KRW 1,000,000 over three months gives KRW 12,000,000 of separate operating cost.
19 versus 20 general housing units
For an unregistered business with confirmed aggregation and no other housing work, 19 general multi-unit homes fall below the annual criterion and can follow the small-project developer-exception review.
At 20 units, the housing-registration scale threshold is reached.
The registered housing-business developer exception is not treated as already available before registration.
A 10,000㎡ mixed building with 3,000㎡ non-residential area
The non-residential ratio is 30% and the per-project non-residential area is 3,000㎡, reaching both conditions.
With confirmed separate treatment and annual aggregation, assess the developer route and assess the housing portion separately using annual housing counts.
Missing area evidence or unconfirmed treatment keeps the relevant conclusion pending.
Joint projects with registered businesses
Development Act Article 4(4) / Decree Article 7
The landowner must have ownership of the development land.
Relevant encumbrances must be discharged before sale unless the rights holder consents to implementation of the project.
Check the counterparty’s developer registration and an agreement covering use and disposal, profit distribution, project costs, period and responsibilities.
A consulting contract or borrowed registration name is not a substitute for the statutory joint-project arrangement.
Housing Act Article 5(1) / Decree Article 16
For joint housing construction, confirm housing registration and the counterparty’s eligibility under Decree Article 17(1), or the specified building / civil-and-building construction registration.
Check encumbrance discharge or consent and an agreement on use and disposal, project costs, construction period and responsibilities.
This housing-construction route is not automatically extended to residential-land development.
Even all-confirmed answers only identify a documented route for review, not automatic approval or an exception.
How to use the form and pending results
- Select the legal form and enter each project’s purpose, type, area and housing count.
- Record same-project and annual scope confirmed with the authority and architect, then enter non-duplicated other work.
- Use registration certificates, asset evidence and qualification, training and full-time records to enter accepted resources.
- Read the registration matrix, arithmetic threshold gaps, resource shortfalls, office status and missing joint-project evidence.
- Save the TXT sheet or print it, and confirm registration or non-registration procedures before the first permit application.
Pending does not mean exempt or legally in breach.
Preserve the actual evidence state instead of replacing an unknown fact with zero or no.
An area or unit gap to a threshold is an arithmetic difference, not an allowance to carry out additional work.
An existing registration also does not resolve change notifications, maintenance requirements or separate permissions.
Frequently asked questions
Does renting count as supply?
Development Act Article 2 includes sales and rentals.
Development activity, purpose, scale and exceptions must still be reviewed together; ownership alone does not establish a registration duty.
Is a building below 3,000㎡ always outside registration?
General buildings also have a 5,000㎡ annual threshold.
A per-project figure alone cannot settle registration when same-project or annual aggregation is unconfirmed.
Does housing registration exempt commercial development?
The exception in Development Act Article 4(1)4 is limited to the relevant housing-construction or residential-land business.
Commercial buildings and non-residential land require separate assessment.
Can urban-type and general housing counts be combined?
Unconfirmed mixed-type aggregation stays pending.
The calculator does not assign mixed counts to the more favourable 30-unit threshold.
Must an individual hold KRW 600,000,000 in cash?
Verify appraised business assets for developer registration and appraised assets for housing registration under each scheme.
Cash balances and property market prices are not assumed to be the accepted amounts; these are not fees.
Are existing construction technicians deducted again?
Resources accepted under Housing Decree Article 14(4) belong in the verified input amounts and headcounts.
The model creates no additional personnel discount and does not extend the provision to other sectors.
Is signing a joint-project agreement enough?
Ownership, counterparty registration and qualification, security rights and the agreement terms all matter.
A complete checklist still does not replace the required application and review of actual documents.
Are SPCs, REITs and housing cooperatives covered?
The main scope is individuals and ordinary family corporations.
SPCs, REITs, cooperatives and public projects require separate review, as do incorporation taxes, project finance, development returns, construction eligibility and professional experience assessment.
Official evidence and update date
Direct National Law Information OPEN API verification: 2026-11-04.
Development Act MST250219 Articles 2/4/5 use the version effective 2023-10-19; Development Decree MST256591 Articles 3/4/7 use 2023-12-12.
Housing Act MST283191 Articles 4/5 use 2026-08-04; Housing Decree MST289499 Articles 14/16 use 2026-09-08.
The relevant articles in the latest promulgated Housing Act MST289171 have an article-level effective date of 2027-03-09 and are not applied early.
Before applying, recheck article-specific effective dates and amendments, the competent registration office, accepted assets, training and full-time qualifications, offices, annual aggregation, counterparty eligibility, encumbrances and agreement terms.
Current applicable provisions and confirmed evidence take precedence over abbreviated guidance tables.
Prepare the review sheet before committing
Bring the project aggregation, registrations, appraisals, personnel evidence and joint-project documents to the consultation.
Keep unknown entries blank, save the review sheet and discuss the next procedure with the architect and competent city or province before your first permit application.
Also check development-permit and environmental-assessment thresholds