“This is a house that sold for just 1 euro. “It’s old now, but it will soon be remodeled to look like a new house.”
On the 8th (local time) in the city of Maenza, central Italy, Mayor Claudio Spelduti said this as he led the way into a shabby, empty house. Pieces of broken roof bricks were lying around inside the house. The kitchen, which seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, was full of dirt, and the tiles on the walls had cracks here and there.
This place, which was an abandoned empty house, was selected as the target of the ‘1 Euro Empty House Project’ promoted by the city of Maenza and was sold to an Italian architect for 1 euro (about 1,400 won) in 2021. It is said that he decided to buy two places, including this and another empty house, remodel it and live with his family. The government decided to review ways to apply this project to Korea to utilize the 132,000 empty houses left abandoned across the country.
Maenza is a small city located approximately 110km southeast of Rome, the capital of Italy. Recently, the population has fallen below 3,000 as young people have fled to the cities. As of 2021, it is said that 20% of abandoned homes in the city are alone.
Accordingly, Mayenza City launched the ‘1 Euro Project’ in 2021. When the owner of an empty house announces his intention to sell to the city of Mayenza, he posts the property for sale on the city’s website and looks for someone to buy the empty house for 1 euro. It is said that many homes are inherited or gifted, but houses that are difficult to pay taxes or maintenance costs are usually put up for sale.
Buyers must submit a plan on how to utilize the empty house. Renovation work must begin within three years and be completed within three years after construction begins. The cost of remodeling is approximately 6 to 7 million won per square meter. Since most empty houses in Mayencha City are 50 to 70 square meters in size, it is estimated that around 30 million won will be spent on repairs.
With the start of the empty house project, real estate transactions in Mayenza City also increased. In the past two years, 27 non-vacant homes have also been traded in downtown Mayenza. This is thanks to the quiet rural village becoming known around the world and the number of foreigners visiting it has increased. When the empty house sold to an Italian architect was first announced for sale in August 2021, 105 people from all over the world expressed their intention to purchase it.
Based on this, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to review ways to recycle empty houses in domestic areas that are at risk of population extinction. According to the National Statistical Office, as of 2022, there are about 1.45 million empty houses nationwide. The number of empty houses identified as project targets by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security is 132,052 (9.8%). About half, or 61,000 homes, are in areas with declining population.
For example, ‘Gwanagol’ in Chungju City succeeded in creating a unique alley culture by supporting young people to renovate empty houses and was reborn as a tourist attraction. As such, the government plans to invest a budget of 5 billion won this year to find ways to regenerate empty houses, such as supporting the demolition, repair, and utilization of empty houses.
In addition, it was decided to revise the local tax law enforcement ordinance in the first half of this year to apply a special exception that reduces the property tax rate when a homeowner purchases a new home in a declining population area. We also plan to reduce the comprehensive real estate tax and transfer tax burden.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Security plans to select empty houses in population-decreasing areas among the 130,000 houses as priority project targets and confirm their exact size. The regions and requirements to which special provisions will apply will also be announced later. Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min said, “To solve the problem of abandoned empty houses becoming crime-ridden areas, we will actively pursue a policy to utilize vacant houses based on the case of Mayenza City.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.