It's My Land, Why Can't I Build? —
Road Access and Land Use Consent

Two Meters to a Road — Deciding a Parcel's Fate

Article 44 of the Building Act requires a site to abut a road for at least 2 meters (the road access obligation). Because of this short provision, land that does not touch a road — a landlocked parcel — cannot obtain a building permit as-is, no matter how large or good. This is why landlocked parcels trade at less than half the surrounding market price.

The "road" here is not "a path where people and cars pass" but a road recognized by the Building Act. A path may appear on the cadastral map yet not be a Building Act road, and conversely a path absent from the map may be recognized as a de facto road. That the visible path and the path the law sees differ — this is the starting point of land review.

The Power and Limits of a Consent Letter

The most common solution is a land use consent letter. When the adjacent landowner confirms in writing that "I consent to this part of my land being used as an access road," you can attach it and proceed with the permit. A seal certificate is usually obtained alongside.

But you must know its limits. Consent has only contractual effect, so once that land's owner changes, you cannot assert it against the new owner as a matter of course. There are real cases where a completion certificate was obtained, only for a passage dispute to begin years later when the adjacent land was sold. This is why, where possible, proprietary security such as a share purchase of that portion or an easement registration should be combined — that is the standard.

A Case — Consent Needed Even With a Road

It is not only a landlocked-parcel problem. Our completed Maengri detached house in Cheoin-gu, Yongin required a land use consent even though the site abutted a road. As a growth management zone, meeting the vehicle-access conditions the plan required made the use of part of the adjacent land unavoidable. Add a public sewer inflow exclusion application and a small septic tank installation, and it was a case where several regulations were entangled despite appearing simple on paper. View this project →

The lesson is singular. "It abuts a road, so no problem" and "It's landlocked, so give up" are both premature. Frontage conditions differ by parcel, so an architect's road review is half of land review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is building entirely impossible on a landlocked parcel?

Not as-is, but it becomes possible by securing access via consent, land purchase, easement, or de facto road recognition.

Q. Is a consent letter alone safe?

Permits are possible, but ownership changes carry dispute risk. Combining with a share purchase or easement registration is safer.

Q. What to check before purchase?

Whether the cadastral-map road matches a Building Act road, and de facto road recognition potential. LEA Architects reviews road and frontage in Yongin. Contact us →