Notice of Legislative Proposal for Amendment of Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Private Rental Housing Act
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Starting December 10, rental business operators must indicate on the registration certificate by an additional registration that the housing is a "private rental housing" subject to public obligations, so that anyone can recognize it.
In addition, multi-family housing rental business operators must provide prospective tenants with information on prior-ranking deposits before signing the lease contract. Rental business operators who fail to return tenants' deposits on time will be expelled.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 1st that it will publicly notify the amendment of the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Private Rental Housing Act for 40 days from the 2nd. This amendment is a follow-up measure to the strengthened management plan for registered rentals in January last year, the housing market stabilization plan in December, and the supplementary housing market stabilization measures in July this year.
Mandatory Additional Registration to Allow Anyone to Verify Private Rental Housing
First, rental business operators registering after December 10 must make an additional registration on the ownership registration indicating that the housing is private rental housing subject to rental obligation periods and rent increase standards. Private rental housing that had ownership preservation registration before the law's enforcement must complete additional registration within two years after the law takes effect.
If ownership preservation registration is made after registration, additional registration must be done simultaneously with that preservation registration, and if the rental housing registration is canceled, an application to cancel the additional registration must be submitted.
Rental business operators who delay returning tenants' deposits after the contract period ends will be expelled from the market. According to the Ministry of Land, if a rental business operator delays returning the rental deposit causing clear damage to the tenant, from December 10, the mayor, county governor, or district office head can cancel the registration ex officio.
There have been many cases where multi-home rental business operators disappeared before the lease contract expired, causing significant damage to tenants. Detailed reasons for ex officio cancellation include ▲a final court ruling in favor of the tenant in a deposit return lawsuit ▲a settlement on deposit return reached at the Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee but the deposit is still not returned.
Rental Business Operators Must Provide Prior-Ranking Deposit Information to Allow Risk Assessment Before Contract
Furthermore, rental business operators of single-family, multi-unit, and multi-family housing must provide prospective tenants with information on prior-ranking deposits when multiple lease contracts exist for the same housing. Until now, tenants of multi-family housing often found it difficult to know other tenants' deposit information, making it hard to assess whether they could safely recover their deposits later.
Rental business operators who fail to make additional registration or comply with the rental deposit limit will be fined 2 million KRW for the first violation, 4 million KRW for the second, and 5 million KRW for the third and subsequent violations.
The Ministry of Land explained, "Through this amendment of the enforcement decree and rules, we expect improvements in tenant housing stability and reduced burdens on rental business operators, enhancing public convenience," adding, "We will continue to identify and implement system improvements." The amendment can be viewed in the official gazette and on the Ministry of Land website. Opinions can be submitted by mail, fax, or through the Ministry of Land website.
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