From the 10th of next month, one month earlier
Tenants with leases expiring after January next year must notify landlords in advance
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] Starting from the 10th of next month, the period for exercising the right to request a lease renewal will change from one month before the contract expiration to two months before. Tenants whose contracts expire after January next year are advised to clearly express their intention to renew the lease to the landlord via phone or text message at least two months in advance.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 30th, the current period for exercising the right to request a lease renewal is from six months to one month before the contract expires, but after the 10th of next month, it will change to six months to two months. This change is due to the enforcement of the amended Housing Lease Protection Act on the 10th of next month, which modifies some provisions. This provision was amended separately from the lease renewal right system introduced at the end of July. Currently, if the landlord does not express an intention not to renew the contract between six months and one month before the lease period ends, the contract is implicitly renewed. This period will be changed to six months to two months before the contract expires.
When the ruling party and the government introduced the lease renewal right system, they applied the period during which implicit contract renewal is possible as the period for exercising the lease renewal right. Therefore, after the 10th of next month, the deadline for tenants to exercise the lease renewal right will be linked to the implicit contract renewal period, changing from one month before to two months before the contract expiration.
For example, if the contract expires on January 20th next year, the tenant can exercise the lease renewal right until the 9th of next month, as this is more than one month before the expiration. However, after the 10th of next month, the situation changes. From that day, to exercise the lease renewal right, there must be at least two months remaining until expiration. On the 11th of next month, there will be only about one month and ten days left until January 20th next year, so the lease renewal right cannot be exercised.
Therefore, tenants whose contracts expire in about two months should exercise their lease renewal right before the 10th of next month to be safe. Currently, this right can be exercised up to one month before the lease period ends, but when calculating the 'up to one month before' period, the principle of 'excluding the first day' applies. If the contract expires on January 9th next year, the tenant must exercise the lease renewal right before 0:00 on the 9th of next month.
Tenants only need to clearly express their intention to renew the lease to the landlord. They can do this by phone or text message and keep evidence of having expressed their intention. Although verbal communication is possible, it may be difficult to prove if the landlord later denies it. If the tenant cannot reach the landlord, they can send a certified letter through the post office. If the landlord does not receive the certified letter and a lawsuit proceeds, the landlord must provide a reasonable explanation for not receiving the certified letter.
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