Preliminary Contracts Not Accepted... Owner-Occupancy Deferral Not Applied to Single-Home Listings with Tenants [Capital Gains Tax Supplementary Q&A]

Preliminary or prior transaction agreements are not recognized as formal contracts
Consent for use of personal information required to defer actual residence obligation

The government has decided to reinstate the heavy capital gains tax on multi-homeowners on May 9 and has presented specific accompanying measures. It will not restrict the purchase of homes in areas newly designated last year as adjusted areas to only those without homes, and in the case of apartments in Seoul with tenants, if an existing lease contract remains in force, the move?in date can be delayed by up to two years. The following organizes, in Q&A format, points that are likely to be of interest on the ground.

Apartment sale information is posted in front of a real estate agency inside a large apartment complex in Seoul. 2026.02.05

-If a multi-homeowner is selling a property that has a tenant and a buyer without a home purchases it, the move?in requirement is said to be deferred. How can the authorities verify whether the buyer owns a home?

△This can be verified at the stage of applying for and reviewing the land transaction permit. Local governments review whether to grant the permit within 15 business days from the date of application, and this review is conducted regardless of the actual move?in date. Whether the prospective buyer is without a home is determined based on the time of the permit application.

-If I take out a mortgage loan, will the obligation to move in also be deferred?

△Under the household debt measures announced on June 27 last year, if you take out a loan for the purpose of purchasing a home, you must move in within six months. This move?in obligation clause remains in place, but an additional one month from the lease expiration date has been allowed so that the move?in can be delayed to a later point. This takes into account the time required between actual occupancy and filing the move?in (resident registration) report.

-If there is a tenant, the obligation for owner-occupancy is deferred and the deadline for filing the move?in report related to the mortgage loan is also deferred. What happens if the seller owns only one home?

△The deferral measures do not apply. This supplementary measure is a temporary step introduced in connection with the end of the deferral of heavy capital gains tax on multi-homeowners, and it is to be applied only to properties sold by multi-homeowners owning two or more homes.

-Is it possible to receive the deferral based only on a preliminary contract or an agreement signed before applying for the land transaction permit, if it is made before May 9?

△Preliminary contracts or prior transaction agreements are not recognized as formal contracts. It must be clearly verified through supporting documents that a sales contract was concluded and the deposit was exchanged by May 9.

-In newly designated adjusted areas outside Gangnam, the owner-occupancy obligation is extended from four months to six months and buyers are to be limited to those without homes. Does this mean that only buyers without homes can purchase a property where the remaining lease term of the existing tenant is less than six months?

△In this case, buyers who already own a home are also allowed. However, it should be kept in mind that in regulated areas there is an obligation to actually occupy the home after purchase.

View of downtown apartment buildings from Namsan in Seoul. Yonhap News

-If I am using a jeonse loan and buy an apartment worth more than 300 million won in a regulated area, my jeonse loan will be recalled. Would it not be difficult for a person without a home who is using a jeonse loan to purchase a home?

△If a tenant is living in the apartment you purchase, the jeonse loan will not be recalled until the remaining term of that lease contract expires. When a holder of a jeonse loan purchases an apartment worth more than 300 million won in a speculative area or speculative overheating area, the loan is normally recalled on the date the transfer of ownership registration is completed. However, if there is a tenant in the acquired apartment and the lease term remains, the recall of the new buyer's jeonse loan will be deferred.

-To receive a deferral of the owner-occupancy obligation for a leased home that is subject to a land transaction permit, do I need to submit any additional documents?

△A jeonse contract or lease contract and a personal information consent form are required. This owner-occupancy deferral measure applies only when the seller is a multi-homeowner subject to heavy capital gains tax and the buyer without a home is purchasing a home located in an adjusted area that is currently leased or has a registered jeonse right. To verify these conditions, the lease or jeonse contract is required, and a personal information consent form will additionally be obtained to confirm that the seller is a multi-homeowner and the buyer is without a home.