Persons and Entities Subject to Protection under Housing Lease Protection Act
Individual persons
-All the individuals having the citizenship of Republic of Korea are in principle protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act (Article 1 of the Housing Lease Protection Act).
Foreigners and overseas Koreans
- A foreign tenant who has reported a change in residence, which is equivalent to a moving-in report, can be protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act as an exception (Article 88-2 (2) of the Immigration Act and Seoul Civil District Court Decision 93Gahap73367 Decided December 16, 1993).
- An overseas Korean who has leased a house for the purpose of a long-term stay is protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act (Article 6(1) of the Act on the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans).
Corporations
- Except Korea Land & Housing Corporation and local public enterprises established for housing affairs, corporations are not protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act unless there is any special circumstance (The latter part of Article 3(2) of the Housing Lease Protection Act and Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Lease Protection Act).
Scope of Application of Housing Lease Protection Act
Residential lease
- The whole or parts of a residential building can be rented out under the Housing Lease Protection Act, and parts of a residential building can also be rented out for the purpose other than residence under the same Act (Article 2 of the Housing Lease Protection Act).
Unregistered lease
- An unregistered deposit lease (i.e., Jeonse) is also subject to protection under the Housing Lease Protection Act (Article 12 of the Housing Lease Protection Act).
Exclusion from Application of Housing Lease Protection Act
Temporary lease
- A temporary or short-term lease is not protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act (Article 11 of the Housing Lease Protection Act).