Seongdong-gu Implements Text Notification Service Before Lease Contract Expiration, Increasing Contract Rate

Nationwide First Text Notification Service Reduces Unreported Contract Rate from 16% to 5%, Over Threefold Decrease... Lease Contract Change Reports Increase from 1,444 to 4,090, Over 1.6 Times Growth

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) announced that the non-reporting rate of lease contracts has decreased more than threefold over one year through the "Text Notification Service Before Lease Contract Expiration," which is the first of its kind nationwide and targets private rental housing operators.

Since September 2019, Seongdong-gu has been implementing a monthly text notification service nationwide for the first time, informing landlords of mandatory obligations three months before the contract expiration to help them prevent fines by fulfilling their duties in advance.

Within one year of the service implementation, the number of unreported contracts subject to fines decreased significantly from 670 cases (16%) out of 4,224 total contract reports before the service to 369 cases (5%) out of 7,337 total contract reports after the service, a reduction of more than threefold.

The mandatory lease contract change reports also increased, rising from 1,444 cases before the service to 4,090 cases after, an increase of more than 1.6 times. This helped landlords avoid fines by complying with obligations and enhanced residential stability for tenants.

The "Text Notification Service Before Lease Contract Expiration" delivers essential information that rental business operators must know before contract expiration, such as suppressing rent increases of more than 5% annually, using the standard lease contract form, and complying with lease contract change reporting (including tacit renewals). Initially, notifications were sent one month before expiration, but this was advanced to three months prior, providing a reliable compliance information network to 10,656 private rental housing operators in Seongdong-gu.

Landlord Kim Jung-jae said, "Since fines for lease violations are high, I was worried about missing the timing, but the advance notice of what to comply with allowed me to submit the lease contract change report this time without any violations."

Non-reporting of lease contracts and rent increase violations incur fines of 5 million KRW for the first offense, 7 million KRW for the second, and 10 million KRW for the third and subsequent offenses. Violations of rental obligations can result in fines up to 30 million KRW.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, "Through proactive administration, we have been able to resolve issues arising from unreported lease contracts in advance, achieving practical effects such as protecting the rights of landlords and tenants and reducing civil complaints."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.