Should You Always Inform Your Landlord About Living with Pets When Signing a Jeonse Lease?

Tenant Keeps a Pet Dog Without Notification, Contract
Landlord "Did Not Know... Contract Canceled"
Court "No Related Clause in Contract" Rules in Favor of Tenant
Mutual Confirmation of Special Conditions Essential... Violation May Lead to Eviction

Whether tenants should inform landlords about cohabiting with pets when signing a lease is a topic of interest among renters. The photo shows a pet with its owner.

Tenant A signed a two-year jeonse contract with a deposit of 200 million KRW with landlord B and paid a contract deposit of 40 million KRW. Later, landlord B found out that A was raising three pet dogs.

B said, "I did not know about the pets when signing the contract. If living with animals, I cannot hand over the house," and added, "If you do not provide the account number to receive the contract deposit, I will deposit the money in escrow."

A argued, "There is no special clause regarding pets in the lease contract," and claimed that unilateral cancellation of the contract was unfair. Then, A filed a lawsuit for damages, demanding an additional 40 million KRW on top of the existing 40 million KRW contract deposit due to contract cancellation liability.

B countered, "A's failure to notify in advance that they would move in with dogs, which affect the condition of the house, constitutes a breach of the contractual duty to notify, so there is no obligation to compensate damages."

The court ruled in favor of tenant A. The first trial awarded 5 million KRW in damages, and the second trial recognized 12 million KRW in damages (Seoul Central District Court 2017Na63995).

The court judged that A did not violate the duty to notify. This was because ▲ there was no mention of pet dogs at all in the lease contract, ▲ B did not notify at the time of the lease contract that "not raising pet dogs is a condition of this lease contract," ▲ socially, raising pet dogs is not considered a problem even in apartment complexes, and ▲ all three dogs raised by the plaintiff were small breeds.

Therefore, the court ruled that "landlord B's unilateral refusal to hand over the house and return the contract deposit constitutes a breach of the lease contract."

However, the court considered A's claim for 40 million KRW in damages excessive. Since landlord B's refusal to hand over the house was not for monetary gain, and A did not cause substantial damage, only 5 million KRW was recognized in the first trial, and 12 million KRW was ordered in the second trial considering litigation costs.

Considering this, a person raising pets does not need to notify in advance that they have pets when signing a lease contract.

However, if conflicts arise over pets in the future, the time, emotional, and material costs between tenant and landlord can be considerable. In the worst case, there is a possibility of being evicted for secretly raising pet dogs.

Article 6-3 of the amended Housing Lease Protection Act, effective from August last year, lists reasons for landlords to refuse contract renewal. These include ▲ cases where the tenant intentionally or through gross negligence damages all or part of the leased house, and ▲ other cases where the tenant significantly violates tenant obligations or there are serious reasons making continuation of the lease difficult. If pets damage wallpaper or flooring, landlords can refuse contract renewal based on these provisions, which may disadvantage tenants.

Therefore, even though there is no legal duty to notify, tenants are better off informing landlords in advance that they have pets when signing the contract. It is also advisable to carefully check whether there are any unfavorable clauses related to pet cohabitation.

At the same time, landlords should anticipate pet-related issues when signing contracts. It is important to include special clauses and compensation methods related to pets in as much detail as possible in the contract. If the contract includes a clause stating "pet cohabitation is not allowed," landlords will be in a much stronger legal position if cases like this recur.

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