[Ryu Taemin's Real Estate A to Z] Is It Okay to Rent a Jeonse in a Co-owned House?

More Than Half of Shares Must Agree to Conclude Contract
If Spouses Own Half Each, Verify Spouse's Power of Attorney
Contract Termination Requires Consent of All Owners

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] When looking for a new jeonse house, there are often cases where tenants feel uneasy because there are multiple landlords. This usually happens when a married couple jointly owns a house or when the original owner has passed away and the ownership shares are divided among the spouse and children. So, is it okay for tenants to sign a jeonse contract in such cases?

First, before signing the contract, you should check the ownership share of the landlord you intend to contract with through the certified copy of the register. According to Article 264 of the Civil Act, the disposal or alteration of shared property requires the consent of the other co-owners. Article 265 also states that the management of shared property is decided by the majority of the co-owners' shares. In other words, to sign a lease contract, consent from more than half of the owners is required.

If the contracting party holds a majority share, there is no problem in concluding the contract. However, caution is needed when a married couple owns exactly half of the shares each. In this case, if the contract is signed with only one spouse, the contract cannot be considered complete. Since the consent does not exceed half of the shares, the legal effect of the lease under the Housing Lease Protection Act or the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act is lost. Therefore, the tenant may not be able to claim tenant's priority rights, the right to the highest priority repayment, or the priority right of confirmed date.

For this reason, if the contract is signed with only one person, it is essential to verify whether a power of attorney and a certificate of seal impression have been obtained from the spouse or other co-owners to grant proxy authority. It is even more reliable to confirm directly by phone with the co-owners who could not attend.

However, while the lease contract can be concluded with the consent of the majority, terminating the contract requires the intention of all co-owners, so caution is necessary. Article 547, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Act stipulates that if there are multiple lessors, the termination or cancellation of the contract requires the expression of intention to terminate the contract by all co-lessors.

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