Even if the Jeonse house is sold through auction or public sale, the 'Jeonse deposit is refunded before national taxes'

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] Starting as early as next year, even if a tenant's residence is auctioned or publicly sold, the landlord will be able to recover the jeonse deposit before unpaid national taxes such as comprehensive real estate tax.

Additionally, after the tenant signs the jeonse contract, they will be able to check the landlord's unpaid national tax amounts without the landlord's consent.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced follow-up measures in the national tax sector on the 28th regarding the "Jeonse Fraud Prevention Measures," which is an extension of the government's jeonse fraud damage prevention plan released on the 1st of this month.

The government decided to make an exception to the principle of priority repayment of current taxes applied at the auction and public sale stages for jeonse deposits.

Under current regulations, even if the statutory due date for taxes such as comprehensive real estate tax and inheritance and gift tax is later than the confirmed date of the leasehold right, the principle is that these taxes are repaid before the tenant's deposit during auction or public sale.

Currently, when a residence is auctioned or publicly sold, national taxes are paid first, and the remaining money is used to refund the jeonse deposit, which often results in tenants not receiving the full amount of their deposit.

Therefore, the government improved the system so that the amount of current taxes scheduled for distribution, established after the confirmed date of the leasehold right during auction or public sale, will be prioritized for the tenant's housing lease deposit. This means the jeonse deposit will be refunded first, then national taxes will be collected. The exception to the priority principle for current taxes does not apply to other rights such as mortgages.

When the landlord changes, the priority principle for national taxes will also be clearly defined. If the current jeonse house is sold to a new landlord and the landlord has unpaid national taxes, the priority principle for national taxes will only apply within the limit of the previous landlord's unpaid national tax amount.

The tenant's right to inspect the landlord's unpaid national taxes will be strengthened. Starting next year, from the date of the housing lease contract to the start of the lease, tenants will be able to inspect unpaid taxes without the landlord's consent. Since unpaid taxes have a higher repayment priority than the jeonse deposit, this is an important matter for tenants looking for a house. Previously, inspection of unpaid taxes was only possible if the landlord's consent was obtained before the contract.

Tenants can apply to the head of the tax office to inspect unpaid taxes by bringing the lease contract. The tax office will notify the landlord of the inspection.

For national taxes, unpaid taxes can be inspected not only at the tax office with jurisdiction over the location but also at tax offices nationwide. However, this applies only to tenants whose deposit exceeds a certain amount (20 million KRW).

The government plans to submit amendments to the Framework Act on National Taxes and the National Tax Collection Act to the National Assembly through legislative proposals by lawmakers next month. The new regulations are expected to be implemented as early as January next year.

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