Seoul City Publishes 'Tenant Guidelines' Casebook for Commercial Lease Disputes

Structured in a Question and Answer Format

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 21st that it has published the "2023 Commercial Lease Consultation Casebook," which clearly explains the key points that landlords and tenants need to know during the lease process, such as the commercial lease period, key money recovery, and rent adjustment, as well as common types of disputes.

This casebook features 133 representative cases selected from a total of 12,822 cases handled by the Seoul Commercial Lease Consultation Center throughout this year (as of last month), organized in a question-and-answer format like actual consultations to make it easy for anyone to understand.

The city added that the purpose of publishing this casebook is to help landlords and tenants familiarize themselves with commercial lease-related laws so they can respond quickly to similar disputes, and to enable tenants, who are inevitably the weaker party in the lease market, to protect their rights and avoid unfair treatment.

The types introduced in the casebook include ▲Application of the Commercial Lease Act (20 cases) ▲Contract termination (24 cases) ▲Lease period (22 cases) ▲Rent (21 cases) ▲Key money (23 cases) ▲Repair and maintenance fees (10 cases) ▲Restoration to original condition (5 cases) ▲Brokerage fees (8 cases), focusing on contents necessary for actual lease contract conclusion and maintenance.

In particular, the two types that frequently prompted consultations from landlords and tenants, "monthly rent reduction" and "illegal extension," were produced as 4-panel comics to make them easy for all citizens to understand.

The "2023 Commercial Lease Consultation Casebook" is distributed free of charge at the Seoul Commercial Lease Consultation Center located on Seosomun-ro, Jung-gu, and can be accessed in e-book format at the Seoul Library and Seoul City e-book platforms.

Meanwhile, Seoul is strengthening efforts to create a fair lease market through the operation of the "Commercial Lease Consultation Center," which provides consultations on lease contracts and related laws, as well as the "Seoul Commercial Building Lease Dispute Mediation Committee," which helps resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.

Gang Nam-tae, Head of the Small Business Division of Seoul City, said, "The Commercial Lease Consultation Casebook will serve as a guide to minimize tenant damages caused by incorrect interpretations of the Commercial Lease Act and transaction practices that deviate from current laws, and to help tenants protect their rights on their own," adding, "We will contribute to creating a fair lease market by providing accurate information related to commercial leases."

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