"Keep Your Pet Dog Secretly"... Is It Possible to Claim Compensation from a Licensed Realtor?

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Seoyul] Mr. Lee (25) went around real estate agencies last August looking for a house to live in with his pet dog. He found a condominium he liked, but hesitated to move in because the special terms included a clause prohibiting pet ownership. However, the agent in charge of the property told him, "You don't need to worry about it," and added, "The landlord rarely comes by, so if you keep the pet secretly, it should be fine." Eventually, Mr. Lee signed the contract.

However, it turned out that the landlord was directly managing the condominium and found out that Mr. Lee was living there with his dog. As a result, Mr. Lee had no choice but to find another place. When he called the agent who handled the contract to complain, the agent avoided responsibility, saying, "The landlord probably just came and went a couple of times to the management office downstairs." Mr. Lee, who had to move out before the contract ended, is now burdened with paying the brokerage fee. He said, "I trusted the agent and signed the contract, but this situation is absurd."

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Getty Images Bank

As the number of households raising pets (pet households) increases, more tenants like Mr. Lee are looking for rental homes where they can live with their pets. Tenants have no choice but to rely on agents when signing lease contracts, but if they trust the agent's word and secretly bring pets into the home, both the landlord and the agent may end up in conflict.

According to the real estate brokerage industry on the 17th, there is a generally negative perception among landlords about tenants keeping pets during lease contracts. The head of a real estate agency in the Sillim-dong area said, "Nine out of ten landlords specify pet-related clauses in the special terms." These clauses mainly state "No pet ownership allowed" or "If living with pets, the tenant must restore the property to its original condition upon moving out."

Because landlords often dislike tenants living with pets, there are cases like Mr. Lee's where agents push to finalize contracts despite the restrictions. They try to persuade tenants by saying, "As long as you don't get caught, it will be fine." In fact, when the reporter interviewed 10 agencies, most clearly informed that tenants could be forced to move out early if they secretly kept pets. However, two agencies said they would try to find places where tenants could keep pets secretly. One of these even reassured, "It should be okay if the dog doesn't bark or is old."

However, if tenants bring pets secretly without the landlord's consent based solely on the agent's word, it can work against them if discovered later. Especially if the contract's special terms explicitly prohibit pet ownership and specify the consequences of violating this, tenants are considered aware of these terms and can be held responsible.

On the other hand, tenants can claim damages from agents who failed to properly explain the terms in order to push the contract through. Lawyer Kim Namgeun of the law firm Wemin said, "Real estate agents have a duty to explain the property," adding, "Whether pets are allowed is not the property itself but an important condition, so if the agent fails to inform properly and the tenant suffers damages, the agent can be liable for compensation." Lawyer Jeong Byeongju of the law office Naun said, "If the tenant's damages are 100, since the tenant was also aware of the terms, the agent cannot be held 100% responsible," but added, "If false information was given during the lease process, the agent can be held responsible for about 70 to 80%."

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