[News Terms] Aftermath of Jeonse Fraud, Surge in 'Imchagwon Deunggi Myeongryeong'

The scale of damages caused by tenants not receiving their jeonse deposits on time is increasing, leading to a sharp rise in tenants applying for the ‘Imchakwon Deunggi Myeongryeong’ (Leasehold Registration Order).

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The Imchakwon Deunggi Myeongryeong is a system designed to maintain the tenant’s rights of opposition and priority repayment when moving out in situations where it is difficult to recover the jeonse deposit.

According to the Housing Lease Protection Act, tenants need to have actual residence in the leased house and a fixed date to recover their deposit. If a tenant moves out without receiving the deposit, it is not considered actual residence, and the priority repayment right is lost. In this case, if registration is made through the Imchakwon Deunggi Myeongryeong, the tenant can maintain the right to recover the deposit even after moving out without receiving it. The leasehold registration is a procedure that publicly announces the existence of the leasehold right in the registry based on a court decision.

The trial proceeds in a manner similar to provisional seizure. When a tenant applies to the court for leasehold registration, the right is registered through the court’s order. The decision on the leasehold registration order is delivered to the landlord, and the tenant can execute the leasehold registration even before the landlord receives the order. Also, the landlord’s obligation to return the tenant’s deposit takes precedence over the tenant’s obligation to cancel the leasehold registration.

It should be noted that new tenants moving into a property already registered with a leasehold right by a previous tenant are not entitled to priority repayment even if their deposit is small. This is intended to prevent unexpected losses that the tenant who first registered the leasehold right might suffer due to the exercise of priority repayment rights by small-amount tenants after the leasehold registration.

The Imchakwon Deunggi Myeongryeong is also stipulated for commercial lease contracts under the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act. The content and procedures are similar to those for residential leasehold registration orders.

Meanwhile, according to the Supreme Court’s Registry Information Plaza, the number of applications for Imchakwon Deunggi Myeongryeong nationwide (based on collective buildings) from January to April this year was 17,917, a 58.0% increase compared to 11,339 during the same period last year.

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