Can Foreign Nationals Also Be Protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act?

As the number of foreign tenants has significantly increased in recent days, confusion in the market regarding whether the Housing Lease Protection Act also applies to foreign nationals.

According to official numbers, 13,398 foreign tenants were granted a fixed date by the city of Seoul by August last year. The number is about 5.4 times greater compared to 2021 and 30 times greater than 2019 in the same period.

The rapid increase in the number of foreign tenants appears to be partially due to the impact of the rent reporting system that took effect in June 2021. The rent reporting system is one of the “Three Lease Acts” passed on July 31, 2020. A foreign lessee can be subject to the Housing Lease Protection Act if he/she has taken over the house and reported a change of residence. However, according to Article 88 subparagraph 2 of the Immigration Act, even a foreign tenant can be protected under the Housing Lease Protection Act if the tenant has signed a contract for the house and reported a change of residence to the relevant authority.

In addition, if a foreign tenant has been granted the fixed date and has reported a change of residence, then the tenant could also acquire the preferential rights to payment. The preferential rights to payment are the right of the lessee or the tenant to be paid first for the deposit under the Housing Lease Protection Act. If the leased house is put up for auction or public sale, the preferential rights to payment allow you to keep your deposit by receiving dividends from the amount of the successful bid before other subordinated right holders.

This also applies to overseas Korean nationals residing in Korea. If a person has both Korean nationality and foreign permanent residency, then the person shall report to the head of the regional immigration service in order to be protected under the Housing Lease Protection Act in Korea. In addition, if a fixed date is received along with a report of a change of domestic address, the preferential rights to payment can be acquired.

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