Korea's lease renewal right and tacit renewal explained

What the lease renewal right is

The lease renewal request right lets a tenant renting a home in Korea ask the landlord, near the end of the lease, to extend it once more. It was created by a July 2020 amendment to the Housing Lease Protection Act and is often called the renewal claim right. Exercised within the set window, it cannot be refused unless the landlord has a ground the law lists, and the lease is extended by two years. It can be used only once during the tenancy, so an initial two-year lease plus a two-year renewal usually secures around four years of residence. The renewed lease generally keeps the same terms, though rent and deposit can be adjusted within a limit. It covers residential leases under the Act, whether jeonse (a large lump-sum deposit and no monthly rent), wolse (monthly rent) or a mix. This article covers how to use the right, the increase cap, refusal grounds, and how it differs from tacit renewal, where the lease continues because nobody says anything.

When and how to make the request

The request must be made between six months and two months before the lease ends. If you ask later than two months before the end, it is hard to have it recognised as an exercise of the right. So the first step is to count back from the end date in your contract and mark both dates in your calendar. There is no required form and a verbal request counts, but if a dispute arises you must prove when you asked, so use a method that leaves a record. A common way is a text or messenger message with a screenshot showing it was read; if a dispute seems likely, you can use certified mail through the post office, which proves the content and delivery. State the property address, the lease period and clearly that you request renewal. If the landlord has changed, make the request to the new landlord. A date calculator helps avoid mistakes when counting from the end date.

• Request 6 to 2 months before the lease ends
• Any form works, but keep a record
• Save message screenshots; certified mail if disputed
• State the address, lease period and request clearly

Increases capped at 5%, lower if local rules say so

On renewal, a landlord may not raise rent or deposit by more than 5% of the previous amount. This is the ceiling set by the Act, and metropolitan cities and provinces can set a lower rate by ordinance, so check your local government's guidance for a separate rate. Five per cent is a maximum, not a required rise: you can agree on no increase or a smaller one, and if market rents have fallen you can ask for a reduction. Where a lease has both a deposit and monthly rent and both are adjusted, one is converted into the other so the rate can be judged on a single basis. The conversion rate used for this also has a legal ceiling, so a jeonse-wolse conversion calculator is handy. After an increase, a further increase cannot be demanded within one year.

Ending a renewed lease, and tacit renewal

In a lease extended by the renewal right, the tenant can give notice to end it at any time without completing the two years, and it ends three months after the landlord receives the notice. The landlord cannot end it at will during this period. Tacit renewal is a different mechanism. If the landlord gives no notice of refusal or changed terms between six and two months before the end, and the tenant none up to two months before the end, the lease is treated as renewed for two years on the same terms. Under tacit renewal the tenant can also give notice at any time, effective after three months. The key difference is that tacit renewal is not treated as using the renewal right. According to government guidance, the tenant's one-time right remains even after a tacit renewal. Whether you can use the right at the next expiry therefore depends on how the last renewal happened, so record the type each time.

Example: working out the 5% cap

The following uses hypothetical figures; if a local ordinance sets a lower rate, use that. First, jeonse. If you live with a KRW 300 million deposit and exercise the renewal right, the maximum rise is 5% of that, KRW 15 million, so the renewed deposit cannot exceed KRW 315 million. Next, raising only the rent. With a KRW 50 million deposit and KRW 1 million monthly rent, if the deposit stays the same and only the rent rises, the cap is KRW 1.05 million. If both deposit and rent change, convert the rent into a deposit equivalent and compare old and new totals on the same basis; the conversion rate used drives the result. For instance, if offered a lower deposit in exchange for higher rent, put both sets of terms into a jeonse-wolse conversion calculator, express them on the same basis, then check whether the change exceeds 5%. If the numbers are unclear, ask an official advice service before agreeing.

Common misconceptions

Several misconceptions surround the renewal right. First, 5% is a cap, not a mandatory rise. Second, thinking you can speak up any time is risky; after two months before the end, the window has passed. Third, the right does not vanish when the owner changes; a tenant with opposing power (the legal standing gained through move-in registration and occupancy) can make the request to the new landlord. Fourth, some think a tacit renewal used up the right; government guidance does not treat tacit renewal as an exercise of it. Fifth, some believe a renewed lease must run the full two years. The tenant can give notice at any time, effective after three months, though rent for those three months is still owed.

• 5% is a cap, not a required rise
• Miss the 2-month mark and the window closes
• A new owner must still honour the request
• Tacit renewal does not use up the right

Checklist before the lease ends

As expiry approaches, the following order reduces mistakes. First, find the end date in your contract and mark the dates six and two months before it. Next, if there was a previous renewal, find records showing whether it was an exercise of the right or a tacit renewal. Then check your local government's guidance for any ordinance lowering the increase cap. If you plan to stay, make the request within the window in a way that leaves a record, and if the landlord proposes a rise, calculate it against the previous amount. Once terms are settled, sign a renewal contract or record the agreement in writing; if the amount changed, check whether the lease must be reported and get a fixed date stamp (the date certification that ranks your deposit's priority). Remember that an increased deposit needs a new fixed date for the extra amount to keep its priority.

• Check the end date; mark 6 and 2 months before
• Find whether the last renewal used the right
• Check any local cap ordinance
• Request within the window with a record
• Document new terms; check reporting and fixed date

Common case 1: the landlord refuses, saying they will move in

A landlord may refuse only on grounds the law lists, the most common being that the landlord or their lineal ascendants or descendants, such as parents or children, will live there. The law also lists two months' rent arrears, renting by deceit or improper means, subletting without consent, serious damage through intent or gross negligence, agreed substantial compensation, and demolition or reconstruction disclosed in advance, among others. If the owner-occupation plan is genuine, the tenant must leave by the end date, but the refusal must also be communicated clearly within the window, so get the reason in writing. If a landlord refuses citing owner occupation and then, without good reason, lets the home to someone else within the renewal period, they must compensate the tenant, and the law sets formulas for the amount. To check after moving out, a scheme allows access to lease information such as the property's fixed-date records; who may view it is restricted, so check the requirements at a community service centre.

• Owner or close family moving in
• History of two months' rent arrears
• Unauthorised subletting; serious damage
• Agreed substantial compensation; disclosed redevelopment

Common case 2: no agreement on the rise or refusal

Talks can stall over whether a rise exceeds 5% or whether a refusal is justified. Rather than jumping to a lawsuit, you can first consider the Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee. It has branches at bodies such as the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and the Korea Real Estate Board, and in some local governments, and it mediates disputes over rent and deposit changes, renewals and deposit return at lower cost and in less time than court. A mediated settlement takes effect as agreed, but if the other side does not take part or no agreement is reached, you need to weigh other routes. Either way, preparation matters. Arranging the contract, the message or certified mail requesting renewal, the landlord's replies, the proposed increase and any local cap rate in date order lets you explain the facts quickly. Legal advice is also available from public services such as the Korea Legal Aid Corporation.

Limits and disclaimer

This article explains in general terms the renewal request right and tacit renewal under Korea's Housing Lease Protection Act; it is not legal advice on any individual case. The window (six to two months before the end), the one-time two-year extension, the 5% cap and the three-month notice reflect the statute as of 2026, while local ordinance rates, conversion rates, the detailed interpretation of refusal grounds and the calculation of damages vary by case and time and may change with amendments. Because rules can change, check the statute on the Korean Law Information Center of the Ministry of Government Legislation, official guidance from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Justice, and your local government. All example amounts are hypothetical. If a dispute arises, consider help from the Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee, the Korea Legal Aid Corporation or a lawyer. Pressure to transfer money quickly in lease-related messages may be a scam, so always confirm the account holder is the landlord.