Buying a house after exercising tenant contract renewal rights...If you live, you can refuse

Buying a house after exercising tenant contract renewal rights...If you live, you can refuse

The Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the right to refuse contract renewal under the New Lease Protection Act in 2020

 

 

Can the new owner, who bought the house after the tenant demanded the renewal of the lease, refuse the request for renewal on the grounds of his actual residence? The Supreme Court explicitly judged that it could be "rejected" to the issue, which was more confusing due to conflicting judgments in lower courts.

According to the legal circles on the 19th, the Supreme Court's third division (chief judge Roh Jung-hee) sent the case back to the Seoul Central District Court, breaking the original ruling that A, the new landlord, lost the building delivery lawsuit against tenant B.

B asked the landlord to renew the lease contract on October 16, 2020, before the end of the lease period, and the ownership transfer registration was made on October 30, two weeks after the house was sold to A.

A notified that he would not renew in November of the same year, when he could refuse to renew, but B refused to leave, saying he could not accept it, leading to a lawsuit.

According to the Housing Lease Protection Act, even if a tenant requests a contract renewal, the tenant can refuse the renewal if the lessor has the purpose of living directly. However, the lower court has been divided over whether the right to refuse should be recognized if the lessor is changed in the situation where the contract has already been renewed.

In this case, the first trial ruled in favor of A, but the second trial ruled in favor of B, saying, "We cannot refuse the request for contract renewal because the plaintiff was not an apartment landlord at the time the defendant demanded contract renewal."

The Supreme Court reversed its judgment, saying, "If a person who succeeds to the landlord's position actually wants to live in a house, it should be considered that he or she can refuse to renew the contract for the purpose of living."

In the proviso to the Housing Lease Protection Act (Article 6-3 (1) 8), which stipulates that a lessor can refuse to renew if it is for the purpose of living, it cannot be interpreted by limiting "the lessor" to the lessor at the time of the request for renewal.

A Supreme Court official said, "It explicitly established the legal principle that a person who succeeds to the landlord's status can exercise the right to refuse renewal separately from the previous landlord," adding, "It is the first ruling of the Supreme Court regarding the right to request and reject contract renewal established in 2020."

The official said, "Whether the rejection of the renewal for the reason of real residence is justified should be judged based on whether it was made during the legitimate period (6 to 2 months before the end of the lease) under the Housing Lease Protection Act," adding, "This is the same even if the landlord changes."