Writing a Housing Lease Renewal or Extension Contract — Renewal Request Deadline and 5% Increase Cap

Procedure

1. 1. Check the expiry date and how the lease is renewed

   Calculate the period from 6 months to 2 months before the expiry date in the existing contract. If the landlord gives no notice of refusal or changed terms in this period, the lease is deemed renewed on the same terms (implied renewal) with a term of 2 years (Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 6).

2. 2. Decide whether the renewal request right is used

   If the tenant requests renewal within the period, the landlord cannot refuse without a statutory ground such as rent arrears of 2 periods, unauthorized subletting, or actual residence by the landlord or the landlord's lineal ascendants or descendants (Article 6-3, Paragraph 1). Since the right can be used only once, state clearly in the contract whether it is being used for this renewal (Paragraph 2 of the same Article).

3. 3. Check the range for adjusting the deposit and rent

   A renewed lease is in principle on the same terms as before, and the rent and deposit may be adjusted within the range of Article 7 (Article 6-3, Paragraph 3). An increase cannot exceed 1/20 of the agreed amount and cannot be claimed within 1 year after the contract or the last increase (Article 7; Enforcement Decree, Article 8). Also check whether the city or province has set a lower cap by ordinance.

4. 4. Draft the renewal contract

   Prepare the renewal contract covering the parties, the property, the renewed term, deposit and rent, whether the renewal request right was used, and special terms. If the amount changes, recording both the previous and new amounts provides a basis when the increase limit is checked later.

5. 5. Check whether the lease must be reported

   A lease with a deposit over 60,000,000 won or monthly rent over 300,000 won must be jointly reported to the local reporting authority within 30 days from signing (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 6-2). A renewal that only extends the term without changing the deposit or rent is excluded (Enforcement Decree, Article 4-3, Paragraph 1).

Required documents

• No submission form (the renewal contract is a contract document drafted by the parties)
• Original or copy of the existing housing lease contract
• Copies of the landlord's and tenant's ID cards
• Certificate of real estate registration (to confirm the owner)
• Records of renewal request or refusal notices (text messages, certified mail, etc.)
• Details of deposit and rent changes (if increased)
• Housing lease contract report form (statutory form under the Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, if reportable)

Fees

Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the special terms and whether lease reporting is included; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 6
• Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 6-2
• Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 6-3
• Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 7
• Enforcement Decree of the Housing Lease Protection Act, Article 8
• Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 6-2
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 4-3

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-21

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• The renewal request right can be used only 1 time, so if the contract does not state whether it is an agreed renewal or an exercise of the right, a dispute may arise at the next expiry.
• A renewal with a changed amount must be reported within 30 days from signing if it exceeds the reporting threshold.

Frequently asked questions