Owner-Occupancy Duty Under a Land Transaction Permit — Opinion Statements Before an Enforcement Order and Charges for Compelling Compliance

Procedure

1. 1. Confirm the permitted purpose and duty period

   Check the permitted purpose and acquisition date on the permit and the land use plan. Purposes under Article 12, Subparagraph 1, Items (a) through (c) of the Act, such as a home for one's own residence, carry a duty period of 2 years from acquisition, and most other cases carry 5 years (Enforcement Decree, Article 14(2)). After the duty period ends, no charge can be imposed (Act, Article 18(4)).

2. 2. Check whether an exception applies

   Emigration, military service, natural disasters, public projects and other causes not attributable to you, a change of purpose approved by the permitting authority, and renting part of a home you actually live in are not treated as violations (Enforcement Decree, Article 14(1)). Other unavoidable reasons require recognition by the city, county or district urban planning committee.

3. 3. Prepare an opinion statement and explanatory statement at the inspection or prior notice

   If an order is planned after the inspection, you receive prior notice and an opportunity to submit opinions before the disposition (Administrative Procedures Act, Articles 21 and 22). We arrange the move-in and residence dates, evidence of actual residence, the reasons you could not live there and your compliance plan in date order, prepare the opinion statement and explanatory statement, and submit them on your behalf.

4. 4. Comply within the period if an order is issued

   The order is issued in writing with a compliance period of no more than 3 months (Enforcement Decree, Article 16(1)). Once you comply, for example by moving in and living there, new charges stop immediately, but charges already imposed before compliance are still collected (Act, Article 18(5)).

5. 5. File an objection if a charge is imposed

   The permitting authority must give written warning before imposing a charge, and the imposition notice must state the amount, reason, payment deadline and objection method (Enforcement Decree, Article 16(5) and (6)). To contest the charge, file an objection with the mayor, county head or district head within 30 days of being notified (Act, Article 18(6); Enforcement Decree, Article 16(7)).

Required documents

• Opinion statement (under the Administrative Procedures Act; use the form in the prior notice if one is provided)
• Explanatory statement (circumstances of residence and exception grounds; no statutory form)
• Copies of the land transaction contract permit and land use plan
• Abstract of resident registration (move-in and residence history)
• Evidence of actual residence (utility and maintenance bills, mail, commuting records, etc.)
• Evidence of exception grounds (emigration, military service, disaster or public project documents, scope of rental, etc.)
• Letter of authorization (when an administrative agent prepares and submits on your behalf)

Fees

Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the scope of evidence for exceptions and whether an objection is also handled; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 17
• Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 18
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 14
• Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 16
• Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 18
• Administrative Procedures Act, Article 21
• Administrative Procedures Act, Article 22

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-20

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 compliance period of an order is no more than 3 months, so plan your move-in and residence as soon as you receive it.
• The objection deadline is 30 days from notification of the charge, so first confirm the date you received the notice.

Frequently asked questions