First-time homeowners who buy homes occupied by tenants will also be allowed to defer the mandatory requirement to move in and live there in land transaction permit zones.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport submitted a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act to a vice-ministerial meeting on the 22nd. After a Cabinet meeting on the 26th, it will be promulgated on the 29th and take effect that same day.
Under the land transaction permit system, anyone who buys a house in a designated zone is, in principle, required to move in and live there within a certain period. Until now, that rule has applied even when a tenant was already living in the property, often forcing buyers to move in ahead of schedule even if the lease term had not yet ended.
The revision eases that burden. It is a follow-up measure that incorporates into the law the policy announced on the 12th to expand the deferment of real-residence requirements to all homes with tenants, and the eligibility requirements are the same as those announced at the time.
To receive the deferment, a land transaction permit application must be filed by December 31 of this year.
The requirements apply to both seller and buyer. The seller must be someone who, as of May 12, owned a home that was either being rented or had a leasehold right established on it. The buyer is limited to a household that has remained without a home since May 12.
Once permission is granted, the buyer must acquire the property and complete registration within four months. The period during which move-in can be postponed lasts until the original expiration date of the lease contract already in place on May 12. Even so, the buyer must move in by May 11, 2028 at the latest.
Sellers and buyers seeking to apply the deferment in a transaction involving a home with a tenant may file for a land transaction permit with the relevant local authority from the 29th.
The reason for revising the system is a matter of fairness. The earlier deferment measure, which took effect on February 12, applied only to some multiple-homeowners, drawing criticism that similarly situated transactions involving tenant-occupied homes were excluded from the benefit.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-duk said, “Since the February 12 measure applied only to some multiple-homeowners, there was a fairness issue, and this is intended to resolve it,” adding, “We are implementing the real-residence deferment under the principle of not allowing gap investments.”
He added, “As with the February 12 measure, we are maintaining policy consistency by limiting buyers to first-time homeowners and setting the deferment period to a maximum of two years from the announcement date.”