Implied Renewal vs Renewal Request: 5% and One Use

If neither landlord nor tenant says anything by two months before expiry, a Korean housing lease continues for another two years on exactly the same terms. The rent does not rise by a single won, and the tenant can then end the lease at any time, effective three months after notice reaches the landlord.

Two more years obtained through the statutory renewal request is a different product. Rent can be raised by up to 5%, and the right vanishes after a single use. On a 400 million won jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease), that is a 20 million won difference — decided by whether anyone sent a text message two months before the end.

The two mechanisms sound alike and produce similar outcomes, but they differ in how they arise, what they cost, and whether they are used up.

Two years gained in silence and two years gained by exercising a right are not worth the same.

Implied renewal happens when nobody speaks

The requirements, as summarized by Korea's Easy Law public legal information service, run to two lines. If the landlord gives no notice of refusal or changed terms between six months and two months before the lease ends, and the tenant likewise gives no such notice by two months before the end, the lease is deemed renewed on identical terms. The term of that renewal is two years.

The defining feature is that nothing has to be done. No new document, no seal, no broker commission — the lease simply continues. The exception is a tenant who has fallen behind by an amount equal to two periods' rent or who has seriously breached tenant obligations; implied renewal does not apply to them.

Because the terms are identical, the opposability secured through a move-in report and fixed date carries over intact. The timing of when that protection begins is covered separately in the one-day gap in move-in report protection.

Only the renewal request gets used up

The contract renewal request is a separate right under Article 6-3 of the Housing Lease Protection Act. A tenant may demand renewal between six months and two months before the lease ends; the right may be exercised only once; and the renewed lease runs for two years. Rent increases are capped at 5% by reference to Article 7.

The once-only limit attaches to the Article 6-3 right alone. The implied renewal provision carries no cap on how many times it can occur.

Fixing an expiry date of 31 March 2027 and mapping both routes onto the calendar makes the contrast concrete.

There are nine legitimate grounds on which a landlord may refuse a renewal request: arrears equal to two periods' rent, obtaining the lease by false or improper means, an agreement to provide substantial compensation, subletting without consent, damage to the property through intent or gross negligence, destruction of the property, demolition or reconstruction, actual residence by the landlord or their lineal ascendants or descendants, and other serious breaches of obligation. The inclusion of owner-occupancy on that list is why the renewal request is not an absolute right.

Pay the 5%, or not

The financial gap between the two routes comes down to that single increase. Applying the 5% cap to jeonse, semi-jeonse and monthly rent gives the two-year cost below. Deposit increases are converted to interest at an assumed 4% jeonse loan rate.

On a 400 million won jeonse, buying two more years through the renewal request means adding 20 million won to the deposit, which costs about 1.6 million won in interest over two years if borrowed. Had nobody raised the subject by two months before expiry, the same two years would have cost nothing. How the 5% ceiling itself is calculated is covered in the 5% renewal cap explainer.

One less visible item sits on top. Using the renewal request consumes it, and the same card cannot be played at the next expiry. Two years rolled over by implied renewal costs nothing of the kind.

When to give notice to get the deposit back in three months

Leaving mid-term under an extended lease is governed by Article 6-2. The tenant may give notice of termination at any time, and it takes effect three months after the landlord receives it. The same provision applies to leases renewed through the renewal request.

What trips people up is that the clock starts on the day the landlord receives the notice, not the day it is sent. Counting three months from a phone call and then facing a landlord who denies receiving anything turns into a dispute. Sending notice in a form that leaves proof of delivery fixes the start date.

Work backwards from the moving date and the deadline appears. To move out on 30 September 2027, notice must reach the landlord by 30 June 2027; if the balance payment on the next home falls on 20 December 2027, the deadline is 20 September. Signing the next lease first and giving notice late creates a stretch where two housing costs overlap.

There is no mirror right on the landlord's side. Whether the extension came by implied renewal or by renewal request, a landlord cannot terminate early at will. The three-month buffer exists to give the landlord time to find the next tenant, not to hand them the same termination right.

What to check

• The date two months before expiry — once it passes, implied renewal is settled. For a 31 March expiry, 31 January is the turning point.
• The form and date of any landlord notice — only a refusal or change-of-terms notice delivered between six and two months before expiry blocks implied renewal. Anything outside that window fails the requirement.
• Whether the renewal request has already been used — if it has, implied renewal is the only remaining route at the next expiry.
• Proof that termination notice was received — the three months run from receipt, not from sending.
• The landlord's occupancy plans — actual residence by the landlord or their lineal relatives is one of the nine grounds for refusal.
• Rent arrears — arrears equal to two periods' rent block both implied renewal and the renewal request.

References

• Easy Law — Implied renewal of a housing lease
• Easy Law — Renewal of a housing lease contract