Every month's apartment management fee bill carries two line items with entirely different natures sitting side by side: the long-term repair reserve fund (janggi-suseon-chungdanggeum) and the maintenance and repair fee (suseon-yujibi). The names sound similar, but one is the owner's money being paid by the tenant on their behalf — and can be fully claimed back at move-out — while the other belongs to whoever is living in the unit, with no refund. The longer you live there, the larger the amount paid on the owner's behalf accumulates. It is money that walks out the door if you do not claim it. Based on publicly available legal information and news reporting, here are the differences and the settlement procedure.
Same Bill, Different Nature — Starting with the Definitions
Based on Asia Economy's management fee explainer, the long-term repair reserve is an accumulation fund held in reserve for major facility replacements and repairs — elevators, pipework, exterior painting. A full elevator replacement comes out of this fund. The maintenance and repair fee, by contrast, covers the cost of everyday upkeep of common areas — corridor light bulb replacements, shared heating/cooling system cleaning, water quality inspections, and similar small expenditures. Funds saved up in anticipation of large future works, versus funds spent right now — this distinction determines who bears the cost and whether a refund is due.
The reason the long-term repair reserve is an "accumulation" is the scale of the outlays. Elevator replacement or full pipework overhaul is work that cannot be covered by a single year's management fees, so the law requires drawing up a long-term repair plan and collecting contributions in advance. The logic for the owner bearing the cost is the same — the ultimate beneficiary of expenditures that extend the building's lifespan and preserve its value is not the resident but the owner. The maintenance and repair fee, conversely, is the cost of the convenience enjoyed by whoever is living there, so it is settled as an expense of the current occupant — whether tenant or owner, the person currently living there pays and that is the end of it.
| Item | Purpose | Who Bears It | Refund at Move-Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term repair reserve | Accumulated reserve for major facility replacement and repair (elevator, pipework, exterior paint) | Owner | Tenant who paid on owner's behalf may claim full refund |
| Maintenance and repair fee | Everyday upkeep and maintenance (light bulbs, cleaning, water testing) | Current occupant | No refund |
The same reporting notes that this item is also a legal obligation. Multi-unit residential buildings with 300 units or more, or buildings with elevators, are required to accumulate the long-term repair reserve, with a fine of up to 500,000 KRW for violations.
Legal Burden Allocation — The Basis for Claiming a Refund
According to the Ministry of Government Legislation's EasyLaw, the obligation to pay the long-term repair reserve rests with the owner of the multi-unit residential building (Multi-Unit Residential Building Management Act, Article 30). In practice, however, it is common for tenants to pay it together with their management fees under building management rules. That is why Article 31(8) of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act provides a settlement mechanism — the long-term repair reserve paid by the tenant on the owner's behalf may be claimed back from the owner at the end of the lease. Applicable buildings include apartments with 300 or more units, apartments with elevators, and apartments with centralized heating systems.
Even where the management rules stipulate that the tenant makes the payment, the law's principle that the ultimate bearer is the owner does not change. The collection method — bundled with management fees — and who that money ultimately belongs to are separate questions, and the enforcement decree's refund provision is precisely the device that bridges that gap.
The long-term repair reserve is the owner's money that the tenant is temporarily holding and paying on their behalf — the law has established the right to get it back, but the claim is the tenant's job.
The Move-Out Refund Procedure — One Payment Certificate
The settlement starts at the management office. Before moving out, obtain a payment certificate (napbu-hwakinseo) from the management office showing the long-term repair reserve amounts paid during your residency — that figure is the amount you can claim. The settlement is typically done on the day the deposit is returned, together with the landlord, and to avoid disputes over the amount it is smoother to obtain the certificate in advance and share it with the landlord. The amount eligible for claim is, as EasyLaw specifies, the full amount paid by the tenant during the period of use and enjoyment of the unit. The management office retains per-unit payment records, so obtaining the certificate is not difficult in itself, but leaving the settlement until moving day itself is risky — it is easy for it to become entangled with the deposit return. Once your move-out date is set, the safer approach is to confirm the total amount in advance. If the contract contains a special clause regarding the long-term repair reserve, the settlement method may differ — it is worth checking at the contract stage whether such a clause exists.
There is one more item that is easy to confuse. Based on the Asia Economy explainer, the advance management fee deposit (seonsu-gwanlibi) — the management fee escrow paid upfront upon moving in — is a settlement item between owners, not tenants, and is claimed from the buyer when the unit is sold. What a tenant recovers at move-out narrows down to just the long-term repair reserve.
Checklist
If you have a jeonse or monthly rent contract and a move-out coming up, check the items below in order.
- Whether your apartment is subject to the mandatory accumulation requirement — applies if it has 300 or more units, an elevator, or centralized heating
- Whether the management fee bill separates the long-term repair reserve and maintenance fee — this is the basis for the amount you can recover
- Before moving out, obtain a payment certificate from the management office — confirms the total amount paid over your entire residency
- Check the contract for special clauses — if there is a separate agreement regarding the long-term repair reserve, the settlement method may differ
- Settle on the deposit return date — the legal pathway is to claim from the owner at the time of lease termination
- For officetels or small villas that may not be subject to the mandatory requirement — check whether the item appears on the bill, as treatment varies based on management rules and contract terms
