Hello everyone. With the moving season approaching, I wanted to drop a quick guide on a Korean housing law that many expats (and even some young Koreans) completely miss out on.
If you live in an apartment or a moderately sized officetel, check your monthly maintenance bill (관리비). You will likely see a charge called 장기수선충당금 (Long-term Maintenance Fee / Sinking Fund).
What is it? This is a fund collected for major future building repairs (painting the exterior, fixing elevators, pipe replacements).
The Legal Catch: Under the Korean Housing Act, this fee is 100% the landlord’s financial responsibility, because it increases the value of their property. However, for administrative convenience, the building management bills it to the tenant living there every month.
Because of this, the law dictates that the landlord MUST refund the entire accumulated amount to the tenant at the end of the lease. If you’ve lived in your place for 1-2 years, this easily amounts to 500,000 KRW to over 1,000,000 KRW.
The Reality: Most landlords will never bring this up first. They rely on the fact that tenants won’t know about it or that the language barrier will prevent expats from asking.
How to claim your money:
- Before your move-out day, visit your building’s management office (관리사무소).
- Ask them for the “장기수선충당금 납부 확인서” (Confirmation of Sinking Fund Payment) for your specific residency period.
- Send this document to your landlord and kindly request they add this total to your returning housing deposit (보증금).
Need help? Arguing with landlords in Korean or getting the exact legal wording right can be incredibly stressful. I’ve seen too many people give up on their money. Because of this, I’m currently putting together a simple automated calculator that reads your fee and generates a polite but firm legal Korean text message you can just copy-paste to your landlord.
If anyone is moving soon and wants to use it, or if you just need help figuring out what to say to your landlord, drop a comment or DM me! Has anyone else here successfully claimed theirs?
submitted by /u/Sad-Foundation5751
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