"Grace Period for Actual Residency" Extended Again... Will Transactions of "Houses with Tenants" Increase?

[Anchor]

The government has announced a one-year extension, through the end of next year, of the system that defers the actual residency requirement when a buyer purchases a house with a tenant currently living in it. If the timing is right, buyers will also be allowed to renew the lease with the current tenant and move in for actual residency two years later.

Reporter Lee Seong-hoon has the details.

[Reporter]

An apartment complex in Gangnam, Seoul.

Recently, a multiple-homeowner gave up on trying to sell a 59㎡ apartment.

Buyers purchasing a home in a land transaction permission zone are, in principle, required to move in within four months. However, there were circumstances where the tenant could not move out.

The landlord even offered tens of millions of won in moving expenses, but eventually withdrew the listing.

[Real Estate Agent in Gangnam-gu, Seoul: If there is one year or two years left on the tenant's lease, buyers simply cannot meet that requirement. So, there were many owners who gave up on the transactions altogether.]

To ease these transaction restrictions, the government had previously allowed actual residency to be postponed until the end of this year if the lease period remained. Now, the government has extended this grace period by one year through the end of next year.

It was also decided to recognize cases where tenants renew their contracts once, for up to another two years.

Based on the implementation date of October 1, actual residency can be postponed for a maximum of 3 years and 3 months when combining the existing contract and the renewed contract.

This follows criticism that housing sales could emerge as tax burdens continue to grow next year and the year after due to the August 3 tax policy revisions, and that transactions should not be blocked by mandatory actual residency requirements.

Previously, the ruling party also suggested that an additional grace period for actual residency is necessary to secure tenant housing stability and stabilize the jeonse and monthly rent markets.

[Kim Kyu-jung, Real Estate Specialist Advisor, Korea Investment & Securities: There is a possibility that moves to sell due to tax pressure may increase slightly compared to now. Since gap investing approaching nearly three years effectively becomes possible, the original meaning of actual residency obligations through land transaction permission zones may be somewhat diluted.]

However, it is difficult for real demand buyers to actively purchase houses where they have to wait more than a year to move in, and other restrictive factors such as loan regulations and high housing prices remain. Therefore, transactions are not expected to surge immediately.

(Video Editing: Nam Il, VJ: Jeong Han-uk)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.