South Korea mandates reporting of rental management and option fees

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced amendments to the enforcement decree and rules of the Special Act on Private Rental Housing. The changes require private landlords to disclose the amounts and calculation methods of management fees and optional service charges when filing lease‑contract reports, extending the current reporting scope beyond lease term, rent, loan amount and tenant details.

The reform aims to curb practices that inflate rents through “option‑fee” schemes for appliances, furnishings or built‑in cabinets. It also grants provincial and metropolitan governments authority to set rent‑increase limits for complexes with 100 or more units, mandates public online posting of lease conditions, and obliges landlords to comply with tenant‑requested accounting audits. Fines for minor reporting violations are reduced, with the first‑offense penalty cut from 5 million won to 3 million won.

The government opened the amendment for public comment from 14 May to 24 August, signalling a push for greater transparency and tenant protection in the private rental market.