Proposal on the unfair terms in lease agreement
Description
Korea and the U.S. have different types of lease systems, but both have some unfair terms in their lease agreements. A tenant cannot renew or make a successive a residential lease agreement once the agreement is terminated. In Korea, security of tenure for a tenant is important due to the high population density. In the U.S, security of tenure is important because the society undergoes expenses and effort if the evicted tenant becomes a social problem. Under the commercial lease agreement, a tenant of the U.S cannot collect their investment to demise if the landlord terminates the agreement at any time. It is unfair that the landlord enjoys the increase in value due to a tenant. In Korea, a tenant loses the opportunity to collect their investment by making a premium agreement after the term of agreement is terminated even the Commercial Building Lease Protection Act guarantees a tenant the right to collect the investment to demise through a premium agreement. This dissertation is aimed at proposing solutions for these unfair situations related to lease agreements. To this end, each aspect of the lease system as well as the rights and duties of a tenant and landlord are introduced. Based on this information, the existing standards to maintain a balance between the landlord and tenant in both the countries are discussed. However, these aspects alone are not enough to solve the problems, so a comparative study is undertaken for this dissertation. To improve the Korean residential lease agreement, a rent-control act is introduced. For the Korean commercial lease agreement, the case law that allows tenants to sublease in the U.S. and restricts the termination of a franchise agreement by the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is referred to. For the U.S. residential lease agreement, a mandatory minimum lease agreement period and the limited reasons for which a landlord can terminate the agreement are discussed. For the U.S. commercial lease agreement, the special Korean concept of a “premium” is discussed, with a proposal to refine the premium agreement and the right to request for the renewal of a contract.