SORA RENTAL NOTE · 28
What if the room is not available on move-in day?
A practical Korean rental guide to delayed handover: confirm the agreed date, document temporary accommodation costs, and understand cancellation limits.
Content checked · 3 October 2026
The key points
- The landlord must hand over the agreed home for use.
- Hotel and moving receipts do not automatically guarantee full reimbursement.
- Agreeing to wait and cancelling for breach involve different conditions.
01 — 04
Start with the comic
It’s move-in day, but someone is still living there!
Let’s confirm the promised handover and why it is delayed.
I saved the contract, messages and accommodation receipt.
Record the new date and costs. If unresolved, check cancellation requirements.
Check handover terms and your own readiness
- Contract terms
- Room handover
- Your readiness
Korean Civil Act Article 623 requires the landlord to deliver the property and keep it usable. If the previous occupant remains or unfinished work prevents the agreed use, ask the landlord why and when actual handover will be possible.
Check the agreed date and any separately agreed time. Where handover and the balance payment are due together, your readiness to pay matters too. Compare those obligations before transferring the full balance or attributing all delay to the landlord.
Document necessary temporary expenses
- Temporary expense records
- Receipt and breakdown
- Supporting evidence
A delay attributable to the landlord may support damages under Article 390. Actual loss, its connection to the delay, reasonable costs and Article 393’s limits all matter. Any hotel you choose is not automatically reimbursable in full.
Save evidence that the room was unavailable, the landlord’s response and itemized storage, lodging or additional moving costs. Explain alternatives and expected costs before making major commitments. Without agreement, a receipt alone is not a promise to reimburse you.
Make waiting or cancellation a clear decision
- Wait or discuss cancellation
- Notify the other party
- Agreed terms
If you wait, record the new handover date, treatment of rent for the delay, accommodation costs and what happens if delivery slips again. Changing only the date can leave earlier losses unsettled.
Cancellation for delayed performance normally involves requesting performance within a reasonable period under Article 544 and checking whether that period passed without performance. Exceptions include an advance refusal to perform. A one-day delay does not always allow immediate cancellation or double your contract deposit.
What to check
- Check handover date, time and balance-payment terms.
- Request the reason and a realistic delivery date in writing.
- Keep evidence of accommodation, storage and extra moving costs.
- Put revised arrangements or demands for performance in dated writing.
Common questions
Can I open the door or remove the previous tenant’s belongings?
No. Signing a lease does not authorize you to displace another occupant yourself. Require lawful handover from the landlord.
Does a one-day delay mean double my contract deposit?
No. Damages for delayed handover differ from cancellation using earnest money. Check the cause, contract clauses, cancellation requirements and actual loss.
Official sources
These laws and public-agency materials concern renting in Korea. Source documents are mainly in Korean.
- Korean Civil Act Article 623: Landlord’s duty to hand over the property ↗
- Korean Civil Act Article 390: Non-performance and damages ↗
- Korean Civil Act Article 393: Scope of damages ↗
- Korean Civil Act Article 544: Delayed performance and rescission ↗
- Korean Civil Act Article 536: Defense of simultaneous performance ↗