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Following is the answer to your inquiry from Customized Practical Law Information.

Receiving reimbursement of useful expenses

□ What are useful expenses?

○ “Useful expenses”refers to expenditures that a lessee has disbursed in order to increase the objective value of the leased object, and from which he/she makes a profit or a specific use etc.(See Article 626(2) of the「Civil Act」). However, any expenditures disbursed for the lessee’s own taste or special purpose are not included therein.

□ What is the right to request the reimbursement of useful expenses?

○ If the lessee has disbursed any useful expenditures and the increase in value remains upon expiration of the lease, the lessee may request the lessor to return the amount disbursed by the lessee or the amount by which the value of the object has objectively increased (Article 626(2) of the「Civil Act」and Judgment No. 2001다40381 sentenced by the Supreme Court on November 22, 2002).

Getting back long-term repair appropriation

□ What is long-term repair appropriation?

○ “Long-term repair appropriation”is a reserve for maintaining major facilities according to a long-term repair plan, and is collected by the managing body from the owners of the houses in apartments consisting of at least 300 households or apartments fitted with an elevator or a central heating system (Articles 47(1) and 51(1) of the「Housing Act」).

□ Requesting the return of long-term repair appropriation

○ Since long-term repair appropriation is charged as a monthly maintenance fee, the lessee normally pays it rather than the lessor.

○ Since a managing body should collect long-term repair appropriations from the owners of the relevant housing and accumulate them (Article 51(1) of the「Housing Act」), the lessee may demand the lessor to return the appropriations which he/she has paid upon expiration the lease (Article 51 of the「Housing Act」and Article 66 of the「Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act」).

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