Background
Our client, a landlord, leased out commercial premises, but the tenant repeatedly fell into rent arrears and failed to vacate even after the lease ended. Changchun represented the landlord (the plaintiff) in seeking delivery of the premises and recovery of the arrears.
The Issue — How to Establish the Basis for Delivery and Settlement
The key questions were ① the obligation to deliver up arising from expiry of the lease term and the tenant's expressed intention to leave; ② termination for arrears of two or more periods' rent (Civil Act art. 640); and ③ how to set off the arrears and the unjust enrichment equal to rent for continued possession against the deposit.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun (attorney Donghwan Shin) framed two parallel grounds of termination — expiry of the term and termination for rent arrears — and, pointing out that the arrears already exceeded the deposit, structured and filed the claim so that delivery of the premises and return of unjust enrichment equal to rent could be sought without any return of the deposit.
Against a tenant in arrears who refuses to leave, the starting point is to establish clearly the grounds for termination and the position on deducting from the deposit. Only then can a landlord recover the premises quickly and limit the loss. (Outcomes may differ depending on the facts of each matter.)