Average 1.6 Billion Won Per Person…Over 30 Billion Won for 10 People
The number of ‘malicious landlords’ who have failed to return tenants’ deposit twice or more, and whose names have been publicly disclosed, totals 1,177 (including corporations). The total amount of deposits withheld by these individuals is approximately 1.9 trillion won.
According to the Safe Rental Portal on the 2nd of the month, the ‘habitual defaulters’ whose names and personal details have been made public include 1,128 individuals and 49 corporations, amounting to a total of 1,177 entities. To prevent rental scams, the government has publicly disclosed the names, ages, addresses, rental deposit return obligations, and default periods of landlords habitually failing to return deposits since December 2023.
The disclosed malicious landlords have, on average, failed to return 1.61 billion won in rental deposits per person. Ten landlords alone failed to return more than 30 billion won each. The landlord with the largest amount withheld is a 51-year-old man, identified as A, residing in Nam-gu, Ulsan, with a rental deposit obligation of 86.2 billion won. A man, referred to as B, 32 years old from Wonju, Gangwon-do, withheld 70.7 billion won, and another identified as C, 43 years old from Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, failed to return 61.1 billion won.
An analysis of the malicious landlords’ residences shows many are concentrated in regions with prevalent rental scams. The most are located in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, with 63 malicious landlords, followed by 53 in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, 48 in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, and 34 in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.
The average age of the malicious landlords is 47, with the 50s age group accounting for the largest portion at 273 people (23.2%), followed by those in their 30s at 256 people (21.8%), 40s at 222 people (18.9%), 60s at 201 people (17.1%), 20s at 122 people (10.4%), and 70s at 44 people (3.7%). The youngest malicious landlord is a 19-year-old residing in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, who failed to return a deposit of 570 million won, and the oldest is an 85-year-old in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, who withheld a deposit of 360 million won.
The list of malicious landlords started at around 126 entities six months after the public disclosure began, but surged to 1,177 by the end of last year. This indicates an increase in landlords not returning rental deposits. Last year, from January to November, the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) reported 4.2587 trillion won in rental guarantee incidents, with 19,803 cases, an increase of 7.4% from the previous highest record between January and November the previous year (3.9656 trillion won).