Tenant’s Right to Unilaterally Terminate a Lease Agreement Before Expiration

1. Cases in Which the Tenant Has the Right to Unilaterally Terminate the Lease

The tenant has the right to unilaterally terminate the lease agreement in any of the following circumstances:

• The landlord fails to repair the house when it suffers serious damage.
• The landlord unreasonably increases the rent or increases the rent without prior notice to the tenant as agreed in the contract.
• The tenant’s right to use the house is restricted due to the interests of a third party.

2. Obligation to Give Prior Notice

• The party unilaterally terminating the lease must notify the other party in writing or by another method agreed upon in the contract at least 30 days in advance, unless otherwise agreed.
• If this notice obligation is violated and causes damage, compensation must be paid in accordance with the law.

3. What Should the Tenant Do if the Landlord Refuses to Repair Serious Damage?

If the landlord refuses to repair the house when it suffers serious damage (except when the damage is caused by the tenant), the tenant may proceed in one of the following two statutory ways:

Option 1: Carry out maintenance/repairs and deduct from rent

• The tenant has the right to carry out maintenance and repairs themselves.
• Procedure: Before repairing, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing at least 15 days in advance. The notice must specify the extent of the required maintenance and the estimated cost.
• Reimbursement: The landlord must reimburse the tenant for the maintenance cost or allow deduction from monthly rent.

Option 2: Unilaterally terminate the lease

• As mentioned above, the landlord’s refusal to repair serious damage affects the tenant’s living conditions. Therefore, the law allows the tenant to unilaterally terminate the lease before expiration.
• Procedure: The tenant must give at least 30 days’ prior notice (in writing or another agreed form) to the landlord, unless otherwise agreed.
• Note: If the tenant vacates without fulfilling the notice obligation and causes damage to the landlord, they must compensate according to the law.

4. How Much Rent Increase Is Considered Reasonable?

Current law does not set a ceiling, percentage, or specific figure to determine what constitutes a “reasonable” rent increase. Instead, rent pricing and adjustments are based on the principle of free agreement between the parties.

Specifically, rent adjustment rights are regulated as follows:

1. Rent and adjustments by agreement Rent is agreed upon by landlord and tenant, unless the State provides otherwise. If there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, rent is determined according to market prices at the location and time of contract signing. Thus, a “reasonable” increase is one mutually negotiated and accepted.
2. Rent adjustment upon renovation The law provides one specific case where the landlord may adjust rent during the contract term: If the landlord renovates the house with the tenant’s consent, they may adjust rent when the remaining lease term is one-third or less of the contract duration. However, the new rent must still be agreed upon. If no agreement is reached, the landlord may unilaterally terminate the contract but must compensate the tenant according to law.
3. Tenant’s rights against unreasonable rent increases Although the law sets no cap, mechanisms exist to protect tenants from arbitrary increases. Specifically, if the landlord unreasonably increases rent or increases rent without prior notice as agreed in the contract, the tenant has the right to unilaterally terminate the lease.

In summary: The landlord cannot arbitrarily impose unreasonable rent increases during the contract term without agreement or in violation of notice obligations. To avoid risks, both parties should negotiate and clearly stipulate in the contract the maximum annual rent increase (e.g., percentage) and the required notice period for rent adjustments at the time of signing.