"Provisional Injunction Prohibiting Transfer of Possession is Essential"... If the Tenant Changes After an Eviction Lawsuit, You Must Sue Again

When a tenant refuses to vacate even though the lease agreement has terminated, there are practical rules that landlords must strictly observe during the legal process. In particular, caution is required because if the occupant changes during the litigation process, the judgment may become useless.

According to a video from the YouTube channel 'City and People: Lee Seung-tae's Law of Living', if you do not apply for a 'Provisional Injunction Prohibiting Transfer of Possession' when proceeding with an Eviction Lawsuit, you may get caught in unexpected legal disputes. The video warned of cases where a tenant transfers possession to a third party or enters into a sublease agreement during the lawsuit. If you win a judgment only against the existing tenant without a Provisional Injunction Prohibiting Transfer of Possession, but a new occupant (B) is living on the premises, you cannot evict B with the existing judgment. In this case, a situation arises where you must file a new lawsuit against the new occupant. However, if the lawsuit was conducted while having the injunction in place, compulsory execution against the new occupant is possible after the judgment.

'Service by Public Notice' Can Be Used for Missing Tenants

It is possible to proceed with a lawsuit even if the tenant has lost contact or is missing. According to the video, when a tenant does not reside at the address registered in the resident registration or cannot be reached, one can first apply for 'Special Service of Process', which attempts service through a bailiff during nights or weekends. If service is not achieved even after such Special Service of Process, a judgment can be obtained through the court's 'Service by Public Notice' procedure. Service by Public Notice is a system where service is deemed to have been made by announcing it on a bulletin board, etc., according to the procedures set by the court.

Precautions during the compulsory execution stage were also emphasized. When conducting compulsory execution through a judgment, one must not arbitrarily discard the belongings inside the house. The video explained, "If you just throw away the belongings, you may be subject to a claim for damages," and stated that execution must be carried out lawfully through the court's storage procedures.

Scope of Compulsory Execution Costs and Recovery of Litigation Costs

Compulsory execution incurs significant costs depending on the size of the house and the situation. According to the video, small houses (such as studio apartments) may cost about 1 million to 3 million won, medium-sized houses (such as two-room apartments) about 2 million to 5 million won, and large houses or commercial buildings may cost 5 million won or more. This includes bailiff fees, transportation costs, labor costs, ladder truck usage fees, item storage fees, and disposal costs.

In principle, when winning a case, litigation costs and execution costs can be claimed from the losing tenant. However, in the case of attorney's fees, they are only recognized within the range set by the court according to the value of the subject matter of the lawsuit (litigation value). For example, if the litigation value is 100 million won, approximately 5 million won in attorney's fees can be claimed from the opposing party. A point to note is the 'winning rate'. The video explained that if the claim amount (the amount being requested) is set too excessively and only a part of it is won, you might actually have to share the opposing party's attorney fees. Therefore, setting the claim amount accurately is important in practice.