Real Estate Eviction Lawsuit

An eviction lawsuit is a lawsuit that is necessary in the following cases.

A real estate eviction lawsuit is grounded in the following provisions of the Civil Act, which protect the owner's rights.

Article 213 of the Civil Act (Right to Claim Return of Owned Property)

Accordingly, the owner of real property has the right to claim the return of the real property from a person possessing it without legitimate authority.

Article 214 of the Civil Act (Right to Claim Removal of Interference With Ownership and Prevention of Interference)

In other words, if a possessor refuses to vacate or unjustly maintains possession, the owner may legally claim its removal and prevention.

A provisional injunction prohibiting the transfer of possession of real estate refers to a provisional measure by which the court orders the obligor (possessor) not to change the state of possession of the real property, so that the obligee (owner) can secure the right to delivery or the right to claim eviction of the real property.

In other words, it prevents the title of possession from changing during the litigation, thereby avoiding a situation in which the real property cannot be delivered even after a favorable judgment is obtained.

If, without an application for a provisional injunction, the possessor maliciously transfers the title of possession to a third party, the judgment will not be effective against the new possessor even if the eviction lawsuit is won.

In this case, a separate eviction lawsuit must be conducted again against the new possessor, so that time and cost are incurred twice over.

For this reason, it is advisable to apply for a provisional injunction prohibiting the transfer of possession before proceeding with a real estate eviction lawsuit.

A provisional injunction prohibiting the transfer of possession of real estate is granted where the following requirements are met.

The application for the provisional injunction must include all of the following and be submitted to the court with jurisdiction.

Contents to State in the Application

In principle, jurisdiction lies with the court on the merits (the real estate eviction lawsuit) or the court having jurisdiction over the place where the object in dispute is located (Article 303 of the Civil Execution Act).

The purport of the application must be drafted specifically, as in the following example.

Example of the Purport of the Application

A person who wishes to apply for a provisional injunction prohibiting the transfer of possession of real estate must submit the following documents to the general civil affairs office of the court with jurisdiction (Articles 273 and 275 of the Civil Procedure Act and Article 203 of the Rules of Civil Execution).

In the content of a real estate eviction lawsuit complaint, the purport of the claim and the cause of the claim are key.

The purport of the claim must include a request for the possessor to deliver the real property, and the cause of the claim must set out the basis for the purport of the claim.

In addition, the following contents must be included.

The owner of the real property must file the drafted eviction-claim complaint with the court with jurisdiction.

In this case, the defendant is generally the possessor (the tenant or an unauthorized possessor).

Under Article 256(1) of the Civil Procedure Act, the defendant must submit an answer within 30 days from the date of service of a copy of the complaint.

If no answer is submitted within this period, the court may designate a date for pronouncing judgment without oral argument.

If the defendant still does not submit an answer before that date, the landlord (plaintiff)'s claim may be upheld as it stands, resulting in a favorable judgment.

When the defendant submits an answer, the plaintiff drafts a brief containing the rebuttal and submits it to the court.

This is a very important stage for clarifying the facts and organizing the arguments.

After reviewing the briefs of both sides, the court designates a hearing date and notifies both parties of it.

On the hearing date, the plaintiff and the defendant state their respective arguments in court, and submit evidence if necessary.

Once all oral argument procedures are concluded, the court sets a date for judgment and pronounces the final judgment.

If the plaintiff prevails, the defendant either vacates voluntarily, or, if not, becomes subject to compulsory execution.

If the defendant does not vacate despite the judgment, the plaintiff may apply for compulsory execution on the basis of the judgment to which an execution clause has been granted.

The court's execution officer is dispatched to remove the possessor, and delivers the real property to the plaintiff.

Our law firm includes a number of real estate specialist attorneys registered with the Korean Bar Association and experienced attorneys with an average of 10 or more years of practice.

Where a substantive dispute arises, such as a possessor's refusal to vacate, delayed eviction, or losses caused by unlawful possession, legal support is available throughout the entire process, from sending certified-content mail and filing the eviction lawsuit through to compulsory execution procedures.

If it is difficult to conduct the litigation procedures on your own, we encourage you to recover your rights with the assistance of a real estate specialist attorney.