Rental scam victims call for government remedies during their rally in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
The interior ministry is pushing for a law revision that would give victims of home rental scams priority to recoup their security deposits before taxes are collected when their rented homes go up for auction, officials said Thursday.
The measure comes as three cash-strapped tenants have taken their own lives in recent months in the city of Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, in the wake of a massive home rental scam, sending the government scrambling to find remedies.
About 2,500 tenants were reported to have fallen prey to three separate rental scams in Incheon, with most of the victims in their 20s and 30s.
Rental scam victims are often put in danger of eviction without getting back their security deposits of at least tens of millions of won when the landlords fail to repay debt on their highly collateralized properties, forcing them to end up being sold in auctions.
On top of losing their deposits, the victims often end up having to repay loans they borrowed for the deposits.
The interior ministry said the envisioned revision of the local taxes act aims to give such tenants priority to recoup their deposits before the central and regional governments collect overdue taxes when their rented homes go up for auction.
The central and regional governments have had the right to collect taxes imposed on landlords first when their properties are put up for auction.
A revised national taxes law giving tenants the priority went into effect earlier this month, but the local taxes law has yet to be amended accordingly.
"The ministry plans to revise the Framework Act on Local Taxes in line with the (revised) Framework Act on National Taxes," a ministry official said, adding the revision is expected to smoothly pass through the National Assembly thanks to rival parties' keen attention to the issue. (Yonhap)
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