Asking your Korean landlord for repairs when you can't call in Korean
The boiler died on a January night, the kitchen sink is dripping into the cabinet, or the door lock has started eating batteries every week. You know you should tell the landlord. You also know the landlord only answers the phone, in Korean.
This guide explains what Korean law says about who pays, how to report the problem in a way that protects you, what to say on the phone, and where to turn when nothing happens. Numbers and hours were checked against official sources in October 2026.
Who pays? The short version
Korean Civil Code Article 623 says the landlord must deliver the property and keep it in a condition fit for the agreed use for the whole term of the lease. Article 634 says the tenant must notify the landlord without delay when a repair is needed. Those two sentences settle most arguments: major things are the landlord's problem, and telling them promptly is yours.
Korean courts draw the line like this: if a defect is minor enough that the tenant can fix it cheaply and it does not stop normal use, the landlord has no duty to repair; if it is serious enough that the home cannot be used as agreed, the landlord must repair it. In practice that means a boiler that does not heat, a water leak, failed wiring, broken windows, a non-working built-in appliance that came with the flat, or a door lock mechanism that has failed are usually for the landlord. Light bulbs, door-lock batteries, a worn faucet washer, a blocked drain from your own hair, or mould from never opening a window are usually for the tenant, and damage you caused is yours.
Read the special terms (특약, teugyak) in your lease. Many Korean leases add a clause about small repairs or set a cost threshold. A clause cannot remove the landlord's basic duty under Article 623 for major defects, but it can shift the small stuff.
If the landlord will not act and the repair is urgent, Article 626 lets a tenant who pays a necessary expense (필요비) to keep the property usable claim it back from the landlord. Tell the landlord in writing before you do this, use a proper repair company, and keep every receipt.
Who to contact first
In an apartment complex or officetel, the building management office (관리실 / 관리사무소) handles shared systems — heating supply, water pressure, the intercom, anything in the hallway — and often knows a repair technician for inside the unit. For things inside your home that belong to the owner, the request goes to the landlord (임대인 / 집주인).
Your lease has the landlord's phone number next to 임대인. If your contact so far has been the real-estate agent (공인중개사), they will often pass a message on, especially in the first year; agents in Korea routinely mediate small problems between tenants and owners.
In a small one-room building (원룸), there is usually no office: the owner or a caretaker (관리인) is the only contact, and a text message is normal.
Report in writing first, then call
Sending a KakaoTalk or text message is not rude in Korea; it is the default. Write it first, in Korean, with photos or a short video and the date. Then call if you need an answer today. The written message is your proof that you notified promptly (Article 634), which matters later if there is an argument about damage or the deposit.
A template you can adapt (copy the Korean; the English is only for you):
- 안녕하세요, ○○동 ○○호 세입자 ○○○입니다. — Hello, this is ○○○, the tenant in unit ○○ of building ○○.
- 보일러가 작동하지 않아 온수와 난방이 안 됩니다. — The boiler is not working, so there is no hot water or heating.
- 싱크대 아래에서 물이 새고 있습니다. 사진을 첨부합니다. — Water is leaking under the sink. Photos attached.
- 현관 도어락이 잠기지 않습니다. — The front door lock will not lock.
- 수리 기사님이 방문 가능한 날짜와 시간을 알려 주시면 감사하겠습니다. — Please let me know a date and time a repair technician can visit.
- 저는 한국어가 서툴러서 문자로 답해 주시면 좋겠습니다. — My Korean is limited, so I would appreciate a reply by text.
Phrases for the phone call
If you do call, keep it to the problem, the urgency and the question of when. Landlords are used to short calls.
- 보일러가 고장 났어요 (boilleo-ga gojang nasseoyo) — The boiler is broken.
- 온수가 안 나와요 (onsu-ga an nawayo) — There is no hot water.
- 물이 새요 (mul-i saeyo) — There is a leak.
- 문이 안 잠겨요 (mun-i an jamgyeoyo) — The door will not lock.
- 변기가 막혔어요 (byeongi-ga makhyeosseoyo) — The toilet is blocked.
- 수리 기사님 언제 오실 수 있어요? (suri gisanim eonje osil su isseoyo?) — When can a repair technician come?
- 비용은 누가 부담하나요? (biyong-eun nuga budam-hanayo?) — Who pays for it?
- 문자로 보내 주세요 (munja-ro bonae juseyo) — Please send it by text.
When the landlord does not respond
Send a second written message stating the date of the first one. For something serious — no heat in winter, water reaching a neighbour — say in writing that you will arrange the repair yourself and claim the cost under Article 626 if you hear nothing by a given date. A registered letter with proof of content (내용증명, naeyong-jeungmyeong) from any post office is the formal version.
For a dispute about repair obligations, Korea has Housing Lease Dispute Resolution Committees (주택임대차분쟁조정위원회). Their scope explicitly includes maintenance and repair duties for rental housing. The committees run by the Korea Real Estate Board and LH share a call center at 1644-5599 (adrhome.reb.or.kr); the Korea Legal Aid Corporation runs others (hldcc.or.kr). Call first to confirm which branch covers your address and what documents to bring.
For help in your own language: the Immigration Contact Center 1345 (weekdays 09:00–22:00; 20 languages until 18:00, then Korean, English and Chinese) can explain procedures and interpret for calls with public bodies. The Danuri Helpline 1577-1366 (24 hours, 13 languages including Vietnamese, Chinese, Nepali, Tagalog and Thai) serves multicultural families and migrant women and offers three-way interpretation. In Seoul, the Seoul Global Center (02-2075-4180, weekdays 09:00–18:00) gives housing counselling in nine languages, and the Dasan Call Center 120 answers in five languages on weekdays.
Letting an AI make the call
If the written message has gone out and what is left is the phone call you keep postponing, an AI assistant can make it. With the 받아요 personal assistant you describe the problem in English (or Nepali, Vietnamese, Chinese or Korean); the AI calls the landlord, the management office or a repair shop in Korean between 8:00 and 21:00 Korea time, says it is an AI calling on your behalf, explains the problem, asks when someone can come and who pays, repeats the answer back to confirm, and sends you the result in your language with the full conversation.
Still send the written message yourself — the AI's call is for getting an answer, not for building your paper trail. The assistant does not handle disputes, legal filings or payments. The trial is three connected calls, free, with no card registration.
Frequently asked
Can my landlord make me pay for a boiler repair?
Not for a boiler that has failed through age or normal use. Under Civil Code Article 623 the landlord must keep the home fit for use, and heating and hot water are basic to that. You would pay if you caused the damage, or for small consumables such as a thermostat battery. Check the special terms in your lease, but they cannot cancel the landlord's duty for major defects.
Is it acceptable to text my landlord instead of calling?
Yes. KakaoTalk or SMS is the normal first step in Korea, and a written message with photos and a date is also your proof that you reported the problem promptly, which Article 634 requires. Call afterwards only if you need an answer the same day.
I paid for an urgent repair myself. Can I get the money back?
Article 626 lets a tenant claim necessary expenses spent keeping the property usable. Your position is strongest if you notified the landlord in writing before the repair, used a proper repair company and kept the receipt. If the landlord refuses, the Housing Lease Dispute Resolution Committee (call center 1644-5599) handles repair-cost disputes.
Written message sent and the call still not made? Describe the problem in your own language and let the AI assistant call your landlord or the repair shop in Korean. Three connected calls are free, no card needed.