한국과 미국의 주택 임대차 차임 규제 제도에 관한 비교연구

Housing rent regulation serves as a crucial policy tool to ensure residential stability. In South Korea, it was introduced with the so-called “Three Rent Acts” amendment. This study aims to compare the current domestic rent regulation system with that of the United States, and explore the characteristics and areas for improvement in the domestic system. In the United States, there is no federal law regulating housing rent increase, leading to diverse regulations in different states. Some states, such as Oregon and California, implement rent control throughout the state, while others, like New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, apply it only in specific regions. However, a majority of states have laws prohibiting rent control altogether. Even among states with rent control, flexibility and specificity are evident in the regulations. Many states determine the rent increase cap based on various factors, including consumer price indices and other elements, and annually recalculate and announce the new cap, considering changes in these determining factors. Several exceptions based on individual circumstances are also commonly found. In contrast, South Korea’s housing rent regulation system is characterized by uniformity and inflexibility. The Housing Lease Protection Act and the Private Rental Housing Act both establish a single and fixed 5% rent increase cap for almost all the residential leases, failing to consider regional characteristics or economic fluctuations. As housing market stability and fair transactions are both crucial policy objectives, efforts should be made to address these shortcomings and enhance the system.