Basic Study on Term of Warranty Liability for Miscellaneous Work

Abstract

In Korea, defect lawsuits for apartment buildings, the most common housing style, are becoming a social issue. Among various issues in defect lawsuits, warranty of liability is very important. This is because the business entities are responsible for assuring the maintenance of the defects during this period, and at the same time, the residents can request fair compensation for the defects. However, provisions on the term of warranty of liability provided in the current Housing Act were made 40 years ago when the social basis were weak. Thus, it does not have any rational foundation. In order to improve these problems, basic research on the warranty of liability by major types of apartments is needed. In this study, the defect cases for miscellaneous works of apartments were examined and analyzed. Miscellaneous work consists of ondol work, kitchenware work, indoor and outdoor equipment work, and metallic work. Among them, kitchenware work and metallic work showed a lot of defects. On the other hand, warranty of liability covers up to 10 years in total. The defect occurrence for the entire miscellaneous work showed a tendency to concentrate in the first and the second year. It is the third year that the total defects reach 95%, and the fourth year that exceeds 99%. The ondol work, indoor and outdoor equipment work and metallic work had this tendency. On the other hand, for kitchenware work, it is the third year that the defect occurrence reaches 99%, and it implies that the defect tends to occur more quickly than in other detailed works.