What Is a Farmhouse in Korea? 농가주택 Legal Meaning 2026
By the RuralRoof Editorial Team · Last updated 2026-10-18 · 9 official sources
A farmhouse in Korea is usually advertised as a 농가주택 (farm house), a 전원주택 (country house) or a 촌집 (village house). These are market words. The law uses other terms, and each one has its own conditions.
This guide sets out the legal labels from the statute text. It covers the Farmland Act's farmer house and the Rural Community Improvement Act's rural house. It then covers two tax meanings of 농어촌주택 and the Building Act use classes, and what each label decides.
- None of the eight laws and decrees checked for this guide uses the words 농가주택, 전원주택 or 촌집. They are listing terms, not legal categories [1] [3] [5] [8].
- The Farmland Act's farmer house (농업인 주택) is a house a farming household can build on farmland, with a site of up to 660 m² (Decree Art. 29) [2].
- The Rural Community Improvement Act's rural house (농어촌 주택) is any building fit for long-term living in a rural or semi-rural area (Art. 2) [3].
- For capital gains tax, 농어촌주택 has two separate meanings, in Restriction of Special Taxation Act Art. 99-4 and Income Tax Decree Art. 155(7), each with its own tests [5] [7].
Does Korean law define 농가주택?
No. None of the eight laws and decrees this guide checked contains the words 농가주택, 전원주택 or 촌집. The legal terms are 농업인 주택, 농어촌 주택, 농어촌주택 and 단독주택 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8].
In practice, a listing title tells you little about permits or tax. The same village house can be a 농어촌 주택 for one law, a 단독주택 for another, and fail the tax test for 농어촌주택.
What decides the outcome is the land and the building records: the land category, the zone, the building's registered use and who owns it. The labels below show which facts each law looks at.
“"Rural house" means a building located in a rural area or semi-rural area and structured so that a person can lead an independent residential life for a long period (including the buildings and land attached to it).”
Which labels have a legal meaning, and what do they decide?
Five labels have a meaning in law. Each one answers a different question: whether you can build, which programme applies, how the building is classified, or how tax is counted [1] [2] [3] [5] [7] [8].
| Label | Law | What it means | What it decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 농업인 주택 (farmer house) | Farmland Act Decree Art. 29(4) | House of a farming household, site up to 660 m² | Whether a house may be built in an agricultural promotion zone |
| 농어촌 주택 (rural house) | Rural Community Improvement Act Art. 2(11) | Building fit for long-term living in a rural or semi-rural area | Scope of rural housing and empty-house programmes |
| 농어촌주택 (purchase relief) | Restriction of Special Taxation Act Art. 99-4 | One house in a 읍 or 면 outside listed zones, standard value up to ₩300 million | Whether it counts when you sell your earlier home |
| 농어촌주택 (inherited, left, returned) | Income Tax Decree Art. 155(7) | Inherited, 이농 or 귀농 house in a 읍 (outside urban areas) or 면, outside the capital region | Whether it counts when you sell your other home |
| 단독주택 (detached house) | Building Act Decree Table 1 | Detached house, multi-occupant house, multi-household house or official residence | The building's use class for permits and records |
However, 전원주택 and 촌집 do not appear in any of these laws. A house sold as a 전원주택 still has a Building Act use class, for example 단독주택. The tests in the rows above still apply to it.
What is a farmer house (농업인 주택) under the Farmland Act?
It is a house that a farming household can build on farmland, even in an agricultural promotion zone. Farmland Act Art. 32 allows it, and Decree Art. 29(4) sets three conditions [1] [2].
- The household head of a farming household builds it: farm income is more than half of total income, or at least half of the household's labour goes into farming [2].
- It is a building for long-term independent living, not a villa or luxury house under the Local Tax Act, on a site of up to 660 m² per household [2].
- It stands in the same city, district, 읍 or 면 as the farmland the household farms, or an adjoining one [2].
The site cap rises to 1,000 m² where the household houses workers it hires for its own farming (Decree Art. 29(4)2) [2]. Land converted for a farmer house in the previous five years counts toward the cap [2].
A farmer (농업인) includes, for example, a person farming at least 1,000 m², working at least 90 days a year in farming, or selling at least ₩1.2 million of produce a year (Decree Art. 3) [2].
For the zone rules and the conversion permit, read how to build a house on farmland.
What is a rural house (농어촌 주택) under the Rural Community Improvement Act?
It is any building in a rural or semi-rural area that is structured for long-term independent living, including its attached buildings and land (Art. 2(11)) [3]. The law sets no income or farming test.
A rural area (농어촌) means a rural village area plus a fishing village area (Art. 2(1)) [3]. According to the Framework Act, a rural area is any 읍 or 면, plus other areas the agriculture minister designates by notice (Art. 3(5)) [4].
A semi-rural area (준농어촌) is land in a metropolitan city's district outside rural areas that is an agricultural promotion area or a development restriction zone (Art. 2(2)) [3].
The same article defines an empty house (빈집): a rural house or building that nobody has lived in or used for at least one year since the local government head checked it (Art. 2(12)) [3]. The rural empty house bank guide explains how these are listed.
What does 농어촌주택 mean for capital gains tax?
Two different things, in two different laws. Both let a household keep a rural house and still be treated as owning one home when it sells its other home [5] [7].
| Test | Special Taxation Act Art. 99-4 | Income Tax Decree Art. 155(7) |
|---|---|---|
| How you got it | Bought (or built) from 1 Aug 2003 to 31 Dec 2028 | Inherited, a house left on quitting farming (이농), or bought to start farming (귀농) |
| Where | A 읍 or 면 (or a decree 동), outside the capital region, urban areas and other listed zones (with decree exceptions) | Outside the capital region, in a 읍 outside urban areas, or in a 면 |
| Value | Standard value up to ₩300 million (₩400 million for a listed hanok) at purchase | 귀농 house: not a high-value house (over ₩1.2 billion) |
| Time | Hold it at least 3 years | 귀농 house: sell the other home within 5 years of buying it |
| Which home is sold | The home owned before the rural house | The other home (일반주택) |
For example, an inherited village house qualifies under Art. 155(7) only if the person who died had lived in it for at least 5 years after buying it (Art. 155(7)1) [7].
Art. 99-4 also excludes a rural house in the same or an adjoining 읍, 면 or 동 as the earlier home (Art. 99-4(3)) [5]. The rural second home tax guide covers Art. 99-4 in detail.
What is a 귀농 house (귀농주택) for tax purposes?
It is a house a person bought to take up farming or fishing and lives in, meeting four conditions in Income Tax Decree Art. 155(10) [7].
- At purchase it is not a high-value house, which the Income Tax Act sets at an actual transaction price over ₩1.2 billion (Art. 89(1)3) [6] [7].
- The site (대지) is 660 m² or less [7].
- The buyer or spouse owns at least 1,000 m² of farmland where the house is, or buys the house up to 1 year before owning it. A qualifying fisher also counts [7].
- The whole household moves in, apart from listed unavoidable cases such as study, work or medical care [7].
The relief covers only the first other home sold after moving (Art. 155(11)) [7]. The owner must also farm and live in the house for at least 3 years from the move. Otherwise, tax computed by the decree's formula is due within 2 months (Art. 155(12)) [7].
Is a 전원주택 or 촌집 a legal building type?
No. The Building Act sorts buildings by use, and the decree's first class is 단독주택 (detached housing), with four types (Decree Art. 3-5, Table 1) [8].
- 단독주택: a detached house [8].
- 다중주택: a multi-occupant house with no separate kitchens, up to 660 m² of floor area and 3 storeys [8].
- 다가구주택: a multi-household house, up to 660 m² of floor area, 3 storeys and 19 households [8].
- 공관: an official residence [8].
In practice, a house sold as a 전원주택 or 촌집 still has one of these use classes in its building register. The listing word adds no permit or tax status. A house with no building record at all is a separate risk, covered in the rural house checklist.
How do you check which label applies before you buy?
Work from the records, not the listing. The order below follows the laws in this guide: land first, then the building, then your household's tax position [1] [3] [5] [7] [8] [9].
- On 토지이음, check the land category, the 읍·면·동, and any urban area, promotion zone or permit zone [9].
- If the house stands on farmland, check whether it was built as a farmer house and who may live in it [1] [2].
- Read the building register for the use class and floor area [8].
- Decide which tax rule could apply: a purchase (Art. 99-4), an inheritance, or a move to farm (Art. 155) [5] [7].
- Take the records to a certified tax accountant (세무사) or judicial scrivener (법무사) before you sign.
To look up an address, use address search, or browse rural house listings. Each record check also appears in the rural house checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 농가주택 a legal term in Korea?
Not in the eight laws and decrees checked for this guide. The Farmland Act uses 농업인 주택, the Rural Community Improvement Act uses 농어촌 주택, and the tax laws use 농어촌주택 [1] [3] [5] [7].
Can a non-farmer buy a farmer house (농업인 주택)?
The conditions in Decree Art. 29(4) apply to building it: a farming household's head must build it [2]. Rules on later sale or use are not covered here; ask the county before you buy one.
Is every house in a 면 a 농어촌주택 for tax?
No. Location is only one test. Art. 99-4 also needs a purchase date, a value cap and a 3-year hold; Art. 155(7) needs an inherited, 이농 or 귀농 house [5] [7].
What is the difference between 농어촌 주택 and 농어촌주택?
농어촌 주택 is the Rural Community Improvement Act's broad definition of a rural dwelling [3]. 농어촌주택 is a tax label with its own tests in Art. 99-4 or Art. 155(7) [5] [7].
Is a 전원주택 the same as a 단독주택?
전원주택 is not a legal term. A house sold under that name may be a 단독주택 under the Building Act; the building register shows its actual use class (Decree Table 1) [8].
Does an empty village house count as a 빈집?
Yes, under the Rural Community Improvement Act, if nobody has lived in or used it for at least one year. The year runs from the day the local government head checked it (Art. 2(12)) [3].
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- Unregistered Buildings (미등기 건물) in Korea: Buyer Risks (2026)
- Farmland Acquisition Certificate (농취증) in Korea: 2026 Guide
- Build a House on Farmland in Korea: 2026 Permit Guide
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General information, checked against the official sources below on the date shown. No sponsored content: no office, organization, agent or seller named here paid for or reviewed this page. Rules change, so confirm with the office named or a specialist (a licensed agent or a lawyer) before you sign.
Sources
- [1]농지법 (Farmland Act), Arts. 2, 32 (in force 2026-09-18) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [2]농지법 시행령 (Farmland Act Enforcement Decree), Arts. 3, 29 (in force 2026-09-18) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [3]농어촌정비법 (Rural Community Improvement Act), Art. 2 (in force 2026-09-11) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [4]농업ㆍ농촌 및 식품산업 기본법 (Framework Act on Agriculture, Rural Community and Food Industry), Art. 3 (in force 2026-07-01) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [5]조세특례제한법 (Restriction of Special Taxation Act), Art. 99-4 (in force 2026-09-18) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [6]소득세법 (Income Tax Act), Art. 89 (in force 2026-07-01) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [7]소득세법 시행령 (Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree), Art. 155 (in force 2026-10-01) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [8]건축법 시행령 (Building Act Enforcement Decree), Art. 3-5 and Table 1 (in force 2026-10-06) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (law.go.kr) · accessed 2026-10-18
- [9]토지이음 (land category and land-use zones by parcel) · MOLIT · accessed 2026-10-18