Court upholds apartment sale cancellation over hidden machine room noise

A buyer who purchased an apartment without being told about excessive noise from a below-ground machine room has won the right to a full refund through a court ruling.

The Jeonju District Court's civil division ruled in favor of the buyer, identified as A, in a lawsuit filed against the seller, identified as B, seeking cancellation of the sale contract, the court announced Sunday.

The court ordered B to pay A a total of 52.26 million won ($35,100) — comprising the 48 million won purchase price and 4.26 million won in damages.

The dispute stemmed from a sale contract signed Dec. 23, 2024. A had paid 48 million won for an apartment in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, and replaced the wallpaper and flooring to prepare the unit as a new home.

Loud noise rang out in the living room, master bedroom and small bedroom for 10 to 16 minutes at a time, eight times a day. In the small bedroom particularly, the noise exceeded limits set under the Multi-Family Housing Management Act and the Noise and Vibration Control Act. The source was a water supply pump installed in the building's below-ground machine room.

Every time the pump ran, A said the entire unit shook with noise. A argued the apartment had "a serious defect that prevents it from fulfilling its basic function as real estate" and asked the court to cancel the sale.

The court said the seller had lived in the apartment before the sale and therefore knew, or could not have failed to know, about the noise. "Nevertheless, the defendant did not disclose this to the plaintiff, and it appears the plaintiff would not have entered into the sale contract had they known of the noise," the court said.

The court then ruled that the seller must restore the buyer to the original position following the contract's cancellation and pay compensation for mental distress. However, it said the materials the buyer submitted were insufficient to establish spending on wallpapering, flooring replacement and registration fees, and recognized only the real estate agent's commission as compensable damages.