Korean Rental Contracts for Foreigners: Jeonse, Wolse, and Protecting Your Deposit
Renting in South Korea means handing a large sum to a private landlord and relying on the law to get it back. Signing is quick; the steps that make your deposit legally defensible take longer.
This is general information, not legal advice. It summarises official sources, checked on the date below; figures change. Have your contract read by one of the free services listed at the end, or by a lawyer, before you sign.
Wolse and jeonse
Seoul's city government describes jeonse (전세) as "the tenant entrusting the landlord with a certain amount as deposit and leasing the home for 1 to 2 years", returned in full at the end, with no monthly rent. Wolse (월세) pairs "a small deposit" with "a monthly usage fee (monthly rent)", the deposit "generally ten to twenty times the monthly rent". Ten percent is paid at signing, the balance on move-in day.
The deposit (bojeunggeum (보증금)) is where the risk sits, so the checks below matter far more for jeonse than for a modest wolse deposit. For a short stay, see where to stay in Korea.
Before you sign
Read the property register
The register (deunggibu deungbon (등기부등본)) shows who owns the home and what claims sit on it, and you can pull it up yourself at the Supreme Court's Internet Registry Office without the landlord's permission. Issuing a certified copy online is 1,000 won per copy, and viewing a record costs less; the fee is shown before you pay. Check the owner's name against the person signing, then read what ranks ahead of you — senior claims (선순위채권) and mortgages (geunjeodang (근저당)). A mortgage registered before your lease is repaid before your deposit if the home is auctioned, except for the small-deposit amount Article 8 protects (below).
What the landlord must show you
Article 3-7 of the Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법): "the lessor shall disclose ... (1) Information, such as the date when a fixed date is assigned to the relevant house, rent, and deposit ... (2) Tax payment certificates". In plain terms: what earlier tenants deposited, and whether the landlord owes back taxes.
Is the deposit realistic?
HUG, the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (주택도시보증공사), runs a free app, Anshim Jeonse (안심전세): a market value estimate for row houses, multi-family homes, apartments and officetels, whether a HUG guarantee is possible on that home, and whether the landlord has unpaid taxes, is barred from HUG or HF guarantees, or has failed to return deposits before. It also shows registered rights, with free change alerts for two years and six months. Korean only — see Korean apps.
Three steps that protect your deposit
| Step | What it gives you | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Take the home, register your address | Opposing power (대항력): the lease "shall take effect against any third party from the following day" (Article 3) | Community service centre; foreign residents register through immigration |
| Get a fixed date (hwakjeongilja (확정일자)) | Article 3-2: repayment "in preference to any junior obligees and other creditors" | Eup/myeon or dong office, si/gun/gu office, a district court, a notary public, or online at the Internet Registry Office |
| File the housing lease report (주택 임대차 신고) | Seoul: "a fixed date is issued automatically when you file the report" | Community service centre, or the online Real Estate Transaction Management System |
Timing decides it: opposing power starts the day after you hold the home and your address is registered, so anything registered that same day is not behind you — re-check the register the next day. On the report, the Seoul Foreign Portal says both parties must file "within 30 days from the date of signing the contract" where the deposit exceeds KRW 60 million or the monthly rent exceeds KRW 300,000, and that from 1 June 2025 a fine of KRW 20,000 to KRW 300,000 applies for failing to file. See the first 30 days.
What the Act gives you
- Two-year floor. Article 4: a lease with no fixed term, or one under two years, is "deemed to be two years", though the tenant may treat a shorter agreed term as valid; the relationship continues until the deposit is repaid.
- Automatic renewal. Article 6: the windows differ by side. If the landlord gives no notice between six months and two months before the term ends, and the tenant gives none by two months before it ends, the lease renews on the same conditions for two years. Article 6-2 then lets the tenant terminate at any time, effective three months after notice.
- One renewal you can demand. Article 6-3: exercisable "only once", the renewed term "deemed two years". The landlord may refuse on listed grounds — two months of arrears, fraud, damage or destruction, demolition or reconstruction, the landlord's own intention to occupy — with compensation where those protections are breached.
- Cap on increases. Article 7: none within one year of the contract or of the last increase, and an increase "shall not exceed 1/20 of the agreed rent or deposit" — five percent. Article 6-3(3) carries that limit into a renewal you demanded.
- Small deposits rank first. Article 8 repays part of the deposit ahead of security-right holders, in amounts set by Presidential Decree and capped at "a half of the price of a house". They differ by region and are revised: Gwanak-gu's English guidance gives 55 million won in Seoul, for deposits of 165 million won or less.
- If it is not returned. Article 3-3: the tenant "may file an application for a leasehold registration order with the district court", preserving priority after you move out.
Warning signs
One of the patterns HUG's fraud prevention centre describes is a deposit close to or above what the home is worth, so a forced sale would not cover it. HUG and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport run free contract consulting. Take advice if:
- the deposit sits near the market value the HUG app estimates;
- the register shows mortgages or senior claims the landlord is vague about clearing;
- the person signing is not the registered owner, and the agent (daeirin (대리인)) has no power of attorney and identification tying them to the owner;
- you are pushed to transfer early, or into an account in a different name;
- the landlord will not show the tax certificates Article 3-7 requires;
- you are hurried, or discouraged from taking the contract away to read it.
Your registration card
The Act is built on resident registration (주민등록), which foreign nationals do not hold. The Immigration Act bridges the gap: alien registration and the report on a change of place of stay substitute for resident registration and the moving-in report. So your immigration record is what satisfies Article 3 — until alien registration is done, that record does not exist. Sequence it with the immigration office around your lease start date.
Report a change of address within 15 days: Article 36 of the Immigration Act (출입국관리법) requires a registered foreign national to report a change of place of stay within 15 days of moving in, and filing late carries a fine. Confirm the current procedure on HiKorea or by calling 1345 (+82-2-1345 from abroad).
Agent fees
Commission is capped by ordinance in each city and province under the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act (공인중개사법). The rates are ceilings and can be negotiated down. Seoul publishes this for leases:
| Transaction value | Upper-limit rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 million won | 0.5% | 200,000 won |
| 50 million to under 100 million | 0.4% | 300,000 won |
| 100 million to under 600 million | 0.3% | None |
| 600 million to under 1.2 billion | 0.4% | None |
| 1.2 billion to under 1.5 billion | 0.5% | None |
| 1.5 billion and above | 0.6% | None |
With monthly rent, the value is the deposit plus monthly rent × 100; under 50 million won, × 70. Agree the fee before work starts — see money and payments.
Help in English
The Seoul Foreign Resident Center gives consultations on "purchase and sale, leasing, and legal disputes" in "English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Russian, Uzbek, and Urdu" in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Mondays "from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM" — +82-2-2229-4900 or [email protected]. It is not a walk-in service: apply first, take an initial consultation, and the full session with a designated global licensed agent is then arranged by appointment. Confirm the schedule. Also: the Internet Registry Office and Government24 for documents, HUG's Anshim Jeonse app for the property, HiKorea and the 1345 line for visa and address.
FAQ
Q. Do I need an alien registration card before I can protect my deposit?
In practice, yes. The Housing Lease Protection Act builds opposing power on resident registration, which foreign nationals do not hold, and the Immigration Act substitutes alien registration and the report on a change of place of stay for it. Until alien registration is complete, the address record the Act relies on does not exist, so plan the immigration step around your lease start date rather than after it.
Q. Can my landlord raise the rent by more than 5%?
Article 7 of the Housing Lease Protection Act says an increase "shall not exceed 1/20 of the agreed rent or deposit" and cannot be requested within one year of the contract being concluded or of the last increase. Article 6-3(3) applies the same limit to a renewal you demanded under the renewal right. Article 7 is written as a request to change an agreed rent or deposit, so treat a brand-new contract with a new tenant as a separate question and ask a counsellor.
Q. What is a fixed date (hwakjeongilja) and where do I get one?
It is an official date stamp on your lease document. Article 3-2 gives a tenant who has opposing power and a fixed date repayment of the deposit "in preference to any junior obligees and other creditors" from an auction of the home. Article 3-6 says it is granted at an eup/myeon office, a dong community service centre, a si/gun/gu office, a district court or its branch, or by a registered notary public. The Seoul Foreign Portal notes that filing the housing lease report issues a fixed date automatically, and the Internet Registry Office takes applications online.
Q. How much does it cost to check the property register?
At the Supreme Court's Internet Registry Office (iros.go.kr), issuing a certified copy online is 1,000 won per copy and viewing a record without issuing one is 700 won. You can pull the register up yourself there without the landlord's permission, and the fee is shown before you pay, so confirm it on the site.
Q. What happens if my landlord will not return the deposit?
Article 4 says the lease relationship continues until the deposit is repaid, so you do not lose your standing when the term ends. Article 3-3 lets a tenant whose deposit has not been refunded after termination apply to the district court for a leasehold registration order, which preserves your priority even after you move out. Take the contract and a copy of the register to one of the free counselling services listed above, or to a lawyer, before acting.
Q. How much is the agent's commission on a lease?
It is capped by local ordinance under the Licensed Real Estate Agents Act, and the ceiling can be negotiated down. Seoul's published lease brackets run from 0.5% (capped at 200,000 won) under 50 million won, to 0.4% (capped at 300,000 won) up to 100 million won, 0.3% up to 600 million won, 0.4% up to 1.2 billion won, 0.5% up to 1.5 billion won, and 0.6% above that. For a monthly-rent lease the transaction value is the deposit plus monthly rent times 100, or times 70 where the total falls under 50 million won.
Sources
- Housing Lease Protection Act — English translation (대한민국 영문법령, Korea Legislation Research Institute) — checked 2026-08-23
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — Wolse / Jeonse — checked 2026-08-23
- Seoul Foreign Portal — What is the Housing Lease Contract Reporting System? — checked 2026-08-23
- Seoul Metropolitan Government — Lease counseling in seven languages for international residents — checked 2026-08-23
- Gwanak-gu Office (English) — Reminders During Lease/Rental Contract — checked 2026-08-23
- Seoul Real Estate Information Plaza — brokerage commission rates (중개보수) — checked 2026-08-23
- Easy to Find, Practical Law (Ministry of Government Legislation) — calculating brokerage commission — checked 2026-08-23
- HUG Jeonse Fraud Prevention Center — Anshim Jeonse App (안심전세 APP) — checked 2026-08-23
- HUG Jeonse Fraud Prevention Center — fraud patterns and countermeasures — checked 2026-08-23
- Government24 — issuance of a building registration certificate (건물등기사항증명서 발급), fee listing — checked 2026-08-23
- GOV.KR — Services for Foreigners (Ministry of the Interior and Safety) — checked 2026-08-23
- HiKorea — Korea Immigration Service civil petition portal — checked 2026-08-23
Written and maintained by OPDADA · Last checked 2026-08-23 · Spotted an error? Let us know. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules, prices and schedules change — confirm with the official source before you act.