Renting a home: check the owner before you pay the deposit

Right now

1. 1Do not sign on the first day. Compare listings on more than one app, because each app carries slightly different information, and visit more than one agent.
2. 2Before you pay any deposit, get the registry (등기부등본) for the exact address and check that the address matches, that the owner is the person signing with you, and that there is no seizure and no pile of mortgages.
3. 3File your move-in report and get the fixed date stamp the day you move in. The address-change guide has the counters and the deadlines.

What to have ready

• Passport and Alien Registration Card: For signing, and for the move-in report afterwards.
• The registry for the exact address: Building and unit number must match the home you are renting. You can ask the agent to show it.
• The owner's ID, or a power of attorney with a seal certificate: The second pair is needed if an agent signs for the owner. See the traps below.
• A Korean phone number and bank account in your name: Agents call you, and the deposit moves by transfer.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

1. 1

   Decide which kind of home and which kind of payment

   Foreigners can rent an apartment, an officetel (a studio apartment) or a villa, according to Korea.net. Seoul Metropolitan Government describes two payment structures. Jeonse is one large deposit for a contract of one to two years, with ten percent paid first as a down payment and the rest when you move in, and the landlord returns the full amount when the contract ends. Wolse is a deposit plus monthly rent, also for one to two years, with the deposit generally ten to twenty times the monthly rent. Ten percent of the deposit is paid as the contract fee and the remainder when you move in.

2. 2

   Search on more than one app and visit several agents

   Where:

   Real estate apps, and a real estate agent (budongsan)

   Korea.net advises downloading several apps and comparing them, because each shows slightly different information. Agents can know about homes that are not listed and about the neighborhood, and vacancies differ by agent, so visit several. Seoul lists real estate agencies on its real estate portal, land.seoul.go.kr. Ask what the agent's fee will be before you agree to anything.

3. 3

   Ask for free help in your own language

   Where:

   Seoul Foreign Resident Center, Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu

   Seoul Metropolitan Government announced free real estate counseling for international residents in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Russian, Uzbek and Urdu, covering buying and selling, leasing and legal disputes. The announcement gave Mondays from 14:00 to 17:00, phone +82-2-2229-4900 and email help@sfrc.seoul.kr. That was published in November 2024, so call to confirm the schedule before you go.

4. 4

   Check the registry and the landlord before you pay anything

   Where:

   The property registry (등기부등본)

   In the registry, the first part must show the same address as the home you are renting, because a contract for a wrongly described home gets no legal protection. The owner section shows who owns it and whether there is a seizure or similar claim, and if there is one you cannot count on being repaid first. The mortgage section shows what is borrowed against the home, and Easy Law says to avoid a home with many mortgages or jeonse rights, because you would rank behind them. Compare the owner's ID with the owner in the registry. If an agent signs for the owner, ask for a power of attorney and a seal certificate. The same guide lists what a landlord should show a tenant at signing: the date of any fixed-date stamp, the rent and deposit figures, and national and local tax payment certificates.

5. 5

   Read the lease before you sign

   Korea.net's advice is to read the lease thoroughly. It sets out the size and purpose of the home, the state of the facilities and the payment terms. For jeonse, Seoul notes that the tenant looks after the home and needs the landlord's permission for interior work.

6. 6

   Pay, move in, and file the report and the fixed date the same day

   Where:

   The community service center (동 주민센터) for the fixed date

   Check the registry once more before you pay the balance, because Easy Law recommends re-checking at that point as well. Then file the move-in report and get the fixed date stamp on the day you move in. The address-change guide covers both counters, and the reason the day matters.

The Korean words

보증금bojeunggeum, deposit

The large sum you hand the landlord and get back when the contract ends.

월세wolse, monthly rent

A deposit plus rent paid each month.

전세jeonse, lump-sum lease

One large deposit and no monthly rent, returned at the end.

부동산budongsan, real estate agency

The shop you walk into to look at homes. Also the word for property.

등기부등본deunggibu-deungbon, property registry

The official record of who owns a home and what claims sit on it.

확정일자hwakjeong-ilja, fixed date stamp

A date stamped on the lease. It sets your place in line for the deposit.

전입신고jeonip-singo, move-in report

The report of your new address that helps protect your deposit.

관리비gwallibi, maintenance fee

A monthly building fee on top of rent. Ask what it covers.

Easy to miss

• ·The registry can look clean on signing day and change before you pay the balance. Check it again before the money moves.
• ·Signing with someone who is not the owner in the registry, without a power of attorney and a seal certificate, means you do not know whose home it is.
• ·The address in the registry must match the home exactly, down to the unit. A lease on a wrongly described home gets no legal protection.
• ·A late move-in report pushes the start of your protection later by the same number of days. The report can go through HiKorea, but HiKorea does not give the fixed date stamp. The community service center does.
• ·A low rent can hide a big mortgage. Check what is borrowed against the home in the registry before you compare prices.

You can skip this if

• If your company, school or dormitory provides your housing, ask them first. Most of this guide is about a deposit you may never pay.

Where this comes from

• Wolse and jeonse, Seoul Metropolitan Government (how the deposit and monthly rent work, payment split, agency list)
• Free lease counseling in seven languages, Seoul Metropolitan Government (Seoul Foreign Resident Center, announced 20 November 2024)
• Finding housing in Korea, Korea.net (housing types, apps and agents, reading the lease)
• Checks before signing a housing lease, Easy Law, Ministry of Government Legislation (registry, owner identity, agent signing)
• Checking the property registry, Jeonse Fraud Prevention Center, Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation