Renting in Korea as a foreigner

Tips — deposit protection + avoiding fraud

• 전입신고 + 확정일자 = deposit protectionThe single most important step: on move-in day, report your address (for a registered foreigner the address report is the 전입신고 — deadline 15 days) and get a 확정일자 on the contract at the 주민센터. Protection only starts the day after you report, so waiting out the deadline leaves a gap a landlord's new mortgage can jump. Together they put your deposit ahead of later creditors. Skipping this is how tenants lose deposits.
• Small deposits get paid firstA small deposit has a slice that is repaid ahead of even an earlier mortgage at auction — if you moved in and reported your address before the auction was filed (주택임대차보호법 §8). Seoul: deposits up to ₩165M, protected up to ₩55M. 과밀억제권역 (parts of Incheon + Gyeonggi), Sejong, Yongin, Hwaseong, Gimpo: ₩145M / ₩48M. Other 광역시 + Ansan, Gwangju (Gyeonggi), Paju, Icheon, Pyeongtaek: ₩85M / ₩28M. Elsewhere: ₩75M / ₩25M. The slice never exceeds half the home's value, and a mortgage registered before 21 Feb 2023 is measured against the older, lower limits — check its date on the 등기부등본.
• Always check the 등기부등본View the property register (등기부등본, ₩700 online at iros.go.kr) before paying anything. If there's a big mortgage (근저당) ahead of your deposit, your money is at risk in a default — especially for jeonse. Walk away from over-leveraged units.
• 전세사기 is real — cross-check /scamsJeonse fraud (전세사기) has cost tenants their whole deposits: fake landlords, over-mortgaged "villas", duplicate contracts. Verify the owner on the 등기부등본 matches who you pay, and see /scams for the patterns. If it happens, government victim support under the 전세사기피해자 특별법 generally requires the 전입신고 + 확정일자 too — one more reason never to skip them.
• Agent commission (중개수수료)The 부동산 agent's fee is capped by provincial ordinance; each side pays its own, due when the money is fully paid unless you agree otherwise. Work out the converted value first — 보증금 + (월세 × 100), or × 70 if that total is under ₩50M — then apply the band (Seoul): 0.5% under ₩50M (max ₩200,000), 0.4% under ₩100M (max ₩300,000), 0.3% under ₩600M, 0.4% under ₩1.2B, 0.5% under ₩1.5B, 0.6% above. So a ₩10M / ₩700k wolse converts to ₩80M and caps at ₩300,000 — not "a month's rent". Ask for the exact figure upfront; it is negotiable within the cap. Seoul's table: land.seoul.go.kr
• Don't forget 관리비On top of rent, most buildings charge 관리비 (monthly maintenance: cleaning, security, sometimes heating/water). Always ask the exact amount and what it includes before signing, and get it written into the contract.
• No ARC yet? Go short-termThe address report that protects a deposit is filed by registered foreigners — before your ARC you cannot file it, so a big deposit has no protection. Until it arrives, use a goshiwon, share house, or furnished short-term rental — small deposit, no lock-in.
• 직방 / 다방 + foreigner agentsListings live on the 직방 (Zigbang) + 다방 (Dabang) apps and at neighborhood 부동산. For English service, look for foreigner-focused agencies/share-house operators — and still run every check in the flow yourself.
• Get everything in the written contractVerbal promises (repairs, who pays what) mean nothing — get them written into the 계약서. Confirm the move-out date, deposit-return timing, and any cleaning/penalty terms in writing.