Almost every Korean lease starts with a refundable deposit (보증금). With wolse you pay a deposit plus monthly rent; with jeonse you pay one very large deposit and no rent; banjeonse sits in between. The deposit comes back when you move out, so the real risk in Korean renting is not the rent but whether you get the deposit back.
Key facts
| Who | Anyone, including foreigners with a residence card (외국인등록증) |
| Types | Wolse (월세), jeonse (전세), banjeonse (반전세) |
| Lease length | Usually 2 years; a shorter term is treated as 2 years if the tenant wants |
| Agent fee | Capped by law, about 0.3% to 0.5% of the deal value (plus VAT at some agencies) |
| Must-do on move-in | Report your address and get a fixed date (확정일자) on the lease |
| Report the lease | Deposit over ₩60 million or rent over ₩300,000 a month: report within 30 days |
The three kinds of lease
| Type | Korean | What you pay | Typical tenant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly rent | 월세 (wolse) | Deposit (often ₩5 million to ₩30 million) + monthly rent | Most newcomers, students, short stays |
| Half-jeonse | 반전세 (banjeonse) | Large deposit + lower rent | People with savings who want lower rent |
| Jeonse | 전세 (jeonse) | Very large deposit (often 50% or more of the home’s price), no rent | Families with large savings or a bank loan |
In every case the deposit is returned at the end, minus unpaid rent, unpaid bills or damage beyond normal wear. The landlord earns from your money (interest or investment) instead of from rent. This is why jeonse deposits are so large, and why deposit fraud (전세사기) hurts so much when the landlord cannot pay back.
Deposit and rent can be traded against each other. A landlord may offer "₩10 million deposit and ₩700,000 rent, or ₩50 million and ₩530,000." Compare offers with the jeonse/wolse converter, and read Jeonse vs Wolse for a worked comparison.
Types of homes you will see
- One-room (원룸): a studio, often in a small building (다가구 or 다세대). The most common first home for foreigners.
- Officetel (오피스텔): a studio or small flat in a mixed office/residential tower. Check that the lease says it is for residential use (주거용); it affects agent fees and deposit insurance.
- Villa (빌라): a low-rise apartment building (연립 or 다세대 housing).
- Apartment (아파트): large complexes with a management office. Easier to price and insure, usually more expensive.
- Goshiwon (고시원) and share houses: a small room with shared facilities, low or no deposit, monthly payment. These are often not ordinary housing leases, so the protections below may not fully apply.
Agent fees (중개보수)
Most rentals go through a licensed real estate agent (공인중개사). The maximum fee is set by city or provincial ordinance. For a housing lease, the “deal value” is the deposit plus monthly rent × 100. If that total is under ₩50 million, use monthly rent × 70 instead.
| Deal value (housing lease) | Maximum rate | Fee cap |
|---|---|---|
| Under ₩50 million | 0.5% | ₩200,000 |
| ₩50 million to under ₩100 million | 0.4% | ₩300,000 |
| ₩100 million to under ₩600 million | 0.3% | none |
A residential officetel of 85㎡ or less with a kitchen and bathroom has a 0.4% cap. Higher brackets exist for very expensive homes. The rate is a maximum, so you can negotiate.
Deposit ₩10,000,000 and rent ₩600,000. ₩10M + (₩600,000 × 100) = ₩70M. That is in the ₩50M to ₩100M bracket: 0.4% = ₩280,000, under the ₩300,000 cap. Maximum fee: ₩280,000.
What the law gives you
The Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법) protects foreign residents the same way it protects Koreans, as long as you have registered your address. For foreigners, alien registration or a change-of-address report counts as the move-in report. The main rules:
- 2-year minimum. A lease shorter than 2 years counts as 2 years, but you may choose to leave at the shorter end date.
- One renewal right. You can ask to renew once, for 2 more years, with any increase capped at 5%.
- Deposit priority. Moving in plus an address report gives you opposability (대항력) from the next day. Adding a fixed date (확정일자) puts you in line to be repaid if the home is sold at auction.
Details are in Your Rights as a Tenant. The move-in steps are in Protecting Your Rental Deposit.
Lease reporting (전월세 신고)
Since 1 June 2025, leases signed in the Seoul region, metropolitan cities, Sejong, Jeju and the cities (not counties) of other provinces must be reported within 30 days if the deposit is over ₩60 million or the rent is over ₩300,000 a month. Either party can report, online or at the community center (주민센터). Late reporting costs a fine of ₩20,000 to ₩300,000; a false report can cost up to ₩1 million. A reported lease automatically gets a fixed date, which is a good reason to do it yourself.
Before you sign
- Read the building registry (등기부등본) and confirm the owner is the person you are paying.
- Add up mortgages plus all deposits ahead of yours. If the total is close to the home’s value, walk away.
- Ask the landlord to show tax payment certificates and the fixed-date records of other tenants. Since 2023 the law says landlords must show these when signing a lease.
- Pay the deposit by bank transfer to the owner’s own account, never in cash.
- For a large deposit, check now whether you could get jeonse deposit insurance.
Common questions
Can foreigners get jeonse?
Yes. Any foreign resident can sign a jeonse lease and gets the same legal protection. The hard part is the money: bank jeonse loans for foreigners are limited, so most foreigners use savings.
Is “key money” lost when I leave?
No. Key money is expat slang for the deposit, and it is refundable. Some commercial leases include a separate premium (권리금), but that is not part of a home lease.
Do I pay maintenance fees on top of rent?
Usually yes. Most buildings charge a monthly maintenance fee (관리비), and utilities are often extra. See Utilities and Maintenance Fees.
Can I leave before the lease ends?
Only if the landlord agrees, unless your lease has an early-exit clause. Usually you must pay the agent fee for the next tenant and keep paying rent until someone moves in.
Official sources
This guide explains the general rules as of the date above. Rules change and every case is different, so confirm with the office named here (or the 1345 Immigration Contact Center) before an important decision. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.