How to Protect Your Housing Deposit and Get It Back

Before the contract: how to read the 등기부등본

The 등기부등본 (등기사항전부증명서, certificate of registered matters) is like the ID card of the house. Anyone can get it from 대법원 인터넷등기소 (Supreme Court Internet Registry Office, www.iros.go.kr) by typing in the address. Viewing costs 700원 and an official copy costs 1,000원. Look at three parts.

1. 표제부 (description section) — This shows the building's address, building and unit number, and size. It must match the address in the contract exactly, down to every letter.
2. 갑구 (Section A) — This shows the owner. Check that the owner is the same person as the landlord in the contract. If you see 가압류 (provisional seizure), 압류 (seizure), or 경매개시결정 (decision to start an auction), it is dangerous. Do not sign a contract for that house.
3. 을구 (Section B) — This shows 근저당권 (mortgage) and 전세권 (jeonse right). A 근저당권 means the landlord borrowed money from a bank using the house as security. If the 채권최고액 (maximum secured amount) is large compared to the price of the house, there may be nothing left for your deposit if the house is sold at auction.

Tips for checking:

• Get the register again on the day you sign the contract. Sometimes a new mortgage is added within a few days.
• Get it once more on the day you send the final payment.
• Check that the face and name on the landlord's ID card match the owner in 갑구.
• If an agent comes instead of the landlord, ask for a 위임장 (letter of authorization) and the landlord's 인감증명서 (certificate of personal seal). Then call the landlord directly to confirm.
• You can also check whether the landlord has unpaid taxes. Ask the landlord to show you a 국세·지방세 완납증명서 (certificate of full payment of national and local taxes).
• If the register is hard to read, take a photo and show it to 132 or someone you know, and ask them.

When you send money and keeping documents

• Send both the 계약금 (down payment) and the 잔금 (final payment) by bank transfer to an account with the same name as the owner in the register.
• If someone asks you to send money to the real estate agent's account, a family member's account, or a company account, say no.
• Do not pay in cash. A bank transfer record is the strongest evidence.
• Keep the original contract, receipts, transfer records, and maintenance fee bills. Also take photos with your phone. If you upload them to a cloud service or email, you will not lose them.
• Do not delete text messages or messenger chats with the landlord. They can be evidence later.

What to do while you live there

• Get a 확정일자 (fixed date stamp) on your contract (fee: 600원). You can get it at the 주민센터 (community service center), 등기소 (registry office), or a 공증인 (notary). For contracts with a deposit over 60,000,000원 (6천만원) or monthly rent over 300,000원 (30만원), if you make a 주택 임대차 계약 신고 (housing lease contract report), the fixed date is given automatically.
• Make your report of change of residence within 15 days from the day you move. Alien registration and the report of change of residence replace resident registration and the move-in report (출입국관리법 (Immigration Act) Article 88-2(2)). The Supreme Court also decided that this report has the same effect as resident registration.
• Do not move your address to another place before you get your whole deposit back. If you take your address out, you lose your 대항력 (opposing power: the right to stay and claim your deposit even if the house is sold) and 우선변제권 (priority repayment right). Even moving only your belongings is risky.

Notice deadline when moving out

• To end the contract, tell the landlord you will move out at least 2 months before the contract ends. Use a method that leaves a record, such as a text message or KakaoTalk.
• The landlord must also tell you "I will end the contract" or "I will change the conditions" between 6 months and 2 months before the contract ends.
• If neither side says anything and the deadline passes, it becomes 묵시적 갱신 (automatic renewal). This means you are treated as having signed a new contract with the same conditions, for 2 years.
• After automatic renewal, the tenant can give notice to end the contract at any time. The contract ends 3 months after the day the landlord receives the notice. At that time you get your deposit back.
• On the other hand, if you want to stay longer, you can use the 계약갱신요구권 (right to request contract renewal) between 6 months and 2 months before the contract ends.

Disputes when moving out

• The tenant has a duty to return the house in its original condition (민법 (Civil Act) Articles 654 and 615).
• However, it is generally understood that you do not have to pay for normal wear from daily living (faded wallpaper, marks pressed into the floor). Things you broke are different from things that just got old.
• If you take photos when you move in and when you move out, there will be fewer disputes.
• If the landlord says they will take cleaning or wallpaper costs from your deposit, ask for a receipt or a price estimate showing how much and why. You can argue against costs that are not in the 특약 (special terms) of the contract.
• Settle the utility bills and maintenance fees for the last month and get receipts.
• As a rule, hand over the keys after you receive your deposit. If you give the keys first, you lose your power to negotiate.

When the landlord does not return the deposit

Follow these steps in order. Go up one step at a time.

1. Ask by talking and by text message. Send a text with a date, like "Please return my deposit by [date]." Keep the reply.
2. Send a 내용증명 (certified letter). This is an official letter sent from the 우체국 (post office). Write the contract details, the deposit amount, the payment deadline, and your bank account number. The post office keeps a copy, so the landlord cannot say "You never told me." You can also send it through 인터넷우체국 (Internet Post Office).
3. Apply for a 임차권등기명령 (tenancy registration order). If the lease has ended and you did not get your deposit back, apply at the 지방법원 (district court), 지원 (branch court), or 시·군 법원 (city/county court) in the area where the house is. Once it is registered, you keep the opposing power and priority repayment right you already have, even if you move and change your address. You can ask the landlord to pay the costs.
   • Warning: Move out only after you confirm that the registration is actually complete. If you only apply and leave first, you may lose your protection.
4. Apply for a 지급명령 (payment order, 독촉절차). The court looks only at the documents and orders "Pay the money." If the landlord does not file an objection within 2 weeks from the day they receive the order, the order becomes final and you can use 강제집행 (forced collection). If the landlord files an objection, it moves to a lawsuit.
5. File a lawsuit to get your deposit back (보증금반환청구 소송). Usually, claims of 30,000,000원 (3,000만원) or less are small claims cases. But a claim to return a deposit can use the faster 소액사건심판법 (Small Claims Trial Act) procedure even if it is over 30,000,000원 (3,000만원).
6. After you win the judgment, collect your deposit through forced collection or auction.

How to get free help

• 대한법률구조공단 132 — Phone advice is free for everyone. You can also get advice in person or by video call.
• 법률구조 (legal aid), where they handle the lawsuit for you, is for Korean citizens with income at or below 125% of the standard median income, or foreigners living in Korea, and others. Ask 132 whether you qualify and which documents you need. (Requirements differ by type of case, so you need to check.)
• You can get interpreting help from 외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center) at 1345.

If you think you have been scammed

• If the person planned from the start to take your money, it may be the crime of fraud. Report it to the police at 112 or at a nearby police station.
• For jeonse or monthly rent fraud, you can get advice from the HUG 전세피해지원센터 (HUG Jeonse Damage Support Center) at 1533-8119.
• The 국토교통부 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) 전세사기피해자 지원관리시스템 (Jeonse Fraud Victim Support System, jeonse.kgeop.go.kr) and the 안심전세앱 (Safe Jeonse App) give information on how to apply to be recognized as a victim and what support you can get.
• The responsible department at the 시·도청 (city or provincial government office) also accepts applications. When you report, bring your contract, bank transfer records, and text message records.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Are foreigners also protected by the 주택임대차보호법 (Housing Lease Protection Act)? A. Yes. Alien registration and the report of change of residence replace resident registration and the move-in report. If you do not make the report, you are not protected, so make sure to keep the 15-day deadline.

Q. Can I sue even if my deposit is small, like 3,000,000원 (300만원)? A. Yes, you can. The smaller the amount, the more useful a payment order or the small claims procedure is. First, get advice from 132.

Q. The landlord says, "I will pay you when the next tenant moves in." A. This is not a condition set by law. When the contract ends, the rule is that the deposit must be returned. Even if you wait, get a date from the landlord by text message.

Q. I have to go back to my home country, but I have not received my deposit. A. It is safest to complete the tenancy registration order before you leave Korea. Another option is to choose an agent in Korea to act for you. Get advice from 132.

Q. I lost my contract. A. Ask the real estate office or the landlord for a copy. If you made a lease report, you can also check it through the report records. Bank transfer records are also evidence.

Where to get help

• 대한법률구조공단 132 (free legal advice)
• 외국인종합안내센터 1345 (interpreting in many languages)
• HUG 전세피해지원센터 1533-8119
• 대법원 인터넷등기소 www.iros.go.kr
• Police 112