Rental system

Korea Housing FAQ for Foreign Residents

Official-source answers to common housing questions in Korea: jeonse, wolse, address reporting, confirmed dates, lease reporting, brokerage fees, renewals, and deposit protection.

✓Reviewed by the Seoulstart teamLast updated · June 2026~2 min read

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✓

Verified against 15 primary sources. Fact-checked June 2026. Every figure linked to its source.

View sources →

Key facts

Foreign residents staying in Korea for more than 90 days must apply for foreigner registration within 90 days of entry.
Registered foreign residents must report a new place of stay within 15 days after moving.
Immigration Act Article 88-2 says foreigner registration and place-of-stay change reporting substitute for resident registration and move-in reporting.
Covered residential leases must be reported within 30 days when the deposit exceeds ₩60 million or monthly rent exceeds ₩300,000 in a covered area.
Priority repayment rights require the opposition requirements plus a confirmed date on the housing lease contract.

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Use this FAQ as the official baseline

This page answers the housing questions that can be stated from official sources. It does not give Seoul rent ranges, provider-specific deposit-guarantee promises, landlord preference claims, or private agent lists. Those move quickly and are not safe to seal as official facts.

For current prices, check live listings and actual-transaction data close to the date you sign. For provider products such as deposit-return guarantees, check the provider directly before relying on the product.

The records that matter most

The safest housing workflow is not built around a listing label. It is built around records:

Property registry (등기부등본): owner and registered rights.
Building register (건축물대장): legal building use and address details.
Lease contract: landlord, tenant, address, deposit, rent, term, and special clauses.
Payment trail: deposit and rent transfers to the agreed account.
Address report: for registered foreign residents, the place-of-stay change report.
Confirmed date or lease report: the record that supports priority when paired with occupancy and address reporting.

Read the Korea Lease Documents Checklist before transferring a large deposit.

Jeonse and wolse

Jeonse (전세) shifts cost from monthly rent to deposit risk. Wolse (월세) uses a smaller deposit plus monthly rent. Neither structure is automatically safe. Ownership checks, senior-right checks, the address record, and the confirmed date matter in both.

For the legal mechanics of jeonse, read How Jeonse Works. For monthly-rent leases, read Wolse Explained.

Address reporting and lease reporting

If you are a registered foreign resident, the immigration address report is not a side errand. Immigration Act Article 88-2 says foreigner registration and place-of-stay change reporting substitute for resident registration and move-in reporting. Easy Law explains that deposit priority requires the address/occupancy requirements plus a confirmed date.

Covered leases also need a Housing Lease Reporting System (전월세신고제) filing within 30 days. Easy Law lists the covered threshold as deposit over ₩60 million or monthly rent over ₩300,000 in covered areas.

For first-month sequencing, use the First Month Housing Timeline.

Sources

Accessed June 6, 2026.

Immigration Act Article 31, foreigner registration: law.go.kr
HiKorea, foreigner registration card issuance guidance: hikorea.go.kr
Immigration Act Article 36, place-of-stay change report: law.go.kr
Immigration Act Article 88-2: law.go.kr
Seoul Metropolitan Government, wolse and jeonse explained: english.seoul.go.kr
Housing Lease Protection Act Article 4: law.go.kr
Easy Law, lease renewal and implied renewal: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, rent and deposit increase limits: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, opposition rights and confirmed date: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, Housing Lease Reporting System: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, landlord deposit-return duty: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, tenancy registration order: easylaw.go.kr
Easy Law, brokerage commission rules: easylaw.go.kr
Housing Lease Protection Act Enforcement Decree Article 9: law.go.kr
National Tax Service, monthly-rent tax credit: nts.go.kr

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Frequently asked questions

Can foreign residents rent housing in Korea?

In practice, foreign residents rent through private contracts plus government filings. If your stay is longer than 90 days, Immigration Act Article 31 requires foreigner registration within 90 days of entry. A landlord may still ask for practical documents such as identity, income, bank-transfer ability, and contact details.

Do I need a foreigner registration card before signing?

Some private landlords may accept other identity documents, but the safer planning assumption is that your lease, payment records, address report, and later deposit-priority filings should match your official identity records. HiKorea says the card normally takes about 2 to 3 weeks after application.

What is jeonse?

Jeonse (전세) is a Korean lease structure where the tenant pays a large refundable deposit instead of monthly rent. Seoul Metropolitan Government explains that the landlord returns the deposit at the end of the contract.

Show all 16 questions

What is wolse?

Wolse (월세) is the monthly-rent structure: the tenant pays a deposit plus monthly rent. The deposit is still a deposit, not a fee, so protect it with the same ownership, address, and confirmed-date checks.

Is a 1-year housing lease valid?

Yes, but the Housing Lease Protection Act says a residential lease period shorter than 2 years is treated as 2 years unless the tenant wants the shorter period.

Can I renew my lease?

A tenant can request one statutory renewal under the Housing Lease Protection Act. The request window is 6 months to 2 months before the lease ends, and Korea.kr describes the tenant's renewal right as one 2-year extension.

How much can the landlord raise rent or deposit on renewal?

Easy Law explains that rent or deposit increases cannot exceed one-twentieth of the agreed rent or deposit, and that local governments may set a different cap within that one-twentieth limit.

What should I do after moving as a foreign resident?

Registered foreign residents must report a new place of stay within 15 days after moving. Immigration Act Article 88-2 says foreigner registration and place-of-stay change reporting substitute for resident registration and move-in reporting.

Do foreign residents file 전입신고?

Registered foreign residents file the immigration place-of-stay change report (체류지 변경신고). Article 88-2 is the bridge: it treats foreigner registration and place-of-stay reporting as the substitute for resident registration and move-in reporting.

What is a confirmed date and why does it matter?

A confirmed date (확정일자) is a date record on the lease contract. Easy Law explains that priority repayment rights require the opposition requirements, meaning delivery of the home and address registration, plus a confirmed date.

Do I have to report my lease to the government?

If your residential lease is in a covered area, the parties must report it within 30 days when the deposit exceeds ₩60 million or monthly rent exceeds ₩300,000. Easy Law lists covered areas as the Seoul metropolitan area, metropolitan cities, Sejong, Jeju City, and city areas in provinces, excluding county areas.

Does lease reporting replace the confirmed-date trip?

Easy Law explains that when a lease report is filed with the lease contract, the report can be treated as a confirmed-date application. Ask for proof that the report was actually filed.

How is broker commission capped?

Brokerage commission (중개보수) is capped by official fee schedules and depends on transaction type and amount. Easy Law explains that housing-lease brokerage caps are set within legal rate limits by city or provincial ordinance, and that both sides pay within the rate and cap.

Can I leave before the lease ends?

A fixed-term early exit usually needs a legal basis or landlord agreement. For renewed leases, Easy Law explains that the tenant may notify termination and the effect arises 3 months after the landlord receives the notice.

What if the landlord does not return my deposit?

Easy Law explains that after the lease ends and all or part of the deposit has not been returned, a tenant may apply for a tenancy registration order (임차권등기명령). Do not give up the address record or move records casually in a deposit dispute.

Can monthly-rent tenants claim a tax credit?

The National Tax Service explains that qualifying workers may claim a monthly-rent tax credit for up to ₩10 million of annual rent, with credit rates of 15% or 17% depending on total salary. Eligibility depends on household, homeownership, lease, housing-size or value, and payment-record conditions.

Fact-check record

21 key claims checked against the exact wording of official sources · Verified June 2026

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Our fact-check pulls the most important claims out of this guide and checks each one against its official source, quoted word for word so you can confirm it yourself. This is a sample of the guide's facts, not the full reference list. For everything we consulted, see the verified sources below.

01
Foreign residents staying in Korea for more than 90 days must apply for foreigner registration within 90 days of entry.
“대한민국에 입국한 날부터 90일을 초과하여 체류하려는 외국인은 ... 입국한 날부터 90일 이내에 ... 외국인등록을 하여야 한다”
law.go.kr
02
HiKorea says foreigner registration card issuance normally takes about 2 to 3 weeks after application.
“외국인등록증 발급 ... 신청일로부터 약 2~3주 소요”
hikorea.go.kr
03
Registered foreign residents must report a new place of stay within 15 days after moving.
“등록외국인이 체류지를 변경하였을 때에는 ... 전입한 날부터 15일 이내에 ... 신고하여야 한다”
law.go.kr
04
Immigration Act Article 88-2 says foreigner registration and place-of-stay change reporting substitute for resident registration and move-in reporting.
“제88조의2(외국인등록증 등과 주민등록증 등의 관계) ... 외국인등록과 체류지 변경신고는 주민등록과 전입신고를 갈음한다”
law.go.kr
05
Jeonse is a lease structure where the tenant pays a deposit and the landlord returns the jeonse amount after the contract ends.
“Jeonse refers to the tenant entrusting the landlord with a certain amount as deposit ... After the termination of the contract, the landlord must fully return the jeonse amount.”
english.seoul.go.kr
06
Wolse is a lease structure where the tenant pays a deposit and monthly rent.
“Weolse refers to paying a small deposit ... and paying a monthly usage fee (monthly rent).”
english.seoul.go.kr
07
A residential lease period shorter than 2 years is treated as 2 years unless the tenant wants the shorter period.
“기간을 정하지 아니하거나 2년 미만으로 정한 임대차는 그 기간을 2년으로 본다. 다만, 임차인은 2년 미만으로 정한 기간이 유효함을 주장할 수 있다.”
law.go.kr
08
A tenant can request one statutory renewal, and the request window is 6 months to 2 months before lease end for covered leases.
“임차인이 임대차 기간이 끝나기 6개월 전부터 2개월 ... 전까지 계약갱신을 요구할 경우 ... 임차인은 계약갱신요구권을 1회에 한하여 행사할 수 있고, 갱신되는 임대차의 존속기간은 2년으로 봅니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
09
Rent or deposit increase claims cannot exceed one-twentieth of the agreed rent or deposit unless a local government sets a different cap within that limit.
“약정한 차임이나 임차보증금의 20분의 1의 금액을 초과하여 증액청구를 할 수 없습니다. 다만, 특별시·광역시·특별자치시·도 및 특별자치도는 ... 20분의 1의 범위에서 증액청구의 상한을 조례로 달리 정할 수 있습니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
10
Priority repayment rights require delivery of the home and move-in registration/address requirements plus a confirmed date on the housing lease contract.
“임차인은 ① 대항요건(주택의 인도 및 전입신고)과 ② 임대차계약서상의 확정일자를 갖춘 경우에는 우선변제권을 갖습니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
11
Covered residential leases must be reported within 30 days of signing.
“임대차 계약 당사자인 임대인과 임차인이 임대차 계약 체결일부터 30일 이내에 ... 공동으로 신고해야 하는 제도입니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
12
The Housing Lease Reporting System applies when the deposit exceeds ₩60 million or monthly rent exceeds ₩300,000 in covered areas.
“신고대상 지역은? 수도권(서울, 경기도, 인천) 전역, 광역시, 세종시, 제주시 및 도(道)의 시(市)지역(도 지역의 군은 제외함) 보증금 6천만원 월세 30만원 초과”
easylaw.go.kr
13
A lease report filed with the lease contract can be treated as a confirmed-date application.
“주택 임대차 계약 신고는 ... 부동산거래관리시스템에서 온라인으로도 신고 가능합니다 ... 임대차계약서를 제출하면 확정일자를 부여받은 것으로 봅니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
14
Housing-lease brokerage commission caps are determined within legal rate limits by city or provincial ordinance.
“주택 ... 임대차에 대한 중개보수의 한도는 거래금액에 따라 1천분의 3부터 1천분의 7 이내에서 시·도의 조례로 정하는 요율 한도 이내에서 ... 결정합니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
15
Brokerage commission is paid by both requesting parties within the rate and cap.
“중개보수는 중개의뢰인 쌍방이 요율 및 한도액 내에서 각각 지급해야 하고, 한도액을 초과하는 때에는 한도액의 범위 내에서 지급하면 됩니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
16
For a renewed lease covered by the renewal rules, the tenant may notify termination and the effect arises 3 months after the landlord receives the notice.
“갱신되는 임대차의 해지는 ... 제6조의2 ... 준용합니다 ... 임차인이 임대차계약을 해지하는 경우에는 임대인이 통지를 받은 날부터 3개월이 지나면 그 효력이 발생합니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
17
After the lease ends and all or part of the deposit has not been returned, a tenant may apply for a tenancy registration order.
“임대차가 끝난 후 ... 보증금이 반환되지 않은 경우 임차인은 ... 법원에 임차권등기명령을 신청할 수 있습니다 ... 일부라도 돌려받지 못한 경우도 포함됩니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
18
A tenancy registration order can preserve already acquired opposition and priority repayment rights after the registration is completed, even if the tenant later moves.
“임차권등기명령에 따라 임차권등기가 되면, 임차인이 이사를 가더라도 종전 주택에 대한 대항력과 우선변제권은 유지됩니다.”
easylaw.go.kr
19
Qualifying workers may claim a monthly-rent tax credit for up to ₩10 million of annual rent.
“다음의 요건을 충족하는 경우 연말정산 시 월세액 세액공제 ... 월세액은 연 1,000만원까지만 공제 가능”
nts.go.kr
20
The monthly-rent tax credit rates are 17% for total salary up to ₩55 million and 15% for total salary above ₩55 million through ₩80 million.
“총급여 5,500만원 이하 : 월세액의 17% 세액공제 ... 총급여 5,500만원 초과~8,000만원 이하 : 월세액의 15% 세액공제”
nts.go.kr
21
NTS monthly-rent tax credit eligibility includes worker income, no-home household status, and a national-housing-size or assessed-value housing condition.
“총급여 8,000만원 ... 이하인 근로자 ... 무주택 세대의 세대주 또는 세대원 ... 국민주택규모(85㎡) 또는 기준시가 4억원 이하 주택”
nts.go.kr

Verified Sources

Every fact in this guide is linked to a primary source. Cross-check anything.

Show all 15 sources

01
Immigration Act Article 31, foreigner registration
law.go.krAccessed June 2026
02
HiKorea, foreigner registration card issuance guidance
hikorea.go.krAccessed June 2026
03
Immigration Act Article 36, place-of-stay change report
law.go.krAccessed June 2026
04
Immigration Act Article 88-2
law.go.krAccessed June 2026
05
Seoul Metropolitan Government, Wolse and Jeonse explained
english.seoul.go.krAccessed June 2026
06
Housing Lease Protection Act Article 4
law.go.krAccessed June 2026
07
Easy Law, lease renewal and implied renewal
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
08
Easy Law, rent and deposit increase limits
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
09
Easy Law, opposition rights and confirmed date
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
10
Easy Law, Housing Lease Reporting System
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
11
Easy Law, landlord deposit-return duty
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
12
Easy Law, tenancy registration order
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
13
Easy Law, brokerage commission rules
easylaw.go.krAccessed June 2026
14
Housing Lease Protection Act Enforcement Decree Article 9
law.go.krAccessed June 2026
15
National Tax Service, monthly-rent tax credit
nts.go.krAccessed June 2026

Cite this guide

Seoulstart Editorial Team. (2026). Korea Housing FAQ for Foreign Residents. Seoulstart. Retrieved from https://seoulstart.com/guides/korea-housing-faq

More formats (Chicago, BibTeX) ▾

Chicago

Seoulstart Editorial Team. 2026."Korea Housing FAQ for Foreign Residents."Seoulstart. Last modified June 6, 2026. https://seoulstart.com/guides/korea-housing-faq.

BibTeX

@misc{seoulstart-korea-housing-faq,
  author = {{Seoulstart Editorial Team}},
  title = {{Korea Housing FAQ for Foreign Residents}},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Seoulstart},
  url = {https://seoulstart.com/guides/korea-housing-faq},
  note = {Last updated June 6, 2026}
}

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