The Housing Lease Protection Act (주택임대차보호법) applies to foreign residents just as it does to Koreans. It guarantees a 2-year lease, lets you renew once with rent rising no more than 5%, and gives your deposit legal priority once you have moved in and registered your address. Most of its protection depends on two small steps you take on move-in day.
Key facts
| Who | Tenants of homes used as a residence, including foreigners with a residence card (외국인등록증) or overseas Korean residence report (국내거소신고) |
| Minimum term | 2 years (you may leave earlier at the agreed end date if it is shorter) |
| Renewal | Once, for 2 years, if you ask 6 to 2 months before the end |
| Rent or deposit increase | Max 5% at a time, and not within 1 year of the last increase |
| Deposit priority | Move in + address report, plus a fixed date (확정일자) on the lease |
| Help | Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee (주택임대차분쟁조정위원회), Korea Legal Aid 132 |
1. Opposability: your right to stay (대항력)
Once you have moved in and reported your address, your lease is binding on anyone who later buys the home, from 00:00 the next day. A new owner must honour your lease and return your deposit.
For foreigners, the Immigration Act (출입국관리법, Article 88-2) treats alien registration and a change-of-address report (체류지 변경신고) as the same as a Korean’s move-in report (전입신고). Report a new address within 15 days of moving, at the community center (주민센터), immigration office or online at Hi Korea. See Reporting Changes to Immigration.
2. Priority repayment: the fixed date (확정일자)
Opposability alone does not put you in line for money if the home is auctioned. For that you also need a fixed date stamp on your lease, from the community center, the court registry office, or online. If you report the lease under the lease reporting system, the fixed date is given automatically.
With both, you are repaid from the auction proceeds in order of date, ahead of creditors who registered later. Banks with an earlier mortgage still come first. This is why you must read the registry (등기부등본) before signing. The step-by-step is in Protecting Your Rental Deposit.
Do both steps on the same day you move in. A mortgage registered on the same day as your address report ranks ahead of you, because your rights start only at 00:00 the next day.
3. Small-deposit protection (최우선변제)
If your deposit is small, part of it is repaid first, even ahead of earlier mortgages, as long as you moved in and reported your address before the auction was registered.
| Region | Deposit must be | Amount protected |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul | ₩165 million or less | up to ₩55 million |
Other regions have lower limits. The protected amount can never exceed half of the home’s value in total, and the thresholds that apply are those in force when the earliest mortgage was registered, so an old mortgage can mean an older, lower limit. Ask a legal aid office if your case depends on this.
4. Term, renewal and moving out
- 2-year minimum (Article 4). If the lease says 1 year, you can still stay 2 years. You may also choose to leave after 1 year.
- Implied renewal (묵시적 갱신, Article 6). If the landlord says nothing 6 to 2 months before the end, and you say nothing at least 2 months before the end, the lease renews automatically on the same terms for 2 years. After an implied renewal you can leave at any time: your notice takes effect 3 months after the landlord receives it.
- Renewal request right (계약갱신요구권, Article 6-3). You can demand one renewal for 2 years by telling the landlord 6 to 2 months before the end. Send it in writing (text message or certified mail, 내용증명) and keep proof. The landlord can refuse only for listed reasons, such as you being 2 months behind on rent, serious damage, or the landlord or their parents or children moving in themselves. In a renewed lease you can also leave with 3 months’ notice.
- Increase cap (Article 7). An increase in rent or deposit cannot exceed 5% and cannot happen within 1 year of the lease or the last increase.
- Deposit-to-rent conversion (Article 7-2). If part of the deposit is turned into monthly rent during a lease, the rate is capped at the lower of 10% a year or the Bank of Korea base rate plus 2 percentage points. Check numbers with the rent converter.
Your rent is ₩700,000 with a ₩20 million deposit. When you use your renewal right, the landlord may raise the rent to at most ₩735,000 (+5%), or the deposit to at most ₩21 million (+5%). You are free to agree to less.
5. What landlords must show you
Since 2023, a landlord must show you, when signing, the fixed-date and deposit information of other tenants in the building and certificates showing national and local taxes are paid (or consent for you to check them). Unpaid taxes can take priority over your deposit, so ask for both.
6. When the deposit is not returned
- Send a demand by certified mail (내용증명).
- If you must move before you are paid, first apply to the court for a lease registration order (임차권등기명령). Once it is on the registry, you keep your priority even after moving out and changing your address. Moving first without it can lose your priority.
- Apply for mediation at the Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee, or sue for return of the deposit. Legal aid: Korea Legal Aid Corporation (132). See Free Legal Help.
- If you have deposit insurance, contact the guarantor before you move.
Lease reporting
Since 1 June 2025, leases with a deposit over ₩60 million or rent over ₩300,000 a month must be reported within 30 days in the Seoul region, metropolitan cities, Sejong, Jeju and provincial cities. Late reports are fined ₩20,000 to ₩300,000 and false reports up to ₩1 million.
Common questions
Does the law protect me if I don’t have a residence card yet?
The protection depends on registering your address. Short-term visitors without alien registration cannot do this, so their deposit is much less safe. Register first, then sign.
My landlord wants a 1-year lease. Is that legal?
Yes, but for you it counts as 2 years if you want to stay. The landlord cannot end it after 1 year against your will.
Does it apply to officetels and goshiwon?
It applies to any building actually used as a home, including residential officetels. A goshiwon room is less clear; ask a legal aid office if your deposit is significant.
Can the landlord keep my deposit for cleaning?
Only actual damage beyond normal wear, or unpaid rent and bills, can be deducted. Take dated photos on move-in and move-out.
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.