Protect your rental deposit as a foreign tenant 임차권등기명령 / 확정일자 / 체류지 변경신고
As a registered foreigner, your address report (체류지 변경신고) counts the same as a Korean's move-in report (전입신고) for housing law. Report your address and get a fixed date (확정일자) on your lease on move-in day. This protects your deposit (보증금). If the lease ends and your landlord does not return the deposit, ask the court for a tenancy registration order (임차권등기명령) before you move out.
Does this guide fit me?
Answer 3 quick questions.
Do you have a Residence Card (외국인등록증), or an overseas Korean domestic residence report (국내거소신고)?
The court ruling and the law we read cover registered foreigners and overseas Koreans who made these reports. If you are not registered, check with 1345 or a court before you rely on this guide.
Are you renting a home to live in (not a shop or office)?
Shops and offices follow a different law (Commercial Building Lease Protection Act). This guide is for homes.
For the court step: has your lease ended and your deposit not been fully returned?
You can use the first steps now (address report and fixed date). The court step is only for after the lease ends.
Follow the steps below. Do the first three on move-in day. Use the last two only if your landlord does not return your deposit.
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- 1
Move in and keep your lease
You do thisMove-in dayProtection needs two things: you actually live in the home (주택 인도, handover) and your address is reported. Keep the original lease and proof of paying the deposit.
!Do not leave the home empty after you report your address. Protection depends on you really living there. - 2
Report your new address (체류지 변경신고)
You do thisMove-in day. Legal limit: 15 days after moving inA foreigner with a Residence Card must report a new address within 15 days (Immigration Act Art. 36). The Supreme Court says this report counts as a Korean move-in report for the Housing Lease Protection Act. You can report at the ward or town office (시·군·구청, 읍·면·동 주민센터) or at the immigration office.
!The report is free. Late reporting can mean a fine of up to 1,000,000 won, and it delays your deposit protection. - 3
Get a fixed date (확정일자) on your lease
You do thisMove-in dayThe fixed date is a stamp on your lease. With your protection, it lets you be paid your deposit before later creditors if the home is sold at auction (우선변제권). Easy Law lists the Residence Card as valid ID for this.
!Check with the office for the fee. Get the date the same day you report your address. - 4
Your protection starts
The agency does thisNext day at 0:00 after you move in and reportOnce you have the home and your report, your right to claim your lease against a new owner (대항력) starts the next day at 0:00. Together with the fixed date, you can claim your deposit first in an auction or public sale.
!If a mortgage was registered on the home before your protection started, it can rank ahead of you. - 5
If the deposit is not returned: apply for a tenancy registration order
The courtAfter the lease ends and you have not got the full deposit, before you move outApply to the district court, branch court or city or county court that covers the home. A registration order (임차권등기명령) puts your tenancy on the building register, so you can move out and still keep your rights. Ending can be by expiry, notice or agreement. Even a partly unpaid deposit counts.
!The order works when it reaches your landlord, or when the court registers it. Do not move out before the registration is done. You can ask your landlord to pay the costs. - 6
Move out and keep your rights
You do thisAfter the registration is doneAfter registration, your rights stay even if you move. The registration is removed only after your landlord returns the deposit. If the landlord still does not pay, the same Easy Law guide lists the next steps: a court order to pay (집행권원), then forced auction (강제경매).
!A mortgage set up before your registration can still rank ahead of you. If your visa is ending, ask 1345 how to continue the case from abroad.
Documents checklist
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0 of 6 documents ready
- Original lease (임대차계약서), with the fixed date stampYou and your landlord or agent
- Residence Card (외국인등록증) or passportYou
- Proof you paid the deposit (bank transfer receipt)Your bank
- Building register (등기사항증명서)Court Internet Registry or registry office
- Address report receipt or updated Residence Card recordDistrict office or immigration office
- Tenancy registration order application (임차권등기명령신청서)Court
Why your address report matters
- Korean tenants use the move-in report (전입신고). Foreigners cannot, so Immigration Act Art. 88-2 lets the Residence Card and the address report take its place.
- The Supreme Court (2019) says a foreigner's alien registration and address report have the same legal effect for housing lease protection.
- The Court also applies this to overseas Koreans who report their domestic residence (국내거소신고).
What the tenancy registration order does not do
- It does not pay your deposit. It keeps your place in line.
- Unregistered buildings usually cannot get the order.
- If a mortgage was registered before your date of protection, it can come before you.
Who to call
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