Can foreigners also sign up for jeonse deposit return guarantee?

Yes, foreigners can also sign up for the jeonse deposit return guarantee (HUG). The person who applies must be the tenant named in the jeonse contract. Individuals, corporations, and foreigners can all sign up.

Eligibility checklist

• Residence and move-in report — You must live in the home and get a move-in report and a fixed date (confirmation date) stamp
• Contract period — The jeonse contract period must be at least 1 year
• Licensed real estate agent contract — The contract must be made through a licensed real estate agent
• Deposit limit — The deposit must be 700,000,000 KRW or less in the Seoul metropolitan area, and 500,000,000 KRW or less in other areas
• Guarantee limit — The jeonse deposit plus senior claims must be within 90% of the house price
• Property registry (deungibu deungbon) — There must be no rights violations such as auction, seizure, or provisional seizure, and senior claims must be within 60% of the house value
• Housing type — Apartments, row houses and multi-household houses, detached and multi-unit houses, and residential officetels are eligible

⚠️ Be sure to meet the application deadline

For a new contract, you must apply before half of the jeonse contract period has passed, counting from the later of the final payment date and the move-in report date. After the deadline, it is hard to sign up.

How to apply

1. Check if you are eligible (house, deposit, property registry).
2. Apply. You can visit a HUG branch or a partner bank, or apply on mobile through Naver Real Estate, KakaoPay, or Toss.
3. HUG reviews your application and then issues the guarantee certificate.

The guarantee fee depends on the deposit amount, housing type, and debt ratio. The formula is deposit amount × fee rate × jeonse contract period/365. Marriage immigrants whose spouse has Korean nationality can get a 40% discount on the fee. If you sign by electronic contract, you get a 3% discount.

Before you sign, always check the property registry to confirm that the landlord is the real owner. Check the exact conditions again with the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (주택도시보증공사) call center (1566-9009).