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Rental deposit

South Korea — rental deposit (주택임대차보호법 (Housing Lease Protection Act))

NationalKRUnverified — check before relying on it

South Korea

Rule id
deposit.kr
Version
1.0.0
In force from
March 5, 1981
Last read against its sources
August 5, 2026
Countries bound
South Korea

In plain language

What this regime says.

South Korea deals with residential deposits under the 주택임대차보호법 (Housing Lease Protection Act), with disputes decided by 주택임대차분쟁조정위원회 (Housing Lease Dispute Conciliation Committee), then the district court (지방법원). This module names the instrument, the holder and the forum, and states no figures, because we could not verify them in this review cycle.

Who is covered

Tenants of residential property in South Korea.

What you get

Return of the deposit to the extent the landlord cannot justify keeping it, decided by the forum named above.

Where claims go wrong

  • Assuming a statutory cap or a deposit scheme exists. Across most of Asia the deposit is contractual and the agreement is the whole of the law.
  • Relying on a national summary where the rules are actually municipal, provincial or state-level.
  • Moving out and giving up possession before securing your position, where local law ties your priority to remaining registered at the address.
  • Paying in cash with no receipt.

Authority

Every citation,
with its pinpoint.

A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
  1. 주택임대차보호법 (Housing Lease Protection Act)주택임대차보호법 (Housing Lease Protection Act)art. 3 (대항력 opposing power), art. 3-2 (우선변제권 preferential payment right), art. 3-3 (임차권등기명령 lease registration order), art. 8 (최우선변제 priority for small-sum lessees)

Sources

Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.

No separate source is recorded: every figure in this entry comes from the cited instrument itself.

What it imposes

Clocks, defences and the ladder.

A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.

What it entitles you to, beyond money

  • Determination by 주택임대차분쟁조정위원회 (Housing Lease Dispute Conciliation Committee), then the district court (지방법원)You are entitled to have the return of your deposit determined by 주택임대차분쟁조정위원회 (Housing Lease Dispute Conciliation Committee), then the district court (지방법원) rather than left to the landlord. We are not stating what it will award.
  • An itemised, evidenced accountEvery regime in this product places the burden of justifying a deduction on the landlord. Ask for invoices, quotations and dated photographs, not a round number.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

"The property needed cleaning and redecorating"

high likelihood

The landlord charges for cleaning, carpet wear, scuffed paint or tired fittings and treats the deposit as a refurbishment fund.

What answers it

Fair wear and tear from ordinary use is not a recoverable loss in any of the regimes this product covers — a deduction must reflect damage or a breach beyond ordinary use, must be evidenced, and must be reduced for the age and remaining life of the item. Ask for the invoice, the check-in and check-out evidence, and the calculation.

"Prove you did not cause it"

high likelihood

The landlord asserts damage and expects the tenant to disprove it, often without a check-in inventory.

What answers it

It is the party seeking to keep the money who must justify keeping it. Where there is no dated check-in record to compare against, an adjudicator has nothing to measure the alleged damage from, and the deduction generally fails on that ground alone.

Where to take it next

  1. Write to the landlord or agentAsk in writing for the deposit back and for an itemised, evidenced account of anything withheld. A dated written request is what every body below will want to see first.Claim direct
  2. Apply to The landlord holds the 보증금 directly. Korea has no deposit-holding scheme — protection comes from registration and priority insteadThe landlord holds the 보증금 directly. Korea has no deposit-holding scheme — protection comes from registration and priority instead administers the deposit and operates the first-line claim or release process.Alternative dispute resolution
  3. Apply to 주택임대차분쟁조정위원회 (Housing Lease Dispute Conciliation Committee), then the district court (지방법원)Binding on them주택임대차분쟁조정위원회 (Housing Lease Dispute Conciliation Committee), then the district court (지방법원) can make a binding order about the deposit.Court

Documents

What this regime can produce.

Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.

The same claim type elsewhere

Albania — rental deposit (Kodi Civil (Civil Code), qiraja)ALNational — AlbaniaKodi Civil (Civil Code), qirajaConfidence: lowAustria — rental deposit (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG))ATNational — AustriaAllgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 16b, and the Mietrechtsgesetz (MRG)Confidence: lowBelgium — rental deposit (Regional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du Logement)BENational — BelgiumRegional housing codes: Vlaams Woninghuurdecreet, Décret wallon relatif au bail d’habitation, Code bruxellois du LogementConfidence: lowBosnia and Herzegovina — rental deposit (The law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislation)BANational — Bosnia & HerzegovinaThe law of obligations of the relevant entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Republika Srpska) and the applicable housing legislationConfidence: lowBulgaria — rental deposit (Закон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наем)BGNational — BulgariaЗакон за задълженията и договорите (Obligations and Contracts Act), наемConfidence: lowCroatia — rental deposit (Zakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosima)HRNational — CroatiaZakon o najmu stanova and the Zakon o obveznim odnosimaConfidence: lowCyprus — rental deposit (Rent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contract)CYNational — CyprusRent Control Law of 1983 (23/1983) for controlled tenancies, and the general law of contractConfidence: lowCzechia — jistota / kauce (Občanský zákoník § 2254)CZNational — CzechiaObčanský zákoník (89/2012 Sb.), § 2254Confidence: high

Other rights in the same countries

Korea — securities class actions and injunction-only consumer group litigationKRNational — South KoreaSecurities-Related Class Action ActConfidence: lowRepublic of Korea — Consumer Dispute Resolution Standards (KFTC), air transportKRNational — South Korea소비자분쟁해결기준 (공정거래위원회 고시), 별표 II — 항공업Confidence: mediumRepublic of Korea — KORAIL delay compensation under its passenger transport terms (여객운송약관)KRNational — South KoreaKORAIL 여객운송약관 (Passenger Transport Terms and Conditions), made under the Railroad Service ActConfidence: lowRepublic of Korea — Korea PostKRNational — South Korea우편법 (Postal Service Act) of the Republic of KoreaConfidence: lowSouth Korea — Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic CommerceKRNational — South Korea전자상거래 등에서의 소비자보호에 관한 법률 (Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce)Confidence: mediumSouth Korea — Specialized Credit Finance Business Act right to refuse instalment paymentKRNational — South Korea여신전문금융업법 (Specialized Credit Finance Business Act), Art. 16-2Confidence: mediumSouth Korea Personal Information Protection ActKRNational — South KoreaPersonal Information Protection Act (Act No. 10465), Arts. 35–37, 39Confidence: low

Does this one reach your facts?

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Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.