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Late rental-contract filings now carry a fine in Korea — up to 300,000 won for contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025

In effectTakes effect: 2025-06-01
EveryoneForeign residentsNew citizens & PR holdersFamilies

The four-year grace period for Korea's housing lease reporting system (jeonse/wolse filing), in force since June 2021, ended on 31 May 2025. Contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025 that are not filed within 30 days now attract a real fine. At the same time the ceiling for late or missing filings was cut from 1,000,000 won to 300,000 won.

What changes

The scheme itself is not new. Introduced in August 2020 and in force since 1 June 2021, it requires the landlord and tenant to jointly file any residential lease with a deposit above 60,000,000 won or monthly rent above 300,000 won, within 30 days of signing. For four years it ran as a grace period, so missing the deadline cost nothing. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport judged that the filing rate had reached 95.8% and let the grace period expire on 31 May 2025 rather than extending it again.

As a result, fines apply to contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025. Contracts signed before 31 May 2025 are excluded. In parallel the ministry amended the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report of Real Estate Transactions to lower the penalties sharply: late or missing filings now range from 20,000 won to 300,000 won, down from a previous 40,000 won to 1,000,000 won. A knowingly false filing costs 1,000,000 won.

There are three ways to file. Online through the ministry's Real Estate Transaction Management System (rtms.molit.go.kr), by smartphone using simple authentication, or in person at the eup/myeon/dong community service centre for the district where the property sits. If you attach the lease agreement, you can file alone without the other party's signature, and the filing is treated as having granted the fixed date (hwakjeong-ilja) under the Housing Lease Protection Act — so there is no separate trip to obtain it.

Who this applies to

  • Both landlord and tenant, wherever a lease in a covered area has a deposit above 60,000,000 won or monthly rent above 300,000 won. Covered areas are the entire capital region (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon), the metropolitan cities, Sejong, Jeju City, and the si (city) areas of the provinces. Gun (county) areas inside provinces are not covered.
  • Nationality is irrelevant. Tenants living on a foreign resident registration, naturalised Korean citizens and permanent residents all carry exactly the same duty as Korean nationals.
  • The duty is joint. If the landlord drags their feet, the tenant can file alone by attaching the contract, so there is no reason to miss the deadline waiting for the other side.
  • Renewals that only extend the term without changing the deposit or rent, and implied renewals, are outside the scheme. A renewal that changes the money must be filed within 30 days of the new agreement.
  • Short-stay arrangements such as a one-month trial residence and school dormitory fees are excluded from the filing duty.

What to do now

  1. 1Count 30 days from the day the contract was signed and sealed. Filing at rtms.molit.go.kr finishes the job without leaving home, and smartphone simple authentication works too.
  2. 2Upload the lease agreement with the filing. That way the fixed date is treated as granted automatically and you avoid a second visit to the community service centre.
  3. 3If the landlord will not cooperate, file alone with the contract attached plus a statement of reasons for single-party filing.
  4. 4If the deadline has already passed, file now rather than leaving it. The fine scales with how late you are, so waiting only makes it worse.
  5. 5If you are unsure whether your contract is covered, call the housing lease filing centre on 1533-2949 or ask the community service centre for the property's district.

Commonly misunderstood

  • Filing the lease does not by itself protect your deposit. Protection comes from opposing power (actually living there with your address registration completed) and priority repayment rights (the fixed date). The filing exists for market transparency; the automatic fixed date is a side benefit.
  • Foreign nationals are outside the resident registration system, but they are not disadvantaged. Article 88-2(2) of the Immigration Act provides that foreign resident registration and a change-of-residence report substitute for resident registration and a move-in report, and the Supreme Court has recognised the same opposing-power effect for them (Supreme Court decision 2014Da218030, 13 October 2016). You still need to secure the fixed date separately.
  • Whether a fine applies turns on the signing date. A contract signed on or before 31 May 2025 carries no fine even if you file it today.
  • Leases signed in a gun (county) area within a province are not covered. There is no need to assume every rural contract must be filed.

Official sources

The links below are official government publications. This page summarises them; always check the original before filing or applying.

Verified on: 2026-08-29

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This page explains a policy change and is not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your situation with the responsible agency.

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Late rental-contract filings now carry a fine in Korea — up to 300,000 won for contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025