If your lease has ended, the deposit hasn’t come back and you have to move, start with a lease registration order. In Korea a tenant’s opposing power and priority depend on keeping possession and resident registration (Art. 3), and moving out and transferring your registration ends them. Article 3-3 lets a tenant apply to the court for the area once the lease has ended unpaid; once the registration is entered, the tenant gains opposing power and priority, and rights already held stay even if the move-in requirements are later lost. Costs can be claimed from the landlord.
1. Lease ended and deposit unpaid → apply to the district court, branch or city/county court for the home’s area (Art. 3-3(1)).
2. Once registered, opposing power and priority → kept even after you move (para. 5).
3. Costs from the landlord; lenders may apply on your behalf (paras. 8, 9). Anyone renting the home afterwards gets no small-tenant priority (para. 6).
Checker
Updates as you choose. Under Art. 3-3(5), rights already held stay after registration even if the move-in requirements are later lost; the checker therefore treats waiting for the entry before moving as the safe order (our reading).
Article 3-3
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Para. (1) | Where the deposit isn’t returned after the lease ends, the tenant may apply to the district court, its branch or the city or county court for the home’s area | Not before it ends |
| Para. (2) | The application states its purpose and reasons, the home (with a plan if part), and the facts behind it (including any opposing power or priority acquired), with prima facie proof | Lease, move-in record, fixed date |
| Para. (4) | The tenant may appeal a dismissal | — |
| Para. (5) | On registration the tenant acquires opposing power and priority; rights already held are kept, and losing the move-in requirements after registration doesn’t lose them | Why you can move |
| Para. (6) | A tenant who rents the home after the registration has no Art. 8 priority | — |
| Paras. (8), (9) | Costs can be claimed from the landlord; financial institutions may apply in the tenant’s place | A lending bank |
Paragraph 3 borrows the Civil Execution Act’s provisional attachment rules for the decision, objections, cancellation and enforcement, reading “provisional attachment” as “lease registration”. And Article 4(2) keeps the lease alive until the deposit is returned, even after the term ends.
Three checks — our example
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Two months before expiry; the landlord says there’s no money | Can’t apply yet | Para. 1: “after the lease ends” |
| Ended, deposit unpaid, new home’s move-in date coming | Apply, confirm the entry, then move | Check the register |
| Registered, then moved and transferred residence | Rights kept | Para. 5 |
You can confirm the entry on a certified copy of the register (our gloss). The checker flags moving before the entry because paragraph 5 keeps rights only when requirements are lost after registration.
Deposit-fraud signs are in jeonse fraud prevention; restoring the home in restoration duty; small-tenant priority in priority repayment checker.
Checklist
- ☐ Has the lease ended (expiry or termination)?
- ☐ Lease, move-in record, fixed date — your proof
- ☐ Apply to the court for the area
- ☐ Move only after the entry appears on the register
- ☐ Keep receipts — claim costs from the landlord
Questions that remain
How long does registration take?
The Act sets no time; entry procedure is by Supreme Court rules (para. 7).
And if the landlord still doesn’t pay?
Registration protects your rights; getting the deposit back needs a separate step such as a lawsuit or payment order (our gloss).
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Housing Lease Protection Act Arts. 3, 3-3, 4 — source (current text, effective 2 January 2026, Act No. 21065; checked 21 October 2026). Move-in requirements; lease registration orders: when, where, application, borrowed rules, appeal, effect, later tenants, costs, lenders; the lease continuing until repayment.
- Not read. Supreme Court rules on the procedure; the borrowed Civil Execution Act articles.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The court’s civil service desk — forms.
- Korea Legal Aid Corporation — deposit recovery suits.
Written on 21 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
