Renting an apartment in Korea is quite different from any other country and quite complicated. The prices differ not only because of the area, floor, layout, or utilities but also due to the deposit (보증금) you offer to the owner.
Deposit (보증금)
So, in Korea, you have to pay a deposit, or some kind of guarantee when you rent an apartment that you will receive back when you move out. And this can be different in many ways, but in the first place let's talk about what this deposit means and what it is used for. Usually, landlords use this guarantee if the rent is not paid on time or if the tenant violates the rules of the contract for various reasons (moves before the contract expires-without bringing a replacement if you do not pay the bills if you do not pay the rent for several months if you bring animals into the house without notifying the owner or destroying the property).
But how to differentiate this deposit and why is it so important for Koreans?
There are owners who ask only one month in advance as a deposit, or there may be others that require up to $10,000 (the equivalent of a 10,000,000 KRW) or even more. You're probably wondering why so much, well, when the deposit increases, the rent decreases, reaching the possibility of no longer paying the rent every month (전세). But automatically when the deposit is small the rent is also relatively high.
An example would be, for KRW 2 million rent deposit the rent can reach up to KRW 1,000,000 for two
rooms or KRW 3 million deposit and KRW 550,000 rent per month for a single room (원룸). In addition to deposit (보증금) and monthly rent (월세) in Korea usually, utilities (관리비) (electricity, gas, water, internet) are paid separately, but there are a few cases where they are included in the rent (at the owner's choice) you should check this when you sign the contract.
You're probably wondering how, or where to rent rooms or apartments, or what other options if you do not have this amount of money?
First of all, Koreans and foreigners can turn to a real estate agency (부동산) for these services. If you call this type of agency, you need to know that their services are paid for. So, once you sign a contract you will have to pay a sum of money, both for the signing of the contract and for the services of the agency, which varies from company to company. Also, you can give the agency the details of the apartment you are looking for, such as the amount you are willing to pay per month and your preferred location. Sometimes you have to visit many more agencies to find one that benefits you, but this should not scare you because in Korea they are practically everywhere.
Another thing is to make sure you check the contract properly before signing it. Since the contracts are in Korea, having someone that speaks good Korean is an advantage. Check for hidden fees, the cleaning fee (before moving out you have to pay a cleaning fee) and the rules of the apartment. Also check if it contains the names and details of both owner and yourself.
But why do Koreans choose these agencies if they are so expensive?
Because you can find exactly what you want, also not be deceived by the owner, and lastly to have the opportunity to claim your rights in case the owner violates the contract. At the same time, you can negotiate with both the agency and the owner much easier, and many of the agencies offer services in
English language or you can ask a friend to come with you.
If you no longer want to pay the agency fee, you can turn to other solutions. The best known is
Craig-list (however not totally recommended). This is a global site that offers many services including apartments for rent. They are usually posted directly by the owner, or by a third party.
Also common for strangers is Facebook, where you can find quite a few ads for apartments to rent. The advantage is English, the disadvantage may be the lack of an official contract.
Another way to search for an apartment would be Zigbang (직방) or Dabang (다방) applications, which you can download from the Google Play Store, and that can help you find valid apartments in
the area you want at the price you want. These applications have become a trend in Korea, and many real estate agencies use them to advertise their apartments.
But what you must not forget is that many landlords or agents do not rent apartments for less than a year, sometimes forcing you to rent even for 2 years, and if you insist on a contract for less than a year, or for 6 months, the rent can increase a lot.
We hope this article helped you and if you have any other question feel free to leave a comment.
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