The 5-Step Check to Avoid Jeonse Fraud
Property register, jeonse-to-value ratio, unpaid taxes, tenancy rights (move-in report + fixed date stamp), and verifying the agent — five steps you must go through before and after signing.
💡 90% of jeonse fraud could have been stopped in the 30 minutes before signing. A single property register and a one-day gap in your move-in report decide whether your whole deposit survives.
What the ads say
There's a licensed agent involved, so it's safe — and it's a new building, so it's clean.
How it actually works
(1) Pull the property register (deungibu deungbon) three times — right before signing, right before the final payment, and right after move-in — to catch any changes in mortgages, seizures, or trust registrations. (2) A jeonse-to-value ratio (deposit ÷ market price) above 80% is risky; if senior mortgages plus your deposit exceed the market price, it's underwater. (3) Check the landlord's unpaid national and local taxes (back taxes can be repaid ahead of your deposit). (4) Complete move-in, the move-in report, and the fixed date stamp all on the final-payment day to establish tenancy and priority repayment rights — note the move-in report only takes effect from 0:00 the next day. (5) Confirm the signing party is the registered owner and that the agent is properly licensed and operating.
⚠ Traps
- •Tenancy rights from a move-in report only kick in at 0:00 the day after filing — if the landlord registers a mortgage in that gap, the tenant drops to a lower priority.
- •Newly built villas have no market-price data, making it easy to pass off the sale price as the market price (a classic underwater-jeonse tactic).
- •A landlord's unpaid national taxes can be repaid ahead of your fixed date stamp, so a home with tax arrears can wipe out your entire deposit.
✓ Good for
- · All jeonse and monthly-rent tenants
- · Anyone signing for a newly built villa or multi-unit home
- · Youth living on their own for the first time
✗ Not for
- —
Verification score (rubric)
- Real cash savings
- Ease of conditions
- No traps
- Clear audience
- Validity
- Accessibility
yaho earns nothing from this link — not an affiliate.