South Korea’s Rental Market Sees Record Shift Toward Monthly Leases | Be Korea-savvy

South Korea’s Rental Market Sees Record Shift Toward Monthly Leases


The photo shows residential houses and apartment complexes in Seoul, as seen from Namsan in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

The photo shows residential houses and apartment complexes in Seoul, as seen from Namsan in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) —  The share of monthly rental contracts in South Korea’s housing market reached a record high in 2024, nearing 60% of all lease agreements, as rising interest rates and concerns over rental fraud (in particular jeonse frauds) accelerated the transition away from traditional lump-sum deposits.

According to data from the Supreme Court’s Registry Information Plaza, 57.7% of the 2.48 million registered housing rental contracts in 2024 were monthly leases. This marks the highest percentage since data collection began in 2014.

The shift has been dramatic; monthly lease contracts accounted for just 40.8% in 2020, surpassing 50% for the first time in 2022, and continuing to rise sharply in recent years.

The surge is attributed largely to the fallout from widespread rental fraud schemes that emerged in 2022, particularly in the villa (multi-family housing) market. As concerns over security deposits grew, many tenants opted to reduce their upfront payments in favor of monthly rent.

Additionally, landlords have been tightening rental terms due to stricter government regulations requiring higher guarantees for security deposit refunds.

“Since the rental fraud crisis, many tenants have opted to lower their security deposits below the priority compensation threshold and cover the remaining amount through monthly rent,” said a real estate agent in Incheon.

“With new regulations requiring landlords to provide guarantees for deposits up to 125% of the listed price, more landlords are switching to monthly rental agreements.”

Government data shows that while apartment rentals still favor deposit-based leases, non-apartment housing such as villas and townhouses have experienced a significant shift.

The share of monthly leases for villas jumped from 59.5% in 2022 to 69.5% in 2024. Meanwhile, apartment monthly leases accounted for 44.2% in 2024, slightly up from 43.1% in 2022.

Regional Disparities in Rental Trends

Certain regions have seen a particularly high reliance on monthly rental agreements. Jeju recorded the highest proportion, with 78.5% of all rental agreements being monthly leases. Other regions with high monthly lease shares included South Chungcheong (64.0%), Daejeon (63.4%), Busan (62.1%), South Gyeongsang (61.9%), Ulsan (61.5%), and Seoul (60.3%).

By contrast, South Jeolla had the lowest share at 44.5%, followed by North Chungcheong (50.4%) and Incheon (51.6%), indicating a relatively stronger presence of traditional deposit-based leasing in these areas.

With rental fraud concerns persisting and borrowing costs remaining high, analysts predict that the shift toward monthly rental contracts will continue in 2025 and beyond, reshaping South Korea’s housing market dynamics.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com) 

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