So, how do we make a contract?
If you use a Ziptoss service, there is nothing you need to take care of. However, if you are trying to find a room by yourself, there are some important points you have to keep in mind.
1) Transferring down payment
When you make a contract, a down payment is needed to reserve the room. Before sending the down payment to a landlord, you must check that the name of the account holder matches up with the name of the landlord. You can verify this through the certified copy of the register (등기부등본).
2) Checking certified copy of the register
A certified copy of the register shows the information on a house/building. You can find out information on the owner of the house and whether there is any outstanding mortgage on the house stated in the document.
Let’s look at how to check a certified copy of the register. It consists of 3 main sections: Pyojebu, Gapgu, and Eulgu.
Let’s look at Pyojebu first.
[Building] 6-1, Majo-ro 14-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea (네이버 영문주소 변환기)
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표제부 (건물의 표시): Section for describing the property(building) |
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표시번호 (Number) |
Location and address of the building |
Structure |
Cause of registration and ETC |
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2 |
서울특별시~~~ [Road name address] 6-1, Majo-ro 14-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea |
Brick walls with slab roof, 2 story residential building. 1st floor 85.95㎡ 2nd floor 60.66㎡ Basement 7.17㎡ |
Road name address
Registered in 2012/07/11 |
As you can see, it shows the basic information on a building such as its location, address, size, and structure. In this section, you have to check whether the address of the room you visited and the address on the certified copy of the register are the same.
Next, ‘Gapgu’ tells you who owns the building.
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[Gap Section] (Matters regarding Ownership) |
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Number |
Purpose of registration |
Registration date |
Cause of registration |
Right holder(Owner) and ETC |
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5 |
Transfer of Ownership |
2016/7/28 |
2016/5/26 Purchase |
Owner: 이경성 550402-******** (Social security number)
Sales listing: 제 2016-1417호 |
The owner of the building and the person you are making the contract with have to match, so just make sure to check the ID card of the landlord before signing a contract.
Now, here is the most important part. This part contains any mortgage information on the building, so you have to check it thoroughly. If a loan does not exist, this section is left blank.
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[Eul Section] (Matters regarding mortgage on the property) |
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Number |
Purpose of registration |
Registration date |
Cause of registration |
Right holder(Owner) and ETC |
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3 |
Establishment of the right to collateral security |
2016/7/28 |
2016/7/28 Contract to establish the right to collateral security |
Maximum debt: 462,000,000 Debtor: 이경성 Mortgage Holder(근저당권자) : ~ Joint security(공동담보): ~ |
3)Term of Contract
For monthly rent, a 24-month contract is a norm in Korea. However, in university districts or studio apartment-heavy areas where most students desire contracts on a yearly basis, a 12-month contract is possible (Mostly in Kwanak, Gangnam, Mapo, Suyu)
Usually, landlords prefer long-term contracts as they do not want to pay real estate service fees too often. Furthermore, they lose money by having empty rooms from short contract periods. Therefore, it is not easy to find a room that can be rented for only a few months. That is why rooms available for the short-term are more expensive than rooms for year-long rentals.