Korean housing-deposit protection book: Protect Your Jeonse Deposits

There are many newly married couples and young people just starting out who begin with jeonse (lump-sum lease) or monthly rentals, and I am one of them. Finding a home is hard when you do not even know what to look at first, and there is so much to think about. Problems with the home itself are serious enough, but money-related problems can feel truly hopeless, so I would like to introduce a book I read to prepare for the possibility of rental fraud happening to me, too.

Book review: Protect Your Jeonse and Monthly Rent Deposits from apartment, villa, studio, and officetel rental scams

As someone who does not yet own a home, I never know when I may need to renew a contract again, so I decided to read a book that gathers the questions I had been wondering about.

Deokbang Research Institute’s stories of jeonse fraud

This book was written by the YouTuber Deokbang Research Institute, who makes videos that can help victims of jeonse fraud and videos about avoiding it.

I strongly recommend this book to tenants and people just starting their working lives. It explains the entire process step by step, from signing a home lease to recovering a deposit, in a way that even real-estate beginners can understand. The table of contents is broadly divided into Parts 1 through 3.

Part 1: The process of getting a deposit back

Part 1, “Please Return My Deposit,” begins in section 01 with the case of a newly married couple living on a jeonse lease.

During that process, the landlord changes. Section 02 reveals that the new owner cannot afford to repay the home loan. On top of that, the owner bought the property when it was listed at a price far below the jeonse deposit. This seems to be what we know as a “can-jeonse,” or an underwater jeonse lease. In section 03, the landlord’s investments lead to a provisional seizure being placed on the home... the situation becomes more and more impossible.

Section 04 explains the concepts to note in this case: priority repayment rights and tenant opposability, along with examples for different situations and auction-distribution explanations. Section 05 explains the setoff application you need to know about. It covers the actions to take quickly when a landlord does not return a deposit, as well as the very important things not to do.

What to know before renewing a contract

Moving on to Chapter 2, it explains the actions to take quickly when a landlord does not return a deposit, as well as the very important things not to do. Even slowly reading the table of contents gives you some idea, but in this case, you first need to refuse a contract renewal. It explains why you need to do that and what actions to take in connection with it.

It explains in greater detail the tenant opposability and priority repayment rights that were introduced in Chapter 1 in relation to filing a move-in report. The examples are laid out clearly, making them easy for even a real-estate novice to understand. It also includes updated minimum-priority repayment amounts by region, so there is no need to look them up separately. It specifically explains property registration, jeonse deposit insurance and claims, lawsuits, auctions, and other ways to minimize damage from jeonse fraud. Part 2 is “Jeonse Fraud: You Are Not an Exception.”

Jeonse fraud prevention guides in Parts 2 and 3

Part 2 explains why people can end up falling victim to the difficult ordeal of can-jeonse fraud, the various types of jeonse fraud, and the behavioral patterns of scammers. Because it tells you what you absolutely must check before signing a home contract, this was a really important part for preventing jeonse fraud. It also explains the importance of preliminary contracts and the essential things to check so that you can develop a better eye for choosing a licensed real-estate agent.

Part 3 is a jeonse fraud prevention guide for people new to housing. It covers what must be checked before a contract, recommends bringing someone along when viewing a home, and explains mediation, maintenance fees, and other things to look at before signing a home contract beyond jeonse fraud.

I think everyone has a first time. At first, you are naturally bound to be inexperienced, and what you thought was someone else’s problem can become your own, so you always need to be careful. That is why I think this is a truly useful book to read before living on a jeonse or monthly rental lease for anyone dreaming of living independently.

The book’s packaging was so pretty when it arrived that I was even more excited, and the contents were so useful that I think I will look through it every time I sign a new jeonse contract.