South Korea is preparing to introduce a tenant-screening system that would give landlords access to renters’ credit scores, payment histories and certain lifestyle details, a shift that reflects growing pressure to rebalance information access in the country’s increasingly competitive rental market.
The Korea Housing Landlords Association said it is building the system with proptech firms and credit-rating agencies, aiming for a launch as early as June.
The platform would allow landlords to review three years of rent and utility payment records, renewal history and any past delinquencies.
It would also disclose information often linked to disputes—such as smoking habits, pets, vehicles and cohabitants—along with basic employment data and typical occupancy patterns.
Feedback from previous landlords, including payment reliability, would also be available.
The move comes after a series of jeonse deposit fraud cases in 2021, which prompted lawmakers to expand tenant access to landlord information.
Renters can now check ownership records, tax arrears and prior deposit-return issues before signing a lease.
Landlords argue that the transparency has become one-sided, especially as policymakers consider allowing tenants to extend leases for up to nine years.
Frustration among property owners has been rising. Some have taken to public forums to demand what they call a “tenant internship period,” arguing that the current system gives them little visibility into who is moving into their properties.
Tenants would also gain something under the new platform: the ability to assess a property’s financial safety through title-deed analysis, the landlord’s tax-delinquency status and estimates of senior-priority deposit claims.
The association said the service would first appear on proptech-owned platforms before expanding to larger portals such as Naver and Zigbang.
Regulators and industry officials view the initiative as a tool to curb rental disputes, which have climbed sharply.
Cases filed with the Housing Lease Dispute Mediation Committee rose from 44 in 2020 to more than 660 annually in recent years, according to government data.
Tenant screening is common in the U.S., where platforms such as Zillow require applicants to submit credit scores, delinquency records and criminal background checks.
Germany also uses income and employment verification as standard components of the rental process.
Analysts say the Korean market is showing signs similar to those seen in U.S. cities where limited rental supply gives landlords more leverage.
While the new system aims to balance the market, its implementation will likely reshape the dynamics between landlords and tenants in South Korea’s increasingly formalized rental landscape.
