On the 22nd of last month, the area around Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, shows a multi-family housing complex. /Courtesy of Yonhap News.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 26th that it will expand the 'landlord information inquiry system,' which allows tenants to check whether a landlord is a multiple housing owner and the history of deposit return guarantees, starting from this month on the 27th.

This system improvement is in accordance with the amendment to the 'housing & urban fund' law, which passed the National Assembly's plenary session on the 1st of this month.

Previously, tenants could only check the landlord's consent-based history after signing a lease agreement and moving in. However, with this amendment, tenants will be able to directly check the landlord's guarantee history without consent from the landlord from the lease agreement stage.

Tenants can confirm the number of dwellings that the landlord owns that have applied for the ▲Housing & Urban Guarantee (HUG) deposit return guarantee ▲whether they are subject to guarantee restrictions ▲the number of compensatory payments that occurred in the last three years, even before signing the lease agreement.

The information is based on the guarantee data held by HUG. It is expected to serve as a standard for objectively assessing the landlord's guarantee risk.

For prospective tenants, once the intention to contract is confirmed through a licensed real estate agent, information can be accessed without the landlord's consent. Information requests can be made by visiting a HUG branch with a real estate agent's certification or, starting from the 23rd of next month, applying online via the Safe Lease app. After going through HUG's verification process, landlord information will be provided within a maximum of 7 days.

If the tenant meets the landlord directly on the day of the contract, the tenant can check landlord information using the Safe Lease app, or the landlord can directly show their information to the tenant through the app.

This system is expected to have a significant effect in preventing lease fraud by allowing tenants to check information about landlords with a high likelihood of guarantee accidents before signing a lease agreement.

The Ministry has also established measures to enhance the reliability of the information inquiry system and prevent abuse. Inquiries are limited to three times a month per applicant. A text notification system that informs landlords of provided information will also be operated.

To prevent indiscriminate inquiries without the intention to contract, known as 'sample checking,' thorough checks will also be conducted through the Real Estate Transaction Management System (RTMS) to verify whether a contract is concluded or by validating the intention to contract through licensed real estate agents.

Kim Gyu-cheol, head of the housing and land department at the Ministry, said, "This improvement allows tenants to check their risks and safely contract before signing, establishing a systemic foundation," and noted, "We will continue to pursue improvements that can effectively protect national housing safety and block lease fraud damage in the future."