A passerby walks past a real estate agency in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Aug. 31.NEWS1
The Gangbuk District Office said Monday it will expand measures to help foreign residents access information on housing leases and protect themselves from potential disputes.
The district in northern Seoul has provided foreign residents with key information on the Housing Lease Protection Act in nine languages since January last year amid concerns over language and information barriers in the rental process.
The information is provided through stamps placed on documents when residents file a move-in report and obtain a fixed date, or hwakjeong ilja, for their lease agreement.
A banner displayed at the Gangbuk District Office in northern Seoul provides information and QR codes for a standard residential lease agreement and the My Seoul application for foreign residents.GANGBUK DISTRICT OFFICE
A move-in report, or registration of a change of address, must be filed within 14 days of moving. Obtaining a fixed date gives tenants additional protection for their rental deposit in the event of a dispute.
The district provides the information in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Filipino, Uzbek, Taiwanese and Thai.
To make housing and other essential information easier to access, the district said it would begin distributing QR code stickers that allow foreign residents to download My Seoul, an application operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The app provides information on housing as well as city and district news, policies and career opportunities. It is available in Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.
The district office also offers standard residential lease agreement forms on its website in six languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Uzbek, Vietnamese and Russian.
The information on a standard rental contract and the application can be found at the center.
“We have strengthened on-site administrative support so that foreign residents do not experience disadvantages during the housing lease process due to language and information barriers,” Gangbuk District Office head Jeong Chang-su said in a press release.
“The district will continue to support foreign residents in settling more securely by providing multilingual housing lease guidance and information on daily life.”
