How to Use the Lease Renewal Deposit Loan Calculator
Note: the U.S. does not have Korea's jeonse system. In Korea, tenants often pay a massive lump-sum deposit (jeonse) instead of monthly rent, and when the deposit is raised at lease renewal, banks offer specific "jeonse loans" against the increase. No equivalent product or system exists in the standard U.S. rental market, where deposits are typically capped at one or two months' rent. This calculator loosely approximates the interest cost a tenant would face borrowing a personal loan to cover a large, one-time deposit increase — it is not a direct match to any real U.S. loan product.
Enter the deposit increase your landlord is asking for, the share of that increase you'd actually borrow (the loan-to-increase ratio), your expected annual interest rate, and how many months until you'd repay or refinance. The calculator computes the loan amount, then applies an interest-only assumption — mirroring how Korean deposit loans typically work, where principal is repaid in a lump sum at the end of the term and only interest is paid monthly.
Real U.S. personal loans are usually fully amortizing (principal + interest each month) rather than interest-only, so treat this tool as a simplified cost estimate for comparison purposes, not an actual loan quote. If you're facing a genuinely large deposit requirement — for example, relocating internationally — talk to a lender about which loan structure actually applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Korea's jeonse system — a huge lump-sum deposit paid instead of monthly rent, with bank loans against the deposit increase at renewal — has no equivalent in the U.S. rental market. This calculator loosely approximates the interest cost if a tenant borrowed a personal loan to cover a lump-sum lease deposit increase, but it is not a 1:1 match to any standard U.S. product.
U.S. security deposits are typically capped at one or two months' rent and rarely increase significantly at renewal, so this scenario is uncommon. It's more relevant for renters relocating internationally or dealing with unusually large deposit requirements from a landlord.
Not usually — most U.S. personal loans are fully amortizing, meaning you repay principal and interest together each month. This calculator uses an interest-only assumption to mirror how Korean lease-deposit loans work, so treat the result as a simplified estimate, not a real loan quote.