Renting in Japan: the rules

There are two kinds of residential lease. The ordinary lease (futsū shakuya keiyaku) is the usual one and normally runs for two years (MLIT Apartment Search Guidebook). A lease of less than one year is treated as having no fixed term (Act on Land and Building Leases, art. 29). Unless one side gives notice between one year and six months before the end that it will not renew, or will only renew on new terms, the lease is renewed on the same terms, but without a fixed period (art. 26). A landlord's notice of non-renewal or termination only works if there is 'just cause' (seitō jiyū), judged on both sides' need to use the home, the history of the lease, how the home is used and its condition, and any relocation payment (tachinoki-ryō) the landlord offers (art. 28). Clauses that are worse for the tenant than these rules are void (art. 30). The government's English translation is of the text as amended in 2011, and e-Gov, the official law database, was down for maintenance when we checked (2026-10).

The fixed-term lease (teiki shakka keiyaku, art. 38) simply ends on its expiry date with no right to renew; a new lease needs both sides' agreement. It is only valid if the contract is in writing and the landlord has first given the tenant a separate written explanation that the lease will not be renewed and ends at expiry; without that explanation the no-renewal clause is void and it becomes an ordinary lease. For terms of one year or more, the landlord must notify the tenant between one year and six months before the end; a later notice only ends the lease six months after it is given. The contract can also exclude the statutory right to ask for a rent change. The two kinds look alike on paper, so always check which one you are signing.

When an agent is involved, a licensed real estate transaction specialist (takken-shi) must give you the 'explanation of important matters' (jūyō jikō setsumei) before you sign: lease type, deposit and key money, shikibiki, renewal fee, restoration terms and the state of the facilities. Since a reform of May 2022 this explanation can be given online and the documents sent electronically (MLIT, as of 2026-10). The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) publishes a model contract (chintai jūtaku hyōjun keiyakusho) in versions with a personal guarantor or a guarantor company. In Tokyo only, an extra written explanation is required (see 'Disputes').

No law caps the deposit or key money. Since 1 April 2020 the Civil Code defines a deposit (shikikin) as any money, whatever it is called, paid to secure what the tenant owes under the lease: the landlord must return it once the lease has ended and the home has been handed back, minus unpaid rent and other sums owed under the lease. The landlord can use it to cover arrears, but the tenant cannot insist the deposit be used instead of paying rent (art. 622-2). Key money (reikin) is a non-refundable payment to the landlord. It is custom, not law: MLIT's guidebook describes it as common in Kanto, usually one or two months' rent, with more and more homes now let without it.

Western Japan has its own customs. In some regions the deposit is called hoshōkin (guarantee money), which MLIT's guidebook says is often about six months' rent. It often comes with shikibiki: a fixed, non-refundable amount deducted from the deposit at move-out, which the guidebook says is common in Kansai, Tokai and Kyushu. The Supreme Court (24 March 2011) held a shikibiki clause valid unless the amount is excessively high. The only official regional breakdown is historical: MLIT's survey of agents, published in 2007 on contracts from 2005–06. Then, 70% of Tokyo contracts took a deposit (average 1.6 months), 58% key money (1.4 months) and 5% had shikibiki; in Osaka 72% took a deposit (3.2 months), 53% key money (2.6 months) and 30% had shikibiki (3.1 months); in Hyogo 96% had shikibiki. Listings today look different. In Greater Tokyo 46.4% of listings at ¥100,000–150,000 asked no deposit in 2025, though only about 30% waived key money (LIFULL, November 2025). In central Osaka, 90% of one-bed listings asked no deposit and 55% no key money in our count of 761 listings on at home (October 2026), most of the rest asking one month's key money. Hoshōkin and shikibiki still turn up, especially in older buildings, so read the cost sheet.

A landlord will almost always want security beyond the deposit: a personal joint guarantor, or more often a rent guarantor company (yachin hoshō gaisha). Since 1 April 2020 a personal guarantee for a lease must state a maximum amount (kyokudo-gaku) in writing, or it is void (Civil Code art. 465-2). A guarantor company charges a fee: MLIT's guidebook (undated) gives often 35 to 50% of one month's rent for two years, but adverts in the big cities often ask more. In Tokyo, the cases of the Capital Region Real Estate Fair Trade Council, the industry's self-regulation body for property adverts, show first fees of 50 to 100% of the first month's rent and management fee, then about ¥10,000 a year (October 2025 to March 2026). It is not insurance: it pays the landlord and then claims the money back from you. MLIT has run a voluntary register of guarantor companies since 2017 (115 registered as of March 2025) and lists those offering foreign-language support. Since 1 October 2025 it also certifies companies that take on tenants who struggle to find housing, under the amended Housing Safety Net Act. On 12 December 2022 the Supreme Court held void a guarantor company's clauses letting it cancel the lease without notice after arrears and treat the home as vacated when the tenant was absent, because they bypassed the court process for eviction.

There is no rent control, cap or reference rent. The landlord sets the rent at the start, and it is usually paid a month in advance, by the end of the previous month, together with a separate common service or management fee (kyōekihi or kanrihi) (MLIT guidebook). Rent for housing carries no consumption tax (National Tax Agency, as of 2026-10).

During a lease, rent changes by agreement. If no agreement is reached, either side can claim an increase or a decrease when the rent has become unreasonable because of changes in taxes on the land or building, changes in land or building prices or the economy, or compared with similar homes nearby; a clause saying the rent will not rise for a set period is valid (Act on Land and Building Leases, art. 32). Until a court fixes the new rent, the tenant only has to pay what they consider reasonable, usually the old rent; if the court later sets a higher rent, the shortfall is paid with 10% interest a year. Rent disputes go to civil conciliation at the summary court, where conciliators include real estate appraisers. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government set up a special rent-increase advice line after a run of large increases demanded by new owners after a building changed hands. Its guidance (updated 12 March 2026) says a tenant does not have to accept an increase, a landlord cannot refuse renewal because the tenant refuses one, and if the landlord refuses the old rent the tenant can deposit it with the Legal Affairs Bureau (kyōtaku) to prove payment. Agreeing in writing makes an increase hard to undo.

A renewal fee (kōshinryō) is paid when an ordinary lease is renewed, usually every two years. It is not a legal duty, but the Supreme Court (15 July 2011) held a clearly written renewal-fee clause valid unless the amount is excessively high for the rent and term (MLIT, as of 2026-10). It is a regional custom. In MLIT's 2007 survey, the latest official figure, 65% of Tokyo contracts and 90% of Kanagawa contracts had one (about one month's rent in Tokyo), as did 55% in Kyoto, against none at all in Osaka and Hyogo.

Tenant: the law gives three months' notice for a lease with no fixed term (Civil Code art. 617), but contracts usually set their own shorter period. MLIT's model contract allows the tenant to end the lease with at least 30 days' notice, or at once by paying 30 days' rent, and the guidebook says notice in writing one to two months ahead is usual. During a fixed two-year ordinary lease you can only leave early if the contract allows it, and almost all do, so read the cancellation clause and any penalty for leaving within the first year. On a fixed-term lease of a home under 200 square metres, a tenant who has to move for unavoidable reasons such as a work transfer, medical treatment or caring for a relative can end it with one month's notice, and a clause removing that right is void (art. 38).

Landlord: to end an ordinary lease, the landlord must give six months' notice and have just cause (arts. 27 and 28). A tenant's refusal of a rent increase is not a reason to refuse renewal (Tokyo Metropolitan Government guidance, 2026). Courts weigh the landlord's need for the home against the tenant's, and the size of any relocation payment offered. To end the lease at expiry, the landlord must give non-renewal notice between one year and six months before the end, and the same just-cause test applies; if the tenant stays on and the landlord does not object without delay, the lease is renewed anyway. A fixed-term lease ends at expiry, with the notice rules above.

If the tenant stops paying, the landlord can cancel the contract for breach, but if the tenant does not leave, only a court judgment enforced by a court officer can remove them. Changing the locks or removing belongings is not allowed, which is why the Supreme Court struck down guarantor 'deemed vacated' clauses in December 2022. If the building is sold, a tenant who has moved in keeps the lease against the new owner (art. 31). The new owner becomes the landlord but can only demand rent once the transfer is registered (Civil Code, 2020 rules). When a tenant dies, the lease passes to the heirs; with no heirs, a cohabiting partner can take it over (art. 36).

The landlord must carry out repairs needed for the tenant to use the home, unless the tenant caused the damage (Civil Code art. 606). Since 1 April 2020 the tenant may do the repair themselves if the landlord fails to act within a reasonable time after being told, or in an emergency (art. 607-2), and claim the necessary costs back at once (art. 608). If part of the home becomes unusable through no fault of the tenant, the rent is reduced in proportion (art. 611). Tenants usually open their own electricity, gas and water accounts, and must be present when the gas is turned on (MLIT guidebook).

At the end, the tenant must restore the home to its original condition (genjō kaifuku), but not for normal wear and tear or ageing (art. 621, since 2020). MLIT's guideline on restoration explains how costs are split. Sun-faded wallpaper, dents from furniture, marks behind a fridge and replacing locks that were not lost or broken are the landlord's cost. Damage from carelessness, smoking or pets is the tenant's, reduced by the age of the item: wallpaper and carpet are written down to almost nothing over six years. Clauses making the tenant pay more, such as a fixed cleaning fee, are only valid if there is an objective reason, the tenant understood they were taking on more than the law requires, and agreed to it. MLIT says clauses on lock-change and cleaning costs that are written into the contract are treated as valid (MLIT, as of 2026-10). Restoration is the classic dispute: consumer centres logged 13,273 cases in FY2023, 13,312 in FY2024 and 14,711 in FY2025 (National Consumer Affairs Center, July 2026). Take dated photos when you move in and attend the final inspection.

The agent's fee (chūkai tesūryō) is capped by MLIT notice under the Real Estate Brokerage Act: the total from landlord and tenant together may not exceed one month's rent plus consumption tax (10%), so ¥165,000 on a rent of ¥150,000. For a home, each side pays at most half a month plus tax, unless that client agreed when asking the agent to act. In practice the tenant is often asked to agree to pay the full month, so check before you sign. Since 1 July 2024, for homes that have stood empty for a long time (roughly over a year), an agent may take more from the landlord only, up to 2.2 months' rent in total; the tenant's cap is unchanged. Other costs to expect: tenant's fire and liability insurance (usually a condition of the contract), lock replacement at move-in, the guarantor company's fee and, where the contract says so, cleaning at move-out.

Foreign residents staying more than three months get a residence card (zairyū kādo) on arrival. Within 14 days of settling at an address, you must file a moving-in notification (tennyū todoke) at the city or ward office, taking the card with you. The address is recorded on the card, and you join the resident register, which is what gives you National Health Insurance, a My Number (the individual number for tax and social security) and certificates of residence. When you move, you file again within 14 days (Immigration Services Agency guidebook; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications). Since 14 June 2026 you can choose a 'specified residence card' (tokutei zairyū kādo) that combines the residence card with the My Number card, so that renewals at immigration also update the My Number side. New cards issued since that date no longer print the period of stay on the front; it is held on the chip (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare leaflet, 2026).

To rent, agents usually ask for your residence card or passport, proof of income (an employment contract or certificate, a student ID or a bank balance), a guarantor or guarantor company, an emergency contact in Japan, and a Japanese phone number. You will also want a Japanese bank account; banks ask for a residence card and often a work or student ID before opening one (MLIT guidebook; Immigration Services Agency guidebook, 7th edition). The landlord's and agent's screening (nyūkyo shinsa) means it usually takes one to two weeks from application to moving in.

According to a Nikkei report of July 2022, no Japanese law specifically bans refusing a tenant for being foreign. The Ministry of Justice calls such refusals a human-rights violation and handles complaints through its human-rights counselling, including a foreign-language line, but its remedies are advice and requests to improve, not orders (Nikkei, July 2022; Ministry of Justice). In the ministry's own national survey of foreign residents (2016, published 2017), 39.3% of those who had looked for a home in the previous five years had been refused because they were foreign, 41.2% for having no Japanese guarantor, and 26.8% gave up after seeing 'no foreigners' on a listing. Ways round it: homes registered under the Housing Safety Net Act, whose landlords commit not to refuse groups such as foreign residents (searchable on MLIT's Safety Net Housing site); guarantor companies on MLIT's list with foreign-language support; and UR. The public Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) charges no key money, agent's fee, renewal fee or guarantor fee; you pay a two-month deposit. It is open to foreign nationals who are mid- to long-term residents (including permanent residents) or special permanent residents, with a minimum income of four times the rent (or a fixed level for higher rents), or an advance-rent or savings option instead. Municipal and prefectural public housing is for low-income households, and may require foreign residents to have a period of stay of more than one year.

A tenant may not assign the lease or sublet without the landlord's consent, and if they let someone else use the home in breach of that rule, the landlord may cancel the contract (Civil Code art. 612). A lawful subtenant is liable directly to the head landlord for what the tenant owes, and cannot rely on rent paid in advance to the tenant (art. 613). If the head lease ends by expiry or notice, the landlord must notify the subtenant, and the sublease then ends six months later (Act on Land and Building Leases, art. 34). Anyone moving in with you, even a partner, normally has to be declared to the landlord, and undeclared co-occupants can lead to eviction (MLIT guidebook).

Share houses are a common first home for newcomers. Usually you rent a room directly from an operator. The same contract rules apply, so check whether it is an ordinary or a fixed-term lease, the notice period, what the deposit covers and any cleaning fee. Letting your rented flat to tourists counts as subletting: a tenant who files a private-lodging (minpaku) notification must show that the landlord consents to subletting for that purpose (MLIT minpaku portal).

'Sublease' also has a specific meaning in Japan: a company leases a whole building from the owner and re-lets the flats (a master lease). Since the Rental Housing Management Business Act came fully into force on 15 June 2021, these schemes have been regulated on the owner's side. For a tenant, the company is your landlord and the Act on Land and Building Leases protects you in the usual way.

Letting your own home needs no national licence or registration, but the contract has to follow the Act on Land and Building Leases. Ordinary leases renew unless you have just cause, so if you will want the home back, use a fixed-term lease and follow its formalities: a written contract, a separate prior written explanation, and notice between one year and six months before the end. A personal guarantee must state a maximum amount in writing. The deposit must be returned after hand-back, minus only what is owed, and the tenant does not pay for normal wear and tear. Agents who broker leases must hold a real estate brokerage licence, which you can check in MLIT's public search. Under the Rental Housing Management Business Act (fully in force 15 June 2021), managers of 200 or more rental homes must register with MLIT, keep tenants' money in separate accounts, explain the management contract to the owner in writing and report to the owner at least once a year.

Tax: rental profit is 'real estate income'. It includes rent, renewal and other one-off fees, the non-refundable part of deposits (such as shikibiki) and service charges, minus property tax, insurance, depreciation and repairs (National Tax Agency). It is added to your other income and taxed at 5% to 45% (seven bands), plus a 2.1% reconstruction surtax on the tax until 2037, plus local inhabitants' tax of 10% (National Tax Agency; Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as of 2026-10). If the landlord is non-resident, the payer of the rent must withhold 20.42% and pay it to the tax office by the 10th of the next month. The exception is an individual renting the home to live in themselves or with family, who does not withhold, so the non-resident landlord then reports and pays the tax. From 2027 the 20.42% is split differently, adding a new 1% defence surtax, but the total stays the same (NTA, as of 2026-10). Residential rent is exempt from consumption tax.

Short lets have three legal routes: a licence under the Inns and Hotels Act; a notification under the Private Lodging Business Act (2017), which allows letting a home to guests for no more than 180 nights a year, with duties to keep a guest register, give notices in foreign languages, handle neighbours' complaints and report nights every two months; or, in National Strategic Special Zones, certification as 'special-zone minpaku' (tokku minpaku). Prefectures and cities can restrict dates and areas further by ordinance (MLIT minpaku portal). Osaka City, home to most of Japan's special-zone minpaku, stopped taking new applications and room additions on 29 May 2026 after complaints about noise and rubbish. Approved properties may carry on (Osaka City, 2026). Check the current rules with the city before you list.

Start with the contract, the explanation of important matters and MLIT's restoration guideline, and put your objection in writing. For advice, call the Consumer Hotline 188, which puts you through to your local consumer affairs centre; on weekends and holidays, when local centres are closed, the National Consumer Affairs Center (Kokusen) takes the calls itself. Centres give free advice and can sometimes mediate. In Tokyo, the metropolitan government's rental hotline (03-5320-4958, weekdays) advises tenants and landlords, and it offers free 20-minute consultations with lawyers or judicial scriveners by appointment (03-5320-5015). Tokyo's Rental Housing Dispute Prevention Ordinance (in force since 1 October 2004, Tokyo only) requires agents letting a home in Tokyo to explain in writing, before the contract, the rules on restoration and repairs, any special clauses that make the tenant pay more, and who to contact for repairs.

The courts offer two cheap routes. Civil conciliation (minji chōtei) at the summary court is a private, round-table process with a judge and lay conciliators, including real estate appraisers for rent disputes; its fees are lower than for a lawsuit (¥500 against ¥1,000 for a ¥100,000 claim). Small claims (shōgaku soshō) handle money claims of up to ¥600,000, such as a deposit refund, normally in a single hearing, with a limit of ten cases a year per person at the same court. Filing fees now include postage and are normally paid electronically, and documents can be submitted online through the courts' mints system (Courts of Japan, as of 2026-10). Changes of rent, and evictions, go to conciliation or an ordinary lawsuit.

Houterasu (the Japan Legal Support Center) runs a free multilingual information line on 0570-078377 (050-3754-5430 from IP or prepaid phones), weekdays 9am to 5pm, in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Nepali, Thai, Indonesian and easy Japanese. It points you to the right body and, if your income is limited, to free legal consultations and help with lawyers' fees. Refusal or harassment because you are foreign can be reported to the Ministry of Justice's human-rights counselling service for foreign nationals, which runs a foreign-language line.