Move-In Costs Run 4 to 7 Months’ Rent: How Renting an Apartment in Japan Works

When renting a private apartment in Japan, what is required in most cases is some form of “guarantee.” The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s (MLIT) “Guidebook for Finding a Room” (部屋探しのガイドブック) explains that Japanese lease agreements require using a rent guarantee company or providing a joint guarantor, to cover the case where the tenant becomes unable to pay rent. The money paid at signing varies by area but is typically 4 to 7 months’ rent. What follows is based on official pages and materials from MLIT, the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), and the Government Public Relations Online service, checked in September 2026.

Whether you can rent a particular property, or which system you can use, is not determined by this article. Contract terms differ from property to property. If something is unclear, confirm it with the real estate agency or a consultation counter before signing.

Three Kinds of Rental Housing

The Immigration Services Agency’s Guidebook on Living and Working (Japanese edition, 8th edition) explains rental housing in three categories.

• Public housing (公営住宅): Housing rented cheaply by prefectures or municipalities to low-income people who are struggling to find housing. Eligibility requirements, such as income limits, are set by each local government; for foreign nationals, additional requirements may apply, such as having held a status of residence for at least one year with an actual record of residence. Applications go to the prefecture or municipality that manages the housing.
• UR housing (UR賃貸住宅): Housing managed by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR). Requirements include having income above a standard monthly amount set by UR. Among foreign nationals, mid- to long-term residents (including permanent residents) and Special Permanent Residents can move in.
• Private rental housing: Ordinary rental housing. Contract terms vary widely by property, so careful confirmation is needed.

From Finding a Room to Moving In

The flow shown in MLIT’s Guidebook for Finding a Room (Japanese edition) is as follows.

• Look for a room on an online real estate listing site, or at a local real estate agency.
• Tell the agency your preferences — nearest station, rent, size, facilities, and so on. The Guidebook includes a “Checklist of Desired Conditions” you can show the agent.
• Go and view the room. Viewing is free, and you do not have to apply if you do not like it.
• Apply to move in and submit the documents required for screening. The real estate agency and the landlord review the application.
• Before signing, receive an “explanation of important matters” (重要事項説明) about the contract terms from the agency.
• Sign the contract, pay the costs due at signing, and receive the keys.

According to the Guidebook, the standard time from application to moving in is 1 to 2 weeks. At the real estate agency, you will typically be asked your name, occupation, the number of people who will live with you, your income, your Japanese ability, and your reason for looking for housing; the Guidebook recommends having your residence card and passport ready in case you apply that same day. If you do not speak much Japanese, it also recommends bringing along someone who does.

Documents Required for Screening

The documents the Guidebook lists as needed for the move-in screening are a passport, residence card, certificate of income, and a certificate of employment or enrollment. If you provide a joint guarantor, that person’s certificate of income and certificate of registered seal (印鑑登録証明書) are also required.

The same Guidebook’s “Checklist of Documents Required for Move-In Screening” also lists items such as a withholding tax slip, pay slips, a tax payment certificate, a certificate of (planned) salary payment for people about to start a job, a bank remittance certificate, a scholarship payment certificate, and proof of savings (a copy of a bankbook). Which of these are required depends on the property and the real estate agency.

Guarantee Companies and Joint Guarantors

A joint guarantor (連帯保証人) is a person who pays in your place if you become unable to pay rent, or unable to pay repair costs when you move out. The Guidebook explains that a certain level of income is required.

A rent guarantee company (家賃債務保証会社) guarantees the landlord against unpaid rent. According to the Guidebook, a tenant who uses one pays a guarantee fee. In its glossary, the Guidebook states that a common fee is 30 to 60% of one month’s rent, paid up front for two years’ coverage; in its section on costs, it states that a common fee for two years’ coverage is around half a month’s rent. The Guidebook cautions that this is not insurance: the guarantee company later bills the tenant for any amount it paid on the tenant’s behalf.

Government Public Relations Online explains that using a guarantee company instead of a joint guarantor has become more common. In 2017, MLIT created a system for registering guarantee companies that meet certain requirements with the national government.

Emergency Contact

The “Personal Memo” (パーソナルメモ) in the Guidebook’s resource section (confirmed in the Japanese and English editions) has spaces to write an emergency contact in Japan and one in your home country. This can be a difficult point for people who have no relatives or acquaintances to rely on in Japan.

The amended Housing Safety Net Act, which took effect on October 1, 2025, created a system under which the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism certifies guarantee companies that are easy to use for people who need consideration in securing housing (住宅確保要配慮者). According to Government Public Relations Online, a certified guarantee company, when it requires an emergency contact under a guarantee contract with such a person, must allow that contact to be a corporation and not only an individual such as a relative.

Money You Pay When You Sign

In some regions there is a practice called “shikibiki” (敷引き), where a fixed amount is deducted from the deposit at move-out; the Guidebook says this is common in the Tokai region, the Kansai region, and Kyushu. Payment is usually made in cash or by bank transfer.

What to Check Before You Sign

The Guidebook recommends confirming the following before you receive the explanation of important matters and sign the contract.

• Whether it is an ordinary lease, or a “fixed-term lease” (定期賃貸借契約) that ends without renewal when its term expires
• The amount of the deposit and key money, and the amount of any shikibiki deduction
• Whether there is a renewal fee, and how much (the contract term is usually 2 years)
• Prohibited actions, such as remodeling the room, letting someone other than the tenant live there, or keeping pets
• The conditions for restoring the room to its original state (原状回復) when you move out

If you leave partway through the lease, you notify the landlord or real estate agency in writing, usually 1 to 2 months in advance, following the contract. The Guidebook also cautions that if you bring family members over later, letting an undeclared person live with you can lead to being asked to move out.

Finding Housing That Does Not Refuse Foreign Tenants

MLIT’s “Safety Net Housing Information System” (セーフティネット住宅情報提供システム) lets you search for rental housing registered as not refusing tenants who need consideration in securing housing. This group is defined by law to include low-income people, disaster victims, older people, people with disabilities, and people raising children, and a ministerial ordinance adds foreign nationals and others. The Guidebook for Finding a Room also introduces this system as a way to find rental housing that accepts foreign tenants.

“Housing support organizations” (居住支援法人) designated by prefectures provide people who need consideration in securing housing with rent guarantees, move-in consultation, and monitoring and daily-life support, among other services. According to Government Public Relations Online, more than 1,000 organizations are designated nationwide. Since October 2025, a certification system for “housing-support residences” (居住サポート住宅), where housing support organizations and others provide monitoring and consultation after move-in, has also begun.

People Who Evacuated From Ukraine and Public Housing

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some local governments provided public housing free of charge to people who evacuated from Ukraine. For example, Fukushima Prefecture, on a page last updated June 23, 2022, states that it offers prefectural housing and similar units for up to 1 year in 3-month blocks, with the usage fee waived, and asks recipients to secure an emergency contact. Yamaguchi Prefecture, on a page last updated September 1, 2023, states that it offers prefectural housing for 6 months (extendable), with no rent, and no joint guarantor or deposit required. Check with each local government on whether it is still accepting applications and whether the conditions have changed.

Materials Available in Multiple Languages, and Where to Ask

MLIT’s Guidebook for Finding a Room is published in 14 languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, Khmer, Tagalog, and Mongolian. There is no Ukrainian or Russian edition (confirmed September 2026). The sample contract in the “Guidelines for Facilitating Foreign Nationals’ Move-In to Private Rental Housing” (外国人の民間賃貸住宅入居円滑化ガイドライン), for landlords and real estate agencies, is in the same 14 languages. The Immigration Services Agency’s Guidebook on Living and Working does have a Ukrainian edition.

The Guidebook notes that you can also ask about housing at foreign-resident consultation services run by local governments or international exchange associations. How to find one is covered in the article Where to Ask First When You Start Living in Japan. For resident registration after you move, see Words That Come Up in Japan’s Resident Registration, and for status-of-residence procedures, see Status-of-Residence Procedures for People Who Evacuated.