The special features of the Japanese real estate agent system

Unique system for expenses when you move into the apartment

The lease contract conditions for an apartment are usually different from those in your native country, and lease contracts may also differ, depending on the local area where you reside in Japan.
If you plan to reside in a metropolitan area in Japan, you may incur additional fees to rent.

Reikin (remuneration)

Originally, this is the system that the Japanese government established after World War II to assist individuals who leased their houses for a low monthly rental. This system still exists as a custom around metropolitan areas in Japan.

Shikikin (deposit)

In other countries, in many cases you are allowed to do some basic remodeling, such as changing the wallpaper, fixing the plumbing, and painting the walls, when you rent a room. In Japan, however, you will be required by the apartment owner to return the room to its original condition (exactly as when you first moved in) when you leave.
If you pound nails into the walls to hang posters, for example, or if you change the wallpaper, without the apartment owner's prior permission, the owner may charge you (from your original deposit) to fix and return the apartment to its original condition when you leave.

Koshinryo (renewal fee)

When your first rental contract expires after a period of 1 or 2 years, if you wish to have another contract to continue living in the same apartment, you might have to pay the equivalent of 1 month's rent as a renewal fee.

Floor plan

In many cases, real estate agencies use the terms 2DK (2 rooms + dining kitchen) or 1R (1 room) to identify the apartment size. Please inquire specifically with the agency about the number of actual square meters (floor size) of an apartment.
For room size, it is customary to count the number of pieces of tatami (Japanese straw mats) that could lay flat in the floor of a room; for example, the so-called 6 jyo (6 tatami size room) or 8 jyo (8 tatami size room) are typical measurements. For your information, 1 jyo (1 tatami mat size) is approximately 1.62 square meters in size.

• See Example of sample room information for Exchange Students and Foreign Researchers.

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