Moving to a New Place
Table of Contents
Moving to a New Place
Points to keep in mind when moving to a new place
Starting Costs
Rental Flowchart
Are you changing jobs? Do you need a bigger place? Don’t like where you live, or are you going to move out of room share to live on your own? Moving may be for all kinds of reasons but here are some points to keep in mind.
Points to keep in mind when moving to a new place
Timing for giving out your cancellation notice
Many of you may wonder when the best time is for giving out your cancellation notice. This depends on how long your advance notice period is. Some contracts require 2 months while others only 1.
For those with 1-month notice, you should wait until you have been officially accepted to your new rental property and not when you have just found a property you like. Your application may fall through and you could be at risk of not being able to take back your cancellation notice, so it is always best to secure your next place first before giving out your notice.
Your new landlord will typically only wait 2 – 4 weeks for you to start your contract from the application date. Have in mind that having 2 weeks overlap is always safe as you may need time to newly install internet in your new place, or you may encounter last minute surprises, such as falling ill and wanting to postpone your moving for a few days, or there could be a mis-booking of your moving company, etc.
Transferring In and Out of Wards, Mail Forwarding, Changing Address for Utilities, Internet, and Other Related Matters
When you move, you will need to change your home address on your residence card. You should do this only after you have finished moving and not before, as your local Ward office will not allow you to make this transfer in advance. Make sure you visit your old Ward office first in order to transfer out before transferring in to your new place.
Your utility contracts can be transferred to your new place by calling each utility company directly with 1 or 2 calls, or the transfers could also be done through the utility companies’ websites. Your last bill will be sent to your new home.
Internet contracts can be transferred too if the same internet company is used at your new home, but you still may have to arrange for internet construction yourself if the internet connection is not pre-installed in your particular unit. If the same company is not available then you will have to use what is available at the new place.
Make sure to request mail forwarding at the local post office of your current home or through Japan Post’s website. It will be effective for 1 year.
Driver’s license, your registered home address with your Japanese banks, credit cards, etc., have to be changed along with your moving.
Move-Out Inspection
Once you have moved all your furniture and appliances out and removed all trash and the place is completely empty, you will need to spot-inspect it with your landlord or your landlord’s agent usually before the lease’s last day.
You will inspect the place together for new damages that you made during your occupancy and determine it all at the site. This is when the damage report that you filed together with any pictures taken upon entry becomes useful.
During the spot inspection, the scope of repair you are responsible for will be apparent, and on a later day you will be sent the breakdown of what you are charged. Be aware that your landlord may demand more than you should have to bear, so consult with a real estate professional about what the norm is.
For instance, you should not have to pay for replacing all the wallpaper in a room just because you made a mark or two. Same with the floor. Of course, if the contractual agreement stipulates differently you may need to comply. You should therefore double check with your landlord’s agent before agreeing to pay.
Starting Costs
Approximately 4 - 6 months' rent
Deposit (1 or 2 months' rent)
Key money (1 month's rent or none)
First month’s rent pro-rated and next month's full rent
Guarantor company fee (0.5 -1 month's rent which is a one-time payment)
Housing insurance premium 15,000 - 25,000 yen (for 2 years)
Agency fee (1 month’s rent + tax)
Below costs may apply additionally
Lock change fee 12,000 - 35,000 yen
24-hour support service 10,000 - 15,000 yen
Sanitization fee 5,000 - 12,000 yen
Contract processing fee 5,000 - 10,000 yen
Deposit
Usually, you need to pay 1 or 2 months of your rent as deposit. You will receive back this deposit at the end of your lease, after cleaning and repair fees are appropriated. If you did not make any new damages during your rental term then only the cleaning fee will be deducted and the rest returned.
Please note at times there may be a special clause in the lease saying that the deposit will not be refunded. In this case, the landlord will use the deposit to clean your room and fix damages, and keep any balance. Keep in mind though if your repair fees exceed the deposit the landlord will ask you to pay the difference.
Key Money
Usually, you need to pay 1-month’s worth of key money at most but sometimes none is asked for. This fee is non-refundable and the money just goes into the landlord’s pocket.
Upfront Rent
In most cases the landlord will charge you the prorated rent of the first month and the full rent of the next month. If your contract starts before the 10th day of the month, the landlord may hold back from charging you for the next months’ rent.
Guarantor Fee
The guarantor company (保証会社 Hosho-kaisha) is always selected by the landlord and you cannot choose freely. The guarantor fee is anywhere between 30 – 100% of the rent which is a one-time payment. There’s usually an annual renewal fee of 10,000 – 12,000 yen, or in lieu of that, a monthly guarantor fee of a few percents of the monthly rent.
Housing Insurance Premium
The insurance company is always selected by the landlord and a fixed plan is usually prepared. The premium will range between 15,000 – 30,000 yen depending on your household structure.
The insurance covers any damages to you household belongings caused by natural calamity, theft, water exposure from plumbing troubles, and even when you break your own personal items while cleaning your room. It also has a landlord and third-party liability coverage which covers any damages you may inflict on others.
Most insurance plans proposed from landlords do not include earthquake coverage which may come as a surprise to most people knowing that Japan is a country of earthquakes. However, it is also a fact that it would need to be one large earthquake to significantly damage any of your personal belongings. Furthermore, since the earthquake insurance pays out only a low percentage of the value of your items, most people don’t bother to be covered.
Agency Fee
Agency fee is usually 1 month of the rent which does not include management fee in the calculation, plus consumer tax.
Other Small Fees
(please note that these fees may or may not arise)
Lock change fee: 10,000 – 30,000 yen
24-hour support service fee: 12,000 – 15,000 yen
Sanitization fee: 5,000 – 12,000 yen
Contract processing fee: 5,000 – 10,000 yen
Rental Flowchart
1. Check your advance cancellation notice period and decide on the timing for giving out your cancellation notice
2. Contact an agent and start your property search
3. Tour and apply for an apartment
4. Once your application is accepted finalize the move-in date
5. Contract signing and contract fee payment
6. Start looking for a moving company
7. Arrange for utility and internet services
8. Receive keys and move in
Check your advance cancellation notice period and decide on the timing for giving out your cancellation notice
Find out how early you need to give your cancellation notice. Decide whether you give your notice first then start looking or wait until you have secured your next place.
Contact an agent and start your property search
Contact an agent and consult about your housing criteria, your ideal moving date, and share information about yourself, such as work situation, annual income, nationality, Japanese speaking skills, etc. Your agent will then start to search for your property. Find an agent who will do their due diligence in finding suitable landlords accepting of your present Japanese level. You may remember from your first experience that the majority of landlords require language proficiency and they restrict foreigners who have limited daily conversational skills. I cannot stress this point enough since it would be wasted effort and time trying to rent from the wrong landlords.
Tour and apply for an apartment
Tour candidate properties, and once you find the right place let the agent know to make an application for the property before it is taken by others. The rule of thumb for rental applications is first-come-first-serve, and whoever submits the application first has priority to rent the property. Inform your agent about anything you want to negotiate on and this should be done at the beginning and not in the middle of the application process.
For the application, your agent will need the front and back side copies of your residence card and proof of income to show your ability to pay the rent.
Once your application is accepted finalize the move-in date
Once your application is accepted, decide on your move-in date which should not be more than 3 - 4 weeks from your application date. Some landlords will have a strict start date requirement which could be anywhere between 7 -14 days from your application date.
If you had waited to give your cancellation notice until securing your next place, now is the time to submit it. Again, it is always safe to have an overlap of rental periods for about 2 weeks for unexpected events.
Contract signing and contract fee payment
Contract signing will be held either at your agent’s or landlord’s office and the contract will be explained in English by your agent. After you have signed the contract pay the contract fee.
Start looking for a moving company
When the start date is agreed upon, start looking for a moving company. Late December to mid-March is the busiest moving season so if you are going to move during these months you should start looking immediately. Please note that Japanese moving companies do not service in English (at least the personnels that do the physical moving do not usually speak English), so if you wish to use English then look around on the internet for such a company. Make sure to get a few different quotes to compare prices as you may be able to save some money.
Arrange for utility and internet services
Arranging for utility services can be guided by your agent, and if you need internet connection at home you should start contacting the internet provider of the property early. Setting up an internet service could take weeks as you may need your internet company to install internet lines to your room for the first time.
Receive keys and move in
Receive the keys and move in. Within 7 – 10 days of your entry you will need to hand in a report of any damages that existed when you entered the property. Handing in this report can protect you from being charged for damages that you did not make. Even if the landlord does not require you to hand in pictures, you should take them anyway for your own sake.