01 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
The rent is only one part of the decision.
A home advertised at ¥300,000 a month does not tell you how much cash you will need before collecting the keys. Nor does a lower move-in total necessarily mean a less expensive lease. A deposit ties up cash; key money is a different kind of payment. Advance rent pays for a period of occupation rather than adding another month to that period.
The useful starting point is an itemized, property-specific quote. Ask for the amount, recipient, payment date and refund conditions for every line. The national housing guide identifies several possible charges, but their inclusion and amount must be checked for the actual property.[1]
Compare three things separately: cash due before move-in, money held as security, and the ongoing cost of occupying the home. One headline total cannot answer all three.
This guide is for someone comparing conventional private rental offers in Tokyo. It is not a tariff, a market-average survey or a quote for a GAISAPP property. Furnished stays, serviced accommodation and employer-arranged housing can use different structures.
02 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Put every payment in the right bucket.
Paying for a period
Rent and common-area charges paid in advance. Record the exact dates they cover.
Held as security
A deposit. Cash needed now, with any eventual return depending on settlement.
Other quoted charges
Key money, agency, guarantee, insurance and other items. Check each item separately.
Then add a second label: one-off or recurring? An initial guarantee fee does not answer whether there is an annual or monthly guarantee charge. An insurance premium may cover a stated term. Parking, internet, utilities and optional services may sit outside the advertised rent.
Do not count prepaid rent twice. If the move-in invoice already covers October, do not add October again when calculating your first-year housing payments. For a mid-month start, ask which part-month and full-month periods appear on the invoice. Compare both properties using the same dates, occupants and parking assumptions.
If the entry invoice covers October and November, a 12-month October-to-September budget adds December to September only: 10 more months, not 12. For a partial month, use the contract's day-count and rounding convention.
03 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Read these lines before comparing the total.
The Japanese labels below help you recognize an item; they do not establish that it is compulsory or priced correctly for your lease.
| Item | What it means | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Advance rent Maeyachin / 前家賃 | Housing payments for a stated period, potentially including a partial month. | Which dates are covered, and when is the next payment due? |
| Common charges Kyōekihi / 共益費 | A separate recurring charge where the offer includes one. | Is it included in your monthly ceiling and in the advance payment? |
| Security deposit Shikikin / 敷金 | Security held against relevant obligations. Any balance returned depends on settlement. | What deductions, cleaning provisions or non-returnable portions are specified? |
| Key money Reikin / 礼金 | A non-refundable payment to the landlord, separate from the deposit. | Does this property charge it? Do not confuse it with changing the lock. |
| Agency fee Chūkai tesūryō / 仲介手数料 | A brokerage-related payment. | What amount, tax treatment and payment conditions have been explained and agreed? |
| Guarantee | A payment for a guarantee arrangement, not another refundable landlord deposit. | Which provider, what assessment, and which initial and recurring fees? |
| Insurance | A premium for a specified policy and cover period. | What cover is required, for how long, and what happens on cancellation? |
| Other items | Possible lock, cleaning, support, parking or service charges. | Is each item required or optional, when is it payable, and what does it cover? |
Terminology and general fee categories: MLIT and Tokyo TIPS. Deposit principles: Tokyo Metropolitan Government. No universal fee amount or commission rule is implied.[1], [2], [3]
Zero key money is not a complete cost assessment. It tells you one line is zero. It says nothing by itself about rent, the deposit, guarantee renewals, insurance, an early-departure clause or the cost of leaving. Equally, a large deposit is not automatically a large final expense.
Agency fees: a limit is not a standard price.
For ordinary residential brokerage by a consumption-tax-liable agent, the general combined fee ceiling for landlord and tenant is 1.1 months of rent, tax included. The ceiling from either party is 0.55 months unless that party consented when engaging the broker. Special rules exist. Ask the licensed agent which rule and consent apply; one month plus tax is not an automatic tenant charge.[11]
Do not add 10% to the whole quote.
The National Tax Agency treats qualifying residential rent and associated common-area charges as exempt from consumption tax. Separately priced services and some accommodation types are treated differently. Use the final itemized figures, rather than applying one tax rate to every line.[12]
04 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Same monthly payment. Different cash commitments.
Imagine two quotes for the same monthly housing payment: ¥300,000 rent + ¥20,000 common charges. The figures below are deliberately fictional. They demonstrate the arithmetic, not what Tokyo landlords normally charge.
| Quote line | Home A | Home B |
|---|---|---|
| One full month, including common charges | 320,000 | 320,000 |
| Security deposit | 600,000 | 0 |
| Key money | 0 | 300,000 |
| Agency fee: assumed final quoted amount | 330,000 | 330,000 |
| Initial guarantee fee | 160,000 | 160,000 |
| Insurance premium | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Lock change | 22,000 | 22,000 |
| Cash due before move-in | 1,452,000 | 1,152,000 |
Home A requires ¥300,000 more cash initially, but includes a ¥600,000 security deposit. Home B requires less initial cash and includes ¥300,000 of non-refundable key money. You cannot call B the cheaper lease merely by comparing the two totals.
Nor can you subtract all of A's deposit and promise that it will come back. The eventual result depends on the contract and settlement. Insurance or other fees can have their own cancellation provisions. Future guarantee charges, renewal or departure costs, utilities, furniture and moving expenses are excluded from this illustration; obtain them separately.
The fictional agency amount assumes the necessary tenant consent at engagement; it is not an automatic tariff.[11]
05 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
The 24-month test: cash flow is not the same as cost.
Keep the same fictional homes and extend the comparison over 24 full months at an unchanged ¥320,000 a month. Because the first month was prepaid, add only 23 further payments to each move-in total. This is a controlled illustration, not a forecast of your entire tenancy.
| Measure | Home A | Home B |
|---|---|---|
| Housing payments over 24 months | 7,680,000 | 7,680,000 |
| Other modeled charges, excluding deposit | 532,000 | 832,000 |
| Deposit held at the start | 600,000 | 0 |
| Cash paid before deposit settlement | 8,812,000 | 8,512,000 |
| Modeled cost before exit adjustments | 8,212,000 | 8,512,000 |
The last line separates the refundable security amount from modeled spending; it does not promise a refund. Add A's actual exit charges and B's actual exit charges separately, whether they are deducted from a deposit or billed directly. A zero-deposit lease does not mean zero liability.[4]
A minus B = −¥300,000 + (A's exit charges − B's exit charges)
For these assumptions only. Equal exit charges leave A ¥300,000 lower in modeled cost, despite requiring ¥300,000 more cash at entry.Excluded from both homes: future guarantee fees, policy renewals or refunds, lease-renewal charges, early-termination charges, changes in rent, utilities, parking, furniture, moving costs and the opportunity cost of the deposit. Add any differences before deciding. The horizon stops at 24 months; no renewal is assumed.
Before exit adjustments — fictional example.
Another useful test: a fee waiver versus higher rent.
If one offer waives ¥300,000 of key money but costs ¥12,500 more per month, that saving is used up after 24 months: 300,000 ÷ 12,500. This shortcut works only when all other terms and costs match. It is a comparison method, not a claim about a current promotion.
06 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Compare the figures on your own quotes.
Enter the final quoted amount in yen for each line. The tool does not add tax, infer fees or use a rent multiplier. A blank field means unknown, not zero. Enter 0 only when an item is confirmed absent. Combine any extra upfront items in the last row and retain their breakdown separately.
Your comparison
Download the text worksheet (no data submission)
This is a local arithmetic tool, not a quote or a financial recommendation. It sends nothing, stores nothing and does not evaluate whether a charge is lawful or reasonable. Reloading clears your inputs.
07 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Read the exit terms while you still have a choice.
A security deposit is not a promise of a full refund, and it is not automatically a non-refundable fee. Tokyo's explanation of the Civil Code distinguishes the return of the balance after relevant deductions from the general restoration duty. Ordinary wear and ageing are treated differently from damage for which the tenant is responsible. Special clauses need to be read for the actual lease.[2], [4]
Before signing, ask the transaction professional to point out any cleaning provision, fixed deduction, notice period, renewal charge or early-termination condition. For a fixed-term lease, confirm the end date and any separate conditions for another contract; do not assume a renewal right. These are practical questions, not amounts this guide can calculate for you.[1]
Also ask what happens if you withdraw at each stage. An application, a reservation payment, a concluded lease and key handover are not interchangeable. Do not assume that not having the keys means every payment is refundable. Obtain the cancellation and refund explanation before transferring money.[5]
At move-in, make a dated condition record with the agency's instructions: existing marks, damaged equipment and other issues. Keep the acknowledgement and photographs. MLIT supplies a condition-check format for this purpose.[8]
08 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
A five-question check before you pay.
- Is the quote complete? Identify missing upfront items and future recurring charges; request a revised total after changes.
- Are both quotes comparable? Same period, occupants, parking and included services; no double-counted prepaid month.
- What could be returned? Separate the deposit from key money and read deductions and cancellation terms.
- Who receives each payment? Confirm payment instructions through a known agency contact, especially if bank details change.
- What is the real commitment? Confirm the lease terms and handover conditions, not just an informal target date.
For your next enquiry, a monthly ceiling, an upfront cash ceiling, household requirements and a target move-in window are more useful than a guessed multiple of rent. You do not need to attach bank statements or identity documents simply to ask which homes might fit.
09 / RENTAL FIELDNOTES
Questions worth settling before the transfer.
Does zero deposit mean nothing is due when I leave?
No. The security payment and your eventual obligations are separate. Ask how valid cleaning, damage or other exit charges will be settled.
Is key money the charge for a new lock?
No. Reikin is a separate payment to the landlord; a lock-change item is a different line. Read both rather than translating them as the same fee.
Sources and methodology
Research checked: 30 September 2026. Official/public references; calculations and tools are editorial illustrations, not a market dataset. This is general information, not legal or tax advice or an assessment of a particular lease.
- [1]MLIT - Apartment Search Guide (English)E03: process; E07-E09: application and contract; E17-E18: fee concepts; E23: selected document examples. Legacy guide, not a 2026 market survey.
- [2]Tokyo Metropolitan Government - Civil Code and rental contracts2020 reform: deposit settlement and ordinary wear. Review the actual lease.
- [3]Tokyo TIPS - Deposit and Key Money1 March 2023; terminology only. Do not use its examples as a current tariff.
- [4]MLIT / JPM - Restoration of rented housingMarch 2023; PDF pp. 2-4: normal wear, tenant-caused damage and special clauses.
- [5]Tokyo Consumer Affairs - Cancelling a concluded rental contractPublished 11 May 2018; contract formation and cancellation consequences. Not a right to cancel merely because keys have not been delivered.
- [8]MLIT - Move-in / move-out condition checklistEnglish sample for recording existing condition; not a GAISAPP-operated form.
- [11]MLIT - Brokerage remuneration notice, current posted textAmended 21 June 2024, effective 1 July 2024; sections IV and IX. Ordinary residential brokerage, taxable agent, consent and special vacant-property rules.
- [12]National Tax Agency - No. 6226: residential lettingPage displays law status 1 April 2025. Residential rent, qualifying common charges, separate services and excluded short-stay/hotel uses.
- [14]Tokyo Consumer Affairs - Cancelling a rental applicationApplication-stage deposit example before contract formation; distinct from cancelling an already-concluded lease.