Additional Recurring Costs

We already discussed the most common costs that you can expect when looking for a home in Japan. However, there are other costs you may see pop-up once you select a home. To begin with, let’s take a look at some costs you may wind up paying monthly or annually.


保険会社 (Hokengaisha) – Insurance Companies
Almost all Japanese rental properties will require you to register for renter’s insurance in case of fire, earthquake or any other accident. The costs for these may already be available and listed somewhere on the fine print of a website listing. In other cases, the management of the property will have a designated agent in mind, but not the exact numbers. Regardless of the situation, expect to pay around JPY 20000 for a 2-year contract. Recently some companies also provide monthly rates as well, so you will want to check with your agent when looking at properties.

保証会社（Hoshogaisha) – Guarantor Companies
In addition to insurance almost all properties will require you to sign up for a guarantor company. Regardless of whether or not an individual is needed as a guarantor, a company will almost always be needed. This will also usually be introduced by the management of the rental property. Rates will vary considerably from location to location, but on average, expect an initial payment of about 50% of your monthly payment, plus another 1-2% as a monthly fee. There may also be an annual fee of approximately JPY 10000-20000.

駐車場 (Chushajo) – Parking
If you will be needing parking be sure to check availability and cost ahead of time. This cost will vary greatly based on your neighborhood and the property itself. For Nagoya-city I have seen parking as low as JPY 7000 per month in some areas, but also over JPY 60000 at some downtown locations. On average, expect somewhere between JPY 15000 to 30000 for Nagoya in general. In addition to a monthly fee a parking deposit of 1-2 month’s parking fee may be needed as well.

駐輪場 (Churinjo) – Bicycle Parking
If you plan on having a bicycle be sure to check on fees for this as well. In some properties bicycle parking is assigned, and in others it just requires a permission sticker. Generally speaking, bicycle costs are between JPY 300-500 per bicycle. This may be charged monthly, or as an annual lump sum. Of course many properties will just let you park for free, but be sure to check ahead of time.

更新料 (Koshinryo) – Renewal Fees
The last recurring fee to check on is any renewal fees. Most rental properties in Japan will be a 2-year lease with some kind of renewal clause. Best case scenario is that this is an automatic renewal which means no paperwork and no payments. However, in some cases there may be a renewal fee paid to the owner, which is typically an additional 1-month’s rent. Beyond this there may also be a renewal handling fee which can very from JPY 20000 to 50% of your monthly rental fee. Usually, a property will only have one of the two fees, but in some cases both may be required

While this covers all of the monthly or annual fees to expect there are still a few more items to consider. Next time we’ll go over the final group of one-time costs.