No Guarantor? Can You Still Rent in Japan? | Room Hunting, Then and Now: Today ①

This is the English edition of our Japanese series 「お部屋探し今むかし」 (Room Hunting, Then and Now). 日本語版はこちら ／ All English articles

This is the first “Today” episode. I look at common worries about renting in Japan and check them against government and city sources. First: the guarantor.

The Sapporo Housing Support Council lists this as a typical consultation: “I could not find a guarantor and was refused a contract.” Having no one to ask is not a rare problem.

About 80% of leases now use a guarantee company

According to material from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), a rent guarantee company is used in about 80% of rental contracts (fiscal 2021 survey of management companies).

A rent guarantee company takes a fee and guarantees your rent to the landlord. Instead of asking a person for a favour, you pay a company. That is now the usual way.

There is also a national registration system for these companies. Registered companies are listed on the MLIT website: 125 as of 30 September 2026.

Edo had the same business

This is not a new idea. In the Edo period, too, there were people who acted as guarantors for a fee. I wrote about them in Edo ②. The problem of having no guarantor is about 300 years old.

You will still be asked for an emergency contact

Many people think that with a guarantee company you do not have to write down anyone’s name. Not quite.

An MLIT survey (fiscal 2023, preliminary figures) found that about 80% of guarantee companies ask for an emergency contact, and many require it to be an individual such as a relative or a friend.

An emergency contact is not a guarantor. The notes to MLIT’s standard lease contract say the contact may be asked to reach the tenant, and to help in case of sudden illness, a welfare check or a water leak.

When you ask someone, tell them clearly: “I am asking you to be my emergency contact, not my guarantor.” And check in the documents, before signing, what that person is being asked to do.

Sometimes both are required

One more point. A casebook published on the MLIT website (March 2022) notes that some properties require a guarantee company even when you have a joint guarantor. The reverse also appears in government material: a tenant who used a guarantee company and was then asked for a guarantor.

Conditions differ by property and by company. Even if the listing says “no guarantor required”, check the conditions before you apply.

How much is the fee?

MLIT’s Apartment Search Guidebook for foreign residents says the fee is often “about half a month’s rent for a two-year guarantee”. An MLIT document from 2016 said many companies charged 50% of the monthly rent at first, then 10,000 yen a year.

Both documents are a few years old. Fees differ by company and plan, so check the estimate. Ask about the renewal fee as well as the first payment.

The rules for asking a person have changed too

The rules for asking a parent or relative changed in April 2020. According to the Ministry of Justice, when an individual gives this kind of open-ended guarantee, the contract is void unless it sets a maximum amount. MLIT material says this applies to joint guarantors of residential leases.

For the person you ask, it means the contract now states the most they could ever have to pay.

Other routes

UR rental housing. UR’s official site says no key money, no agent fee, no renewal fee and no guarantor. A guarantee company is not needed either. There are application conditions such as income.

A consultation desk in Sapporo. “Mina Sumairu Sapporo”, run by the Sapporo Housing Support Council, helps people who have difficulty securing housing, such as older people and people with disabilities. It introduces housing information, living-support services and welfare desks. Consultation is free and by appointment only, on the 2nd floor of Sapporo City Hall. Please check with the desk about languages.

For foreign residents. MLIT’s Apartment Search Guidebook is published in several languages.

Summary: three things to check before you apply

1. Can you use a guarantee company? Is a guarantor also required?
2. What are the conditions for the emergency contact?
3. How much is the guarantee fee, at first and at renewal?

Guarantee companies screen applicants too, so I cannot say “you will definitely be able to rent”. But having no guarantor does not leave you with only one road. I can help you look for a property that fits your conditions.

Sources (all in Japanese unless noted): MLIT material on guarantee companies and emergency contacts / MLIT list of registered guarantee companies / Standard Residential Lease Contract (March 2018 edition) / Consultation casebook on private rental housing (March 2022) / MLIT, “The State of Rent Guarantees” (October 2016) / MLIT Apartment Search Guidebook (multilingual) / Ministry of Justice pamphlet on the Civil Code revision / MLIT casebook on the revised Civil Code (March 2021) / UR rental housing / Sapporo Housing Support Council. Checked on 8 October 2026.

The next “Today” episode is about move-in costs: which money comes back and which does not. Tomorrow is Meiji history: the deposit.

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Please note: Lease contracts and the legally required explanation of important matters (jūyō jikō setsumei) are provided in Japanese.