Move-in Costs: Which Money Comes Back? | Room Hunting, Then and Now: Today ②

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

When you rent a home in Japan, several months’ worth of rent leaves your account at once. These are the move-in costs, shoki hiyō. Of course you want to keep them down.

Before cutting, sort them. Move-in costs mix money that comes back with money that does not.

Three kinds of move-in cost

Money you deposit. This is the deposit, shikikin. The Civil Code defines it as money the tenant hands to the landlord to secure rent and other obligations. When the lease ends and you return the property, you get back what remains after unpaid amounts are deducted (see Meiji ①).

Money you pay for good. Key money (reikin), the agent’s fee and the guarantee fee. A Japanese dictionary defines reikin as a lump sum paid to the landlord “in the name of thanks” when renting. The Civil Code has no rule for returning it, as it has for the deposit.

Money you pay in advance. Rent for the first month or two, the fire insurance premium and so on.

When you get an estimate, write “deposit”, “gone” or “advance” next to each line. Two estimates with the same total can be very different inside.

Five places to look

1. Deposit and key money. Some properties charge neither. But the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s guidelines say that even without a deposit, the tenant must pay the restoration costs the tenant is responsible for. Zero deposit does not mean zero cost when you move out.

2. Free rent. Some properties offer a rent-free period. The length and the conditions differ by property, so check before you sign.

3. Guarantee fee. Charged when you use a guarantee company. I wrote about typical levels in Today ①. Look at the renewal fee too.

4. Fire insurance. A casebook published on the MLIT website says that when taking out insurance is a condition of the contract, the tenant is considered to need to take it out. Check the cover and the premium before applying.

5. Agent’s fee. The fee paid to the real-estate agent. The cap is set by a government notice: the total received from landlord and tenant together may not exceed one month’s rent × 1.1. The detailed rules are on the MLIT page (Japanese).

Compare the total

A low move-in cost with a higher monthly rent closes the gap the longer you stay. The opposite happens too. This is arithmetic.

If you plan to stay two years, compare “move-in costs + 24 months of rent”. A difference of 3,000 yen a month is 72,000 yen over two years. Is that bigger or smaller than the difference in move-in costs?

I hold a Japanese national qualification in financial planning (2nd grade). From that point of view, this is the line I most want you to look at.

Check the breakdown before signing

Sapporo City’s consumer page advises: always check, before signing, the contract, the explanation of important matters, and the costs of moving in and moving out.

By law, too, the agent must explain, before the contract is concluded, the amount and purpose of any money handed over other than rent (Real Estate Brokerage Act, Article 35).

If you do not understand a line, ask: “What is this money for?” and “Does it come back?” There is nothing wrong with asking.

Summary

1. Sort the estimate into deposit, gone and advance.
2. Zero deposit does not cover the cost of moving out.
3. Compare the total for the time you plan to stay, not just the move-in costs.

There is no trick that always makes it cheaper, because every property has different terms. But once you can see what is inside, you can compare. If an estimate is hard to read, I will go through it with you line by line.

Sources (in Japanese): Ministry of Justice pamphlet on the Civil Code revision / Kotobank, 礼金 / Tokyo guidelines for preventing rental housing disputes (4th ed.) / Consultation casebook on private rental housing (March 2022) / MLIT, agent’s fees / Sapporo City, restoration disputes. Checked on 8 October 2026.

The next “Today” episode is about tenant screening: what do they look at? Tomorrow is Meiji history: boarding houses.

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