Renting in Kyoto – Initial fees

12 comments

1. For the fire insurance – that’s non negotiable and the owner/management will decide the provider. You having additional insurance isn’t relevant to them.

2. >30k for “Deodorant and antibacterial fee”?

   Welcome to japan’s perfectly legal daylight scum. This is basically just a way in which rentals scum extra money out of their tenants. I’m pretty sure the person who was living there before had a “cleaning fee” deducted from their deposit when they moved out lol. Don’t even get me started with key money (although it is becoming increasingly easier to find places without this). In the end you have no choice but to pay it up, sadly that’s just how things work.

3. Regarding the “Deodorant and Antibacterial fee” (消毒料）— it’s generally unnecessary and you can ask for it to be removed, but depending on the popularity of the place they might just refuse your request and wait to go with someone who will pay. It will come down to your negotiation ability but likelihood of removal is low.

   One tip mentioned in the article below is that if you can show nothing was done (e.g. take pictures before moving in, then take additional pictures after moving in and show that nothing was cleaned), you could try to ask for a return of the money.

   More details:

   https://hikkoshizamurai.jp/useful/trouble/disinfection-fee/

   For insurance I have been able to use my own choice of insurance company as long as specific conditions specified by the management company are met — I had to send a copy of the insurance contract to them.

   The “document fee” is basically just part of the commission fee, but appears to be separated out to make the commission appear cheaper. As long as the realtor commission is one month of rent or cheaper it’s usually fair game.

   Cleaning fee when moving out is common as well — they will charge that regardless of how clean you keep the place, so no need to do any kind of over the top cleaning when you move out. This is generally added to your contract as an addendum that you agree to, but again, if you refuse they’ll likely just find someone else.

4. Wtf?! 49500 yen of cleaning fee? And 30000 for antibacterial spray? Something smells not right and its not the antibacterial spray…

5. Honestly this is low for fees. 0 months deposit 0 months key money? Guarantor is 50%rent which is on the better side and agency fee is 50% too which is also about half what it usually is. Cleaning fee is usually more like 30,000 so a bit high and I didn’t have a disinfectant fee in any of my apartments but overall the total fees is low for Japan

6. Yeah this sounds about right, I had a similar breakdown because my rent costs the same and I had no key money and deposit. You’re going to have to spend this much regardless of which agent you go with because if not “deodorant” fees, it will be something else.

   However, if you’re willing to make the effort, approach a couple of other real estate agents and tell them you’re interested in the house. If it’s cheaper you can negotiate with your current agent to get a lower rate because they won’t want to lose you as a customer. They might be willing to knock off stupid things like deodorant charges in that case. You can negotiate with multiple agents and go with the cheapest offer.

7. It’s a scam. Find a different agent. When I was renting, my first agent also quoted me all these ridiculous fees, as soon as he did that I dumped his ass and replaced him. With the next one, I paid only fire insurance (which is mandatory) for the exact same apartment and that’s it. Find a new agent.

8. I remember moving into a place around 10 years ago. Rent was ¥42,000 a month and I only paid ¥85,000 first time fee. So cheaper rates do exist.

   However the next two times I moved it was ¥250,000 and ¥450,000 upfront. Both never got any money back.

9. Also remember to ask for the fire insurance policy document. With the policy number and company contact person

10. Key money is definitely a scam, but there is one benefit. On the whole, it weeds out a lot of riff-raff. If you’re comparing two mansions that are similar in age and attributes, the one that charges a key deposit is on the average going to have better tenants or at least not so many people moving in and out every time their contract ends. It depends if you want to live in an apartment that is more like a temporary rental suite or a long term condominium.

11. First of all, everything is negotiable, even your rent. Both you and your realtor can agree or reject terms. Everything depends on how badly the tenant wants the room and the realtor to find a tennant and if there is no agreement, you each go your own merry way.

    I don’t know how “normal” a deodorant and antibacterial fee is but 30,000 yen sounds awfully expensive. You can ask to have it not done or discounted but the realtor/landlord may say it’s non-negotiable. I noticed there’s no charge for key money or a thank-you fee which is unusual for Japanese rentals so depending on how nice the unit is, I might just bite the bullet and consider it a cheap substitute fee. Up to you.

12. Those should be optional. Otherwise you can tell them you do it yourself – which is just placing a can which produces disinfect smoke in your rooms overnight. Worked for us. (Note you should not be inside the house during the process)