Moving Out of an Apartment in Japan: Fees and Your Deposit

When you leave an apartment in Japan, it’s natural to worry about the final bill. Will you get your deposit back? Do you have to pay for every tiny hole in the wall or every patch of faded wallpaper? If it’s your first time moving out, there’s a lot that isn’t obvious.

The good news is that Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has published a guideline on how repair costs should be split between tenants and landlords at move-out. In this article, we walk through that guideline, explain how move-out costs work, how your deposit comes back, and where to go if you disagree with the bill.

Actual costs and procedures depend on your own lease contract.

---

1. Move-Out Costs: The Short Answers First

Here are quick answers to the most common questions.

The single most important point: *restoration (genjo kaifuku) does not mean returning the room to the condition it was in when you moved in.* Knowing this alone changes how you read the bill.

---

2. What Restoration Means: What You Pay and What You Don’t

You’ll often see the word restoration (genjo kaifuku: repairing damage the tenant is responsible for, at move-out) in lease contracts.

MLIT’s guideline gives a standard for deciding whether the tenant or the landlord pays move-out costs. It isn’t legally binding like a law, but it is treated as the general benchmark for splitting the costs. However, the guideline assumes private rental housing with rent at normal market levels. A contract you have already signed is basically handled according to what it says. The guideline is meant to be used as a reference when you talk things over, for example when the contract is unclear.

The guideline describes restoration as repairing damage the tenant caused on purpose or through carelessness, or by unusual use, and says the tenant pays for it. On the other hand, the cost of repairing aging (natural changes over time) and normal wear and tear (wear that happens just from living normally) is considered to be included in your monthly rent.

The law (Article 621 of the Civil Code) takes the same view. A tenant must repair “damage” only, excluding wear from normal use and changes from age, and does not have to repair damage they are not responsible for.

What the landlord pays for and what the tenant pays for

The guideline includes a table of concrete examples. Here are the main ones.

“Thumbtack holes are fine, but nail holes aren’t” might surprise you. The key is whether something happens from normal living or depends on how you use the room. Pinning a calendar with a thumbtack is part of normal life, but screwing a heavy shelf into the wall, leaving holes deep enough that the board behind the wallpaper must be replaced, is not.

“Not taking care of it” is the dividing line

Condensation and mold are a common gray area in the guideline. Condensation itself is often a problem with the building’s structure. But if you don’t tell the landlord and don’t wipe it down, and the damage spreads, it can become the tenant’s cost.

Tenants have a duty of care (zenkan chui gimu: the duty to use what you borrow with the level of care normally expected). The guideline’s Q&A says mold that, because you skipped regular cleaning, can no longer be removed without special cleaning, or stains from drinks you spilled and left, are considered a breach of this duty.

Also, if you notice something that needs fixing, like a water leak, you need to tell the landlord or management company. If you don’t and the damage spreads, you may be charged for it. During the humid rainy season especially, try to air out the room and wipe down moisture often.

(Source: MLIT "Guideline on Restoration Disputes" / MLIT Guideline Chapter 1 (PDF) / MLIT Guideline Q&A / e-Gov "Civil Code")

---

3. The Longer You Stay, the Less You Pay

Even for damage that is the tenant’s responsibility, you don’t necessarily pay the full amount. Wallpaper, for example, gets dirty and changes color over years of use. Since that part is considered already paid through rent, the more years pass, the smaller the share you pay.

The guideline says that, in principle, the years to count are how long the wallpaper or equipment itself has been in use. But landlords often don’t have a full record of when each item was replaced, so the calculation uses the number of years you lived there, which is clear to everyone. If the wallpaper or other items weren’t new when you moved in, their starting value is set lower to reflect that. It’s recommended that you and the landlord confirm and agree on that starting point when you move in.

The guideline gives these benchmarks.

So if the wallpaper was new when you moved in, by the time you’ve lived there nearly 6 years, its remaining value is calculated to be very small, even if you dirtied it yourself. If the wallpaper was already old when you moved in, its starting value is generally set lower (the exact starting point is agreed with the landlord). However, even for wallpaper older than 6 years, for things like deliberate graffiti, you may be asked to pay the cost of the work and labor to remove it.

There’s also a guide for how much gets repaired

If you damage part of the wallpaper, you don’t have to pay to redo every wall in the room. The guideline says repairs should ideally be done per square meter, and that when that isn’t possible, charging the tenant for up to one full wall that includes the damaged spot is unavoidable.

Tobacco is the exception. If the wallpaper throughout the room is stained by tar or has absorbed the smell, it’s considered appropriate for the tenant to pay for cleaning or replacing it across the whole room.

If the unit price on your bill seems high, check whether a more expensive material than the original wallpaper was used. The guideline’s Q&A says tenants don’t have to pay for upgrading to a higher grade of wallpaper than before.

(Source: MLIT Guideline Chapter 1 (PDF) / MLIT Guideline Q&A)

---

4. Always Check Your Contract for Special Clauses

Everything so far is the basic rule. If your contract has a special clause (tokuyaku: a promise made only for that contract, separate from the normal rules), it may take priority. Once you start thinking about moving out, dig out your contract and read it again.

When a clause that’s unfavorable to tenants is valid

That said, not every clause that’s bad for tenants holds up. According to the guideline’s Q&A, a special clause on restoration that is unfavorable to the tenant needs all three of the following to be valid.

1. There is a need for the clause and a reasonable basis, such as not being profiteering (charging unreasonably high amounts)
2. The tenant understands that they are agreeing to more repairs than normal restoration requires
3. The tenant has expressed their intention to accept that obligation

If there’s a “cleaning clause”

Your contract may include a special clause saying the tenant pays for room cleaning at move-out. The guideline’s Q&A says its validity is judged on these points.

• Whether the content and scope of what the tenant pays are shown
• Whether it is written or explained that the tenant will also pay for things the landlord would normally cover, and the scope of that
• Whether the amount is appropriate

The Q&A introduces a court case where a clause was found valid: it had been explained at signing, and both sides clearly agreed that “a professional company will clean the room regardless of how dirty it is, and the tenant pays ¥25,000 (excluding consumption tax) for it.” One of the reasons was that the amount was less than half the monthly rent. On the other hand, there’s also a case where a clause simply saying “the tenant pays for room cleaning” was found not to mean the tenant agreed to pay for normal wear.

If your contract is only in Japanese and hard to read, ask the real estate agent or management company, “What will I have to pay when I move out?” MLIT also publishes an “Apartment Search Guidebook” on how to find a room and sign a lease, in 14 languages including English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Nepali.

(Source: MLIT Guideline Q&A / MLIT "Support for Housing for International Residents")

---

5. Step by Step: From Giving Notice to Getting Your Deposit Back

Here’s how moving out actually works.

Step 1: Check how many days’ notice your contract requires

Telling the landlord or management company that you’re leaving is called giving notice of cancellation (kaiyaku no moushiire). MLIT’s model lease contract says notice should be given “at least 30 days in advance.” But that is only a model. Check your own contract for the actual period and how to give notice (phone, in writing, an online form, and so on).

If you give notice late, you might end up paying rent for days you aren’t living there. Once your moving date is set, contact them early.

Step 2: Prepare to move, and handle utilities and city hall

For electricity, gas, and internet, contact the company you signed up with; for water, contact your local water utility (or the contact your management company tells you). Tell them your move-out date and have the service stopped. Internet cancellation can take several days or require returning rental equipment, so contact them early. If utilities are included in your rent or the building has a shared contract, check with your management company. How to contact them differs by company, so check your meter reading slip, contract emails, or each company’s website.

Large furniture and appliances often can’t go out on regular garbage days, and may need a reservation or a fee. Check how to throw away bulky items and appliances in our guide to garbage rules in Japan.

Living in Japan Garbage Rules in Japan: Sorting, Bulky Items & Appliances How to sort and put out garbage in Japan: finding local rules, plastics, collection times and bags, batteries and spray … Read related article

When your address changes, you also need to file at city hall. See our guide to getting a juminhyo and moving procedures for details.

Living in Japan How to Get a Juminhyo in Japan: Certificate of Residence Need a juminhyo in Japan? Compare the four ways to get one, what each costs, whether your residence status appears, and … Read related article

If you’re still looking for your next place, try YOLO HOME, YOLO JAPAN’s real estate site. You can search rental apartments in multiple languages and narrow down listings with filters like “No guarantor needed” and “Furnished.”

Step 3: Clean before you leave

The guideline lists “normal cleaning” as the tenant’s job: taking out the garbage, sweeping, wiping, cleaning the wet areas, and removing grease around the range hood and stove. As shown in the table above, if you’ve done normal cleaning, professional whole-room cleaning is basically the landlord’s cost.

Step 4: At the inspection, don’t sign on the spot

On moving day, you may be asked to do a move-out inspection (tachiai), walking through the room with the landlord or management company. They check each scratch and stain, and may ask you to sign a confirmation form at the end.

Be careful not to end up signing whatever you’re told and then getting a big bill later. The guideline’s Q&A explains it like this.

• If you only confirmed that damage exists, that isn’t considered agreeing to pay for it
• If there is damage and you signed something agreeing to pay for it, the amount you pay is basically decided by what you signed
• However, if there’s no special clause, there’s no reason to pay for damage you aren’t responsible for, even if you signed

In other words, before you sign, it’s important to check what exactly the form says you’re agreeing to.

If there’s a word you don’t understand, ask right then. If Japanese is difficult, having a friend who understands Japanese come along is one option.

Step 5: Return the keys and wait for the deposit settlement

Settlement (seisan: deducting the necessary costs from the deposit and returning the rest) happens after you’ve moved out.

Taking your belongings out and giving the room back to the landlord, for example by returning the keys, is called handing over the property (akewatashi). Your deposit comes back after this handover.

Article 622-2 of the Civil Code says that once the property is returned, the landlord must give back the deposit minus any money the tenant still owes, such as unpaid rent. The guideline’s Q&A also says that unless the contract sets a different time, you can only ask for your deposit back after you’ve handed over the property.

If repair costs are deducted from the deposit, the landlord must explain them. The guideline’s Q&A says the tenant can request an itemized statement of the costs and ask for an explanation. MLIT’s model contract also says the landlord shows the tenant a breakdown of the amount deducted.

On the other hand, if repairs cost more than the deposit, you have to pay the difference. MLIT’s leaflet says this too.

Common stumbling points at move-out

1. Giving notice without reading the contract: You may miss the notice deadline or special clauses and end up paying extra rent or cleaning fees
2. Not taking photos when you moved in: You won’t be able to show whether damage was already there or happened while you lived there
3. Signing at the inspection without understanding it: Ask about anything unclear on the spot
4. Ignoring condensation or leaks: Damage that spreads because you didn’t report it can become your cost
5. Paying without an itemized statement: Check the breakdown of what was charged before paying

(Source: MLIT "Model Lease Contract for Rental Housing" (PDF) / MLIT "Key Points of Restoration When Moving Out" (PDF) / MLIT Guideline Chapter 1 (PDF) / MLIT Guideline Q&A / e-Gov "Civil Code")

---

6. Where to Get Help If You Disagree With the Bill

If you look at the bill and think, “I shouldn’t have to pay this,” stay calm and try these steps in order.

1. Get an itemized statement: Ask for a statement showing what was charged and how much
2. Compare it with the guideline and your contract: Check it against the table in Section 2, the age rules in Section 3, and the special clauses in Section 4
3. Talk it through: Tell the landlord or management company which items you disagree with and why. We recommend a method that leaves a record, like email

If you still can’t reach an agreement, here are some places to turn.

If you’re not comfortable speaking Japanese, one option is to call Houterasu’s multilingual line first and ask where you should go for help.

A small claims lawsuit (shogaku sosho) is a last resort when talking just won’t solve it. The guideline’s Q&A explains that you file it at the summary court covering the other party’s address, and that documents and witnesses are limited to ones that can be checked on the day. Here too, your move-in and move-out photos and checklist will help.

(Source: Consumer Affairs Agency "Consumer Hotline" / Houterasu "Multilingual Information Service" / MLIT Guideline Q&A)

---

7. If You’re Moving Out Before Leaving Japan

If you’re moving out before leaving Japan, pay attention to when your deposit comes back. As Section 5 explains, the deposit is settled after you hand over the property. You may need to check the repair statement or receive the refund after you’ve already left Japan.

When you give notice, it’s a good idea to confirm these points with the landlord or management company.

• When and how the deposit settlement statement will be sent
• How you can receive the refund (if you plan to close your Japanese bank account, talk to them before you do)
• Where to give your contact details (such as an email address) after you leave

Leaving Japan also means city hall and tax procedures. Check the “moving-out notification when leaving Japan” section of our juminhyo guide, and the departure procedures in our tax return guide.

Money & Finance Tax Return in Japan (Kakutei Shinkoku): Who Files and How Who needs to file a tax return in Japan, residency rules, key deductions, documents, e-Tax, refunds, and what to do when… Read related article

---

FAQ

Q: Do I have to pay for thumbtack holes when I move out?

A: Thumbtack or pin holes small enough that the board underneath doesn’t need replacing are listed in the guideline as an example of the landlord’s cost. However, nail or screw holes made to hang heavy items, large enough that the board needs replacing, are an example of the tenant’s cost.

Q: I dirtied the wallpaper in an apartment I’ve lived in for over 5 years. Do I pay the full amount?

A: Wallpaper is calculated so that its value falls to ¥1 after 6 years, so if the wallpaper was new when you moved in, it shouldn’t be the full amount. If it was already old when you moved in, its starting value is generally set lower (the exact starting point is agreed with the landlord). However, for deliberate graffiti, you may be asked to pay the cost of removing it.

Q: If my apartment had no deposit, can I still be charged at move-out?

A: If there’s damage that’s the tenant’s responsibility, you may be charged even without a deposit. MLIT’s leaflet also says that if repairs cost more than the deposit, you have to pay the difference. And if your contract has a special clause, such as for cleaning, you may have to follow it. Check your contract.

Q: Can I have repairs done by a company I choose?

A: The guideline’s Q&A says the common practice is for the landlord’s side to do the work and settle it from the deposit. If your contract says the work is done by the landlord or a company the landlord chooses, you’ll need to follow that unless the landlord agrees otherwise. On the other hand, if the contract only says “the tenant restores the property,” it’s considered possible to do the repairs yourself or hire a company you choose. In that case, the work needs to be finished by the day you return the property, using materials and a finish about the same as the original. If it isn’t done in time, you may be asked to pay rent or other charges for the extra days. Talk it through carefully with the landlord beforehand.

Q: I already signed the inspection form. Do I have to pay now?

A: It depends on what the form says. The guideline’s Q&A says that if you only confirmed that damage exists, that isn’t considered agreeing to pay for it. If you signed something agreeing to pay, the amount is basically decided by what you signed. However, if there’s no special clause, you can say there’s no reason to pay for damage you aren’t responsible for, even if you signed.

(Source: MLIT Guideline Q&A / MLIT "Key Points of Restoration When Moving Out" (PDF) / MLIT Guideline Chapter 1 (PDF))

---

Key Takeaways

• ✅ Restoration doesn’t mean returning the room to move-in condition. Normal wear and aging are basically the landlord’s cost
• ✅ Tenants pay for damage from carelessness or lack of upkeep, and for items like wallpaper, the longer you lived there, the smaller your share
• ✅ Check your contract’s special clauses (especially cleaning fees) before giving notice
• ✅ Take photos at the inspection and ask about anything unclear on the spot. You can request an itemized statement for your deposit
• ✅ If you can’t reach an agreement, you can contact 188 or Houterasu’s multilingual service

Moving out gets less attention than moving in, but it’s the moment when a lot of money changes hands at the end. Even if you’re not moving soon, taking one look at the special clauses section of your contract now will save you from panicking later.