A long-term tenant keeps a house lived-in, aired and earning. Letting from abroad is very doable — but Japanese rental practice has its own rules.

Choose the right lease

  • Ordinary lease (普通借家契約) — renews by default and strongly protects the tenant; ending it requires a justifiable reason. Fine if you'll let indefinitely.
  • Fixed-term lease (定期借家契約) — ends at the agreed date without renewal. Must be made in writing with a separate written explanation to the tenant. Better if you may want the house back.

Deposits, key money and guarantors

Japanese tenancies commonly involve a deposit (敷金), sometimes key money (礼金), and a rent-guarantee company (保証会社) that covers unpaid rent. Using a guarantor company is standard and protects you from a distance.

Tax when the landlord lives abroad

When rent is paid to a non-resident landlord, the payer generally has to withhold 20.42% and pay it to the tax office — except where an individual rents the home for their own residence. You then file a Japanese tax return each year (through a tax representative), deducting expenses such as management fees, repairs, insurance, property tax and depreciation, to settle the actual tax and reclaim any over-withholding.

Before the first tenant

  • Fix safety issues and anything that will generate calls: water heater, leaks, locks.
  • Fit smoke alarms (required in homes in Japan).
  • Photograph the condition room by room for the move-out comparison.

How we help

We list the home on Japanese rental platforms, screen tenants, arrange the lease and guarantor, collect rent and send it on, and handle requests in Japanese — see Tenant Management. Rent management is 5% of the monthly rent.

Weighing a holiday let instead? The rental vs holiday-let calculator compares the two after each one's real costs.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and every case is different — for decisions about your own property, speak to a licensed judicial scrivener (司法書士), tax accountant (税理士) or lawyer. We work with them every week and are happy to introduce you.