3 ms·

Purcashing or renting? Because for me it was literally just going to a rental store and signing a stack of documents.

• post_break 5y ago
  I guess it depends on the location, property, etc. It seems like a lot of foreigners need to jump through more hoops than citizens. More rent up front, higher signing gift to the land lord, etc.
  • ryan_lane 5y ago
    This hasn't been true in my experience. There's gaijin friendly housing that has higher rent, but usually no key fee, no deposit, and a month-to-month or yearly lease. It was very, very easy to get a gaijin apartment. You're only able to really rent other places if you have a long-term visa, because the standard lease term-length in Japan is 2 years. If your visa is less than 2 years, you don't qualify. If you do, then everything is the same as Japanese citizens. Most apartments have a deposit, a key fee (a bribe to the landlord), and a lease renewal fee (a bribe to the agent). Lease period will be 2 years. A lot of companies will pay these bribes for their employees, which I'm sure is one of the reasons they exist (and also one of the reasons gaijin apartments don't charge them).