Japanese housing glossary

GLOSSARY

Renting

Shikikin（敷金）

The refundable deposit paid at move-in, held by the landlord against unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear. Quoted in months of rent; what comes back depends on the lease and move-out condition.

Reikin（礼金）

Non-refundable “key money” paid to the landlord as a custom, not a deposit. Common in some regions and absent in others — one of the first line items to check on any listing sheet.

Hoshounin（保証人・guarantor）

A guarantor who becomes liable for your rent if you cannot pay. Most tenancies today use a paid guarantor company (hoshou-gaisha 保証会社) instead of, or on top of, a personal guarantor.

Koushinryou（更新料）

A lease renewal fee some landlords charge when a fixed-term contract rolls over, customary in some regions. Whether it applies — and how much — is written in your lease.

Chuukai tesuuryou（仲介手数料）

The brokerage fee a licensed agent charges for arranging a rental or a purchase. Capped by law; the purchase-side cap is the one formula our /cost-calculator computes.

Kanrihi（管理費・共益費・kyoekihi）

The monthly building management / common-area fee charged on top of rent (or on top of a condo's ownership costs). Always read rent as rent-plus-kanrihi.

Naiken（内見）

A property viewing. In the busy season good rooms go between viewings, which is why preparation — documents ready, criteria decided — matters more than speed-reading listings.

Chintai（賃貸）

Rental housing as a category — the word that separates the “for rent” world from bunjou (for-sale) properties on portals and paperwork.

Buying & the law

Juusetsu（重説・重要事項説明）

The legally required Explanation of Important Matters a licensed agent must give before you sign a purchase (or rental) contract — covering rights, restrictions, utilities and risks. The single most information-dense step in the whole process.

Takken-shi（宅地建物取引士）

The licensed real-estate transaction specialist who must explain the juusetsu and stamp the documents. Brokerage itself is a licensed business in Japan — which is why SUMIKA stays information-only.

Shoyuuken（所有権）

Full freehold ownership of land or a building. Japan places no nationality or residency condition on holding it — the legal fact behind “yes, foreigners can buy”.

Shakuchiken（借地権）

A leasehold right: you own the building but lease the land under it. Cheaper to buy, but with ground rent, renewal terms and transfer rules — a term to understand fully before loving a cheap listing.

Touki（登記）

Registration of ownership and mortgages in the official property register at the Legal Affairs Bureau. Registration is what makes your purchase assertable against third parties.

Shihou shoshi（司法書士）

The judicial scrivener — the licensed professional who prepares and files the ownership registration at closing. Their fee is one of the standard closing costs.

Saikenchiku fuka（再建築不可）

“Cannot be rebuilt”: a property that fails current building-code requirements (usually road access), so a new structure cannot legally replace it. A major reason some akiya are so cheap.

Setsudou gimu（接道義務）

The road-access requirement a buildable lot must meet under the Building Standards Act. Failing it is what produces saikenchiku-fuka properties — check it before checking the price.

Akiya（空き家）

A vacant house. Japan has many, some very cheap — and the price always encodes reasons: location, condition, legal restrictions. The reasons can be researched, which is what our akiya guides are for.

Akiya bank（空き家バンク）

A municipal matching register of vacant homes, run by local governments rather than brokers. Listings, conditions and support schemes vary by municipality — always read the town's own page.

Taxes & fees (concepts)

Touroku menkyo zei（登録免許税）

The registration and license tax paid when ownership or a mortgage is registered. Its rates vary by case and change with tax law — we link the official tables instead of quoting numbers.

Fudousan shutoku zei（不動産取得税）

A one-time prefectural tax on acquiring real estate, billed months after purchase — the classic “surprise” cost. Rates and reliefs depend on the property; the prefecture's page is the source of truth.

Kotei shisan zei（固定資産税）

The annual fixed-asset tax every owner pays on land and buildings (often with a companion city-planning tax). It continues forever — the reason a “free house” is never free.

Inshi zei（印紙税）

Stamp duty on the paper contract, paid by affixing revenue stamps. The amount is set by a statutory table based on the contract price.

Juutaku loan（住宅ローン）

A home mortgage. Availability for foreigners depends heavily on residency status, income history and the lender — a separate question from the legal right to own.

Homes & floor plans

Madori（間取り）

The floor plan — and the 1LDK-style shorthand that describes it. Reading madori notation is the fastest listing-literacy skill to learn (and the line art this site draws its look from).

LDK（1LDK・2LDK）

Living / Dining / Kitchen. The digit counts the separate rooms in addition to that space: 1LDK is one room plus a living-dining-kitchen; an S (as in 1SLDK) adds a storage room.

Mansion（マンション）

In Japanese usage: a sturdier apartment building, typically steel or reinforced concrete — not a luxury house. Contrast with apaato (アパート), the lighter wood or light-steel walk-up.

Bunjou（分譲）

“Sold in units” — a for-sale condominium (bunjou mansion) as opposed to a rental building. On portals this word marks the ownership world.

Tatami（畳・帖・jo）

The straw flooring mat, and the room-size unit named after it (帖/畳): Japanese listings count room area in mats. Mat sizes vary slightly by region — treat it as a feel, not a survey.

Tsubo（坪）

A traditional land-area unit equal to two tatami mats, still standard in land prices and house ads. Site areas are usually quoted in both tsubo and square metres.

Genkan（玄関）

The sunken entryway where shoes come off — a boundary the whole home's floor plan is organised around, and one Japanese landlords expect to stay tidy at viewings.

Washitsu（和室）

A Japanese-style room with tatami flooring, often with a closet (oshiire) and paper screens. Older and rural homes have more of them; renovation rules for them matter in condos.