Hello Everyone! Today I will talk about the items needed in order to submit a Japanese apartment application. I began the search for my first Japanese apartment about eight months ago. Before even viewing any of the apartments, my real estate broker sent me a checklist of things to prepare for a Japanese apartment application/tenant screening. I thought that was awesome because I found that there's kind of a flow or process to applying, and therefore, it's easy to miss out on a property if these things aren't ready to go!


PROOF OF INCOME

• Pay slips (previous 3 months) and/or employment contract that shows salary
• Previous year's tax withholding statement
• Copy of your Japanese passbook showing at least six months to a year's worth of savings.

It's important that your property manager and landlord has confidence that you can consistently pay your rent. I needed one of the three and ended up submitting my pay slips and employment contract. Be careful with your employment contract if you're not considered "seishan/permanent employee". I had less than a year left on my contract, so they were worried that I would quit. I just reassured them that I "loved my Job, and I am confident that they are going to renew my contract".

PROOF OF RESIDENCY AND ID

• Certified Copy of your Alien Registration/住民票 from the Ward Office (less than six months old)
• Copy of Residence Card/在留カード
• Copy of Passport Picture Page
• Know the number of years and months living at  your current address
• Your full name (spelling and katakana)

You can obtain the Alien Registration document from the Ward Office, some service counters at big train stations, and the convenience store (If you have a MyNumber card). You can easily make copies at the convenience store.

DESIRED MOVE-IN DATE & START LEASE DATE

Usually these two dates are the same. However, in my case, I needed to give my old apartment a one month notice. Therefore, my move in date was later than my start lease date because the property manager could not leave the unit empty for a month. I know you want to nab that place, but very careful with these dates!

LEGIBLE COPY OF INSIDE COVER OF PASSBOOK

This is to verify how your name was registered with your Japanese bank. Western names cause many complications here in Japan and they need to be consistent across the board. Even a name going from Blogspot Anjjangie Blogger to just Blogspot Anjjangie is considered a mismatch and can reject your application.

REASON FOR MOVING

My reason for moving was to be closer to my place of employment. I'm sure giving reasons, such as more convenient train line, maintenance problems, noisy neighbors, etc. are perfectly fine. However, giving a reason such as you're quitting your job soon or moving to be closer to better job opportunities would raise some flags because this translates to future instability.

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

• Name of your company
• Your work telephone number 
• Type of employee (contract, full-time, etc.) / School (if student)
• Position/Title or Major (if student)
• Purpose of your job (develop, teach, cook, etc.)
• Company Industry (IT, Education, etc.)
• Type of Japanese health insurance
• Current monthly income 
• Annual income
• Number of years & months worked at current employer/school

I'm not sure who verified my employment (property manager, real estate agent, or guarantor company) but it was important that I provided this information.

ROOMMATE INFORMATION

• Name (spelling and katakana)
• Date of birth
• Current age
• Relation

I don't have a roommate, so I don't know if you have to provide any further information on them. If you have experience with this, please e-mail me or leave it in the comment section below.

IMPORTANT BUT SOMETIMES HARD TO OBTAIN ITEMS

Japanese cell phone number
Japanese bank account (one that provides a passbook)
Japanese name seal (hanko/inkan)
Japanese Emergency Contact (2x)
Home Country Emergency Contact (1x)


Sometimes these things take some time to sort out. Make sure you have these things before you even begin inquiring about apartments! You can get a hanko made at a variety of stores here in Japan, and then use that SAME hanko to open your bank account and phone plan. You're Japanese employer or supervisor can often serve as your emergency contact, and maybe a Japanese co-worker can help you if you need two and don't have a friend or partner to do it. Inform them that it's just an emergency contact not a guarantor/連帯保証人! Once you have all of these things secured, only then do I suggest you start contacting agencies.

I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions, please let me know, and I'll try my best to help you. Please stay tuned for my start-up fees and cost's post for my Japanese apartment!