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Last updated: 21 August 2026
Summary
- Two different things are called a guarantor in Japan. The one on a visa application and the one on a lease are unrelated, and mixing them up wastes weeks.
- A guarantor person and a guarantor company are also different. Japanese renters mostly skip the person now and pay a company instead.
- You do not get to choose the guarantor company. The landlord does. Comparing companies is wasted effort – compare properties instead.
- Three routes work without a personal guarantor: use a guarantor company, choose a property that never asks for one, or apply to UR housing.
- UR housing asks for a monthly income of four times the rent. On a student’s 28 hours a week that is out of reach. For full-time workers it is one of the best deals in Japan.
A guarantor (連帯保証人, rentai hoshounin) on a Japanese lease is a person who takes on the legal duty to pay your rent if you cannot. Traditionally this was a parent or relative living in Japan. If your family is not here, you cannot produce one – which is where most people get stuck. The wider contract and what it costs is covered in how renting works in Japan.
- First: the guarantor on your visa is not this guarantor
- A guarantor company does the job for money
- You do not choose the company – the landlord does
- Three routes that work without a personal guarantor
- UR says no guarantor, but students will not qualify
- What the screening actually looks at
- You can check the company yourself
- Frequently asked questions
- In short
- Related reading
First: the guarantor on your visa is not this guarantor
Search in English for “guarantor Japan” and most of what comes back is about visas – a Japanese resident who signs for a visitor, a sponsor for a student visa. That is 身元保証人 (mimoto hoshounin), and it is a different document, a different form, and a different legal weight.
The visa version vouches for your conduct and your ability to support yourself. The lease version signs up to pay a specific debt: your rent. Having one does nothing for the other. People arrive holding a visa guarantor letter and are surprised when the estate agent shrugs at it. Nothing has gone wrong – they are simply two unrelated things wearing the same English word.
A guarantor company does the job for money
What a landlord actually fears is rent that stops arriving. For decades that fear was passed to the tenant’s relatives. Now there are companies that absorb it for a fee – 家賃債務保証会社, rent guarantee companies.
They charge roughly 50 to 100 percent of one month’s rent at the start, then a renewal fee each year. It is real money on top of an already expensive move-in. But from the landlord’s side, a company that runs checks and keeps records beats an unknown relative, so Japanese tenants now use them too.
Read that as good news. The thing you could never produce has been turned into something you can buy.
You do not choose the company – the landlord does
There are plenty of English pages comparing guarantor companies. They will not help you. The landlord or the management company decides which one is used, and each property already has its partner.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism describes its registration scheme as a way for landlords and management companies to pick a firm they can safely rely on. Tenants were never the ones choosing.
So point your effort somewhere else. The question is not which company, it is which property. Everything below is a choice you actually control.
Three routes that work without a personal guarantor
1. Use a guarantor company
The normal route, and the one with the widest choice of properties. You live in an ordinary flat. The cost is 50 to 100 percent of a month’s rent added to a move-in that already runs four to six months’ rent. As finding a flat in Japan explains, ask for that total before you view anything, not after.
2. Choose a property that never asks for one
Share houses and furnished short-term flats are built without the guarantor step. Deposit, key money and agency fee are usually zero as well, and you can move in the day you arrive. What you trade away is a private bathroom and kitchen. Share houses and monthly apartments cover who these suit and who they do not.
3. UR public housing
Public rental housing that states plainly on its own homepage: no key money, no agency fee, no renewal fee, no guarantor. Foreign nationals can apply if they hold permanent residence, special permanent residence, or a mid-to-long-term residence status – which covers most student and work visas. Whether it reaches you is the next section.
UR says no guarantor, but students will not qualify
UR replaces the guarantor with an income test. For a flat under 82,500 yen a month, you need a monthly income of four times the rent. A 60,000 yen flat needs 240,000 yen a month, measured as last year’s income divided by twelve.
A student working the permitted 28 hours a week will not reach 240,000 yen a month. For students, UR is not on the list. The two-month deposit is a second obstacle on top.
For anyone working full time on a work visa, the arithmetic flips completely. No guarantor fee, no renewal fee, ever – and the gap widens the longer you stay. If you are working toward permanent residence, lower housing costs also show up in the savings record you will eventually be asked about.
What the screening actually looks at
Three things, in practice: whether your income covers the rent, whether your residence period outlasts the lease, and whether you can be reached. How well you speak Japanese is not on the list.
Residence period does get checked. If the lease runs two years and your residence card expires in one, be ready to say what happens next. Often stating that you intend to renew is enough.
One more trap. Even with a guarantor company, you will still be asked for an emergency contact. That person owes nothing financially – they just have to answer the phone. A teacher, a manager at work, a friend living in Japan. You cannot invent a name at the counter, so ask someone before you start viewing.
You can check the company yourself
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism runs a registration scheme for rent guarantee companies and publishes the register of firms that meet its requirements.
One caveat worth knowing: registration is voluntary. A company can operate without it, so an absence from the register does not mean anything illegal. It only tells you whether the state has verified that firm. Write down the name you are given and look it up before you sign.
Skip the guarantor question entirely: CrossHouse
Share houses and furnished flats, mainly around Tokyo. Their own FAQ answers it directly: “Is a guarantor required? No, a guarantor is not required.” (checked 21 August 2026)
- No guarantor, no deposit, no key money, no agency fee – and no guarantor company fee on top
- Support is offered in eight languages including Nepali and Sinhala, and the site itself switches to Nepali, Vietnamese and others
- Contracts are signed online, and stays start from one month
- Honestly: the advertised “30,000 yen to move in” is not the full amount – your first month’s rent comes on top. Bathroom and kitchen are shared, so this is wrong for anyone who needs privacy and quiet
Costs and conditions were checked on official company sites on 21 August 2026. Always confirm the full amount before signing. Official sources: MLIT – rent guarantee company registration scheme / UR – application requirements
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I rent in Japan without a guarantor?
Yes. Japanese tenants mostly skip the personal guarantor now and pay a guarantor company instead, and some properties never ask for either. Not having a guarantor is not a reason you cannot rent.
Q. Which guarantor company should I choose?
You do not choose. The landlord or management company decides, and each property already has a partner firm. Compare properties, not companies.
Q. How much does a guarantor company cost?
Usually 50 to 100 percent of one month’s rent at the start, plus a renewal fee each year. It is added on top of the deposit, key money and agency fee, so ask for the full move-in total early.
Q. Is the guarantor on my visa the same as the one on my lease?
No. The visa version vouches for your conduct and support; the lease version takes on liability for your rent. They are separate documents and one does not substitute for the other.
Q. Do I still need an emergency contact if I use a guarantor company?
Yes, separately. An emergency contact has no financial duty – they only need to be reachable. A teacher, someone at work, or a friend in Japan is fine. Arrange this before you start viewing.
Q. Can students apply for UR housing?
The residence status usually qualifies, but the income test does not. UR asks for four times the rent as monthly income – 240,000 yen for a 60,000 yen flat – which 28 hours a week cannot produce. UR is a route for full-time workers.
In short
- Visa guarantor and lease guarantor are different things sharing one English word
- A guarantor company replaces the person for a fee – and you cannot choose which company
- Three routes: guarantor company, guarantor-free property, or UR
- UR needs four times the rent in monthly income – full-time workers only
- An emergency contact is required either way. Ask someone before you start looking
