Lease Types and Tenant-Protection Gaps in Japan

Japan has two main types of residential lease: futsuu shakka keiyaku (普通借家契約, the standard type, usually a two-year term with renewal), which legally protects the tenant against unjustified rent increases — a landlord can justify a rise only through tax changes, property-value shifts, or significant economic changes, and a tenant can likewise demand a rent cut if prices fall — and teiki shakka keiyaku (定期借家契約, a fixed-term lease that does not renew automatically and carries tougher terms for the tenant). Commercial (office) real estate is far less protected: the Act on Land and Building Leases may not apply to office contracts the same way it does to housing, and a lease may let the owner move the tenant "anywhere, at any time" (a real case reported by one chat participant). A standard residential lease under this law strongly protects the tenant — eviction is nearly impossible — so landlords are often reluctant to rent such units to foreigners, especially students on an expiring visa; one participant was flatly told by a landlord, "I don't rent to Russians, I hate them," when trying to lease commercial space through ordinary agents. A serviced-office contract styled as a "rental office space temporary use agreement" (not a full lease under the Act on Land and Building Leases) can include clauses letting the landlord unilaterally swap the tenant into a different office without consent, stripping away the usual statutory protection; management companies use this contract form specifically to hedge against foreign tenants who might leave the country without paying rent. Subleasing is explicitly banned in many contracts, and Japanese rental agreements sometimes contain unusually specific clauses, such as a ban on bringing musical instruments into the premises.