If you’ve decided to move to Japan, or are already in Japan and know you need to move soon, it’s natural to want to start looking at apartments as early as possible. Depending on your plans and needs though, searching too early could end up being an inefficient use of your time. In this article, I’ll go over the best time to begin your apartment search in earnest, depending on your situation.
When is the ideal time to start your search?
The short answer is that we generally recommend starting your search in earnest one month ahead of when you want to move, at the earliest. There are some exceptions to this of course, but we’ll go over those later in the article. For now, let’s focus on why one month ahead is ideal.
Property availability
Ignoring brand new buildings that have never been lived in before, most apartments are occupied. Generally that means you’ll be moving into an apartment that someone has just moved out from. And when moving out, most apartments only require a one, sometimes two month notice. Until that move out application is submitted by the previous tenant, an apartment will not be on the market, as it’s unknown if the tenant will terminate or renew their contract.
Since the required notice is so short, it means that the vast majority of tenants will not officially apply to terminate their contract until the very last minute. The end result is that most properties on the market are either available now, or available very soon. But you may be wondering, if they’re available now, can’t you just put them on hold until you’re ready to move?
Putting properties on hold
In many countries, being able to put an apartment on hold months, or even a year ahead of time is relatively normal. In Japan however, that is very rarely the case. Property owners want to keep their apartments vacant for as short as feasibly possible, and to increase the chances of securing a tenant, they will only allow you to put a property on hold when you apply for it.
The catch is that in order to apply for a property, you’ll need to begin the screening process, which usually takes 1-2 weeks. If your application is approved, the invoice is issued almost immediately, with payment sometimes being required as soon as that same day. If you don’t pay and start the lease soon after approval, there’s a high chance that your application will be forcibly cancelled, and you’ll need to apply again when you’re ready to move sooner.
Properties are first come first serve
Most properties in Japan, especially in the Tokyo area, tend not to last long on the market. Looking at properties when you aren’t ready to move in the next few weeks can still be interesting and a good learning experience, but you would be doing yourself a disservice to think the properties you are looking at now will 100% be available when you’re ready to move. Units are always first come first serve. Even if you have a room view scheduled for example, if someone happens to apply for that room a minute before you’re set to take a look, you’ll unfortunately be out of luck. In summary, if you’re searching for a property further than a month ahead of time, you should consider it as market research, as opposed to hunting for the actual apartment you will live in. You want to keep the timeline from finding an apartment to applying for one as tight as possible, while still giving yourself enough flexibility in case of any unexpected trouble. Overall that timeline ends up being about a month ahead of your desired move in date.
The exceptions to the rule
Searching for properties that are planned to be vacated multiple months out
While most tenants submit their termination notice at the last moment, that is of course not always the case. As soon as someone submits an application to terminate their contract, the unit will go on the market. If someone knows they’re for sure leaving Japan in March for example, they might submit their termination notice half a year ahead of time so they have one less thing to worry about later down the line. Searching for these types of properties specifically is 100% doable! It just comes with a couple of caveats.
- The selection will be more limited.
- You will very likely not have access to updated photos of the apartment.
Sometimes there may be old photos of an apartment available, but even then you won’t know exactly what a room is like until the current tenant has moved out. While in some countries you can view a room or get photos even while a tenant is living in a unit, that generally isn’t the case in Japan. This means that if you want to apply for a property being vacated a few months from now, you’ll need to be comfortable with making a decision based solely on the floor plan, features, cost, and location.
As a brief aside about terminating your own apartment contract when the time comes… We would very strongly recommend you do not submit your termination notice until you are 110% sure you will have somewhere else to live. If you’re moving to a new apartment in Japan for example, then you would want to wait until your new apartment application has been approved. Since apartments go on the market the moment you submit your termination notice, if someone applies for the unit, you will no longer be able to rescind your notice. Many property management companies may not accept taking back your termination notice regardless, so be very careful!
Early applications
Sorry to be confusing, but this is an exception to the exception. In very rare circumstances, there may be properties that accept “early applications.” Essentially that means you apply for a property tentatively and put it on hold. The screening does occur, but it only moves onto the payment and contract stage once the current tenant moves out, giving you a chance to see the room in person before finalizing. To be clear, this is not common, and searching for these specific properties is quite tough. But if your agent is looking for properties planned to be vacated, I’m sure they will let you know if they find anything allowing an early application!
What about if you’re overseas?
Overseas applications are their whole own unique can of worms, though surprisingly, the “one month ahead of when you want to move” timeline still pretty much applies. Though you’ll most likely want to try to schedule it so you can move around the end of the month, starting the search at the beginning of that same month. For everything you need to know about finding an apartment from outside Japan, please check out this article here!
When should I inquire with a real estate agent?
While sometimes it may be too early to apply for an apartment, it’s never too early to reach out to an agent! We here at Dovetail would be happy to discuss your needs and plans, and either begin the apartment search right away, or set a date to follow up with you closer to your desired move date. And of course, we’re available to answer questions anytime, so please head to our inquiry form here if we can be of assistance.