Living in Sapporo
Housing
Generally, people search for houses or apartments to rent through real estate agents. To avoid problems during your search, it’s a good idea to bring a Japanese person along to the real estate agent.
Once you have found a suitable place, you can enter into a rental contract. Japan has a unique system that includes payments such as shikikin (refundable deposit). Be sure to confirm the terms of the contract.
Public housing
These housing units, provided by the City of Sapporo or the Hokkaido government, are leased at relatively low prices. Applicants are chosen by criteria such as income.
Municipal apartment houses
- Sapporo Housing Management Corporation
- TEL011-211-3381
URL:http://www.s-j-k.or.jp/
（Japanese）
Prefectural apartment houses
- Hokkaido Housing Management Corporation
-
TEL011-205-5255
URL:http://www16.ocn.ne.jp/~j-kanri/
（Japanese）
UR (Urban Renaissance Agency) rental housing
- Hokkaido Administration Center, Housing Administration Association
- TEL011-261-9277
URL:http://www.ur-net.go.jp/
（Japanese）
Housing terminology
- Aparto/mansion
- An apartment building; apartment buildings are sometimes classified as aparto or mansion based on their size or structure, but there is no clear definition between the two.
- Jo/tatami
- A unit of room size; equivalent to the area of one tatami mat (approx. 90 cm x 180 cm)
- L/K/DK
- “L” refers to a living room, “K” to a kitchen area, and “DK” to a large kitchen area. “2LDK” indicates that there are two rooms in addition to a living room with large kitchen area.
- Yachin
- Monthly rent payable; in some cases, the tenant must pay full rent for the first month even if he/she moves in partway through the month.
- Shikikin
- A security deposit given to the landlord by the tenant on moving in; the amount is generally equivalent to one or two months’ rent; although the deposit is given back to tenants in principle on moving out, it may be used to cover rent or repair charges in the case of non-payment of such fees.
- Reikin
- “Gift” money paid to the landlord when moving in; not refunded when the contact ends.
- Chukairyo
- Realtor’s commission; generally equivalent to one month’s rent
- Kanrihi
- Fees for management of the apartment building; paid along with monthly rent.
- Kaiyaku (cancellation of contract)
- Tenants must inform the landlord of the cancellation in advance (one or two months beforehand) in accordance with the terms of the contract.
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