“Reikin” (meaning the dreaded “Key Money”) is a different matter altogether. Key Money is a throwback from the end of World War II where Tokyo was still in the rebuilding phase and living quarters were scarce. People then would pay “Reikin” as a separate gift to the owner for allowing the tenants to live in the owner’s apartment. Despite the fact that Tokyo has since rebuilt and there are many number of locations to live, “Key Money” still exists. That said, there are several ways one can get around paying Key Money which are listed below;

1) If an apartment is listed at 2 months “Key Money”, a prospective tenant might be able to lower the Key Money by offering to pay a higher rent. If you were to try this tactic, then expect to pay between ￥20,000 – ￥30,000 / month in higher rent to reduce the key money to 0. This on the surface looks like the same amount of money coming out of your pocket but if you think you might only stay in the apartment for a year and a half say, then paying higher rent is best rather than paying 2 months key money upfront at the contract signing (as the remaining 6 months you are not living in the apartment you are not paying for at all). Success rate for this tactic is somewhere between 50 – 70% depending on the time of the year and property managers / owners.

2) Outright Elimination of Key Money without Higher Rent – This is an ultimatum to the property manager and owner from the get – go and has little chance of working. Everyone knows a (notice the singular pronoun) friend that got a great deal on slashing the key money on their great apartment and most people assume this is the best way to go about reducing key money. What most people do not realize is that for every one person that successfully negotiated out key money by outright refusing to pay it, there are fifty others who have tried and had their applications outright refused and did not get their dream apartment. Success Rate – 5-10%

3) Watching, watching, watching – This is probably the most successful way to eliminate key money but the most time consuming. Once you have located the building you really want to live in then keep an eye on it for campaign pricing. Usually when a building has a “campaign” that means the first thing to go is key money as the unit has been empty for a couple of months and the owner just wants it filled. Warning though, once your targeted apartment reaches the point of slashing key money to find tenants, be quick to apply as foreign and especially Japanese people alike jump on these apartments very quickly. Success rate – 100% (but takes months to do)

4) Be flexible with your location – Due to the volume of buildings in Tokyo generally, there is at any given time a number of buildings advertising campaigns of 0 Key money. If you do not mind spreading your property search over various wards of Tokyo rather than just limiting yourself to one specific station or area, than your chances of finding a 0 key money apartment increase greatly without having to wait months like option 3 above. Success rate – 100% (no waiting)

Adam is the Director of Operations at TokyoApartment.com.