Moving Out of a Japanese Apartment: Notice, the Walkthrough and Your Deposit

Quick answer

Hi, I'm Miya, and I help newcomers settle into life in Japan. Moving out of a rental here follows a fairly fixed sequence: you give written notice by the deadline your contract sets, you empty and clean the apartment, you meet the management side for a move-out walkthrough (tachiai), you hand back every key, and then a written settlement arrives some weeks later showing what was deducted from your deposit (shikikin) and what comes back to you. Everything below is general practice — your own contract governs the details, so read it before you do anything else.

Start with the notice clause in your contract

The first thing to find is the cancellation clause, usually near the front of your lease. It tells you how far ahead you have to give notice, and the most common arrangement in residential contracts is one month, though some ask for two or more. What matters just as much is when the clock starts. Notice normally takes effect when the management company or landlord receives it, not when you decided to leave, so a form sent late in the month rarely buys back those days.

Notice is almost always given in writing. Most management companies have their own cancellation form, either sent to you or available to download, and plenty now accept it through a tenant portal or by email, while some still want it posted. Fill in your move-out date, keep a copy, and note the date you sent it. If you submit online, save the confirmation screen. Rent for your final month may be charged in full or split by the day depending on your contract, so check that line while you're in there.

If you're leaving Japan or starting a job in another city, count backwards from the fixed date: notice period first, then the moving company, then the walkthrough, then utilities and the ward office. Giving notice a little earlier than required is usually fine and gives you room. Planning on withdrawing it later is not something to count on, so be reasonably sure of your date before you file.

What restoration to original condition really means

This phrase worries people more than it needs to. Restoration to original condition (genjo kaifuku) is generally not understood as returning the apartment to the state of a brand-new build. The widely referenced position, set out in guidelines published by the national ministry responsible for housing and echoed in many contracts, is that a tenant restores damage and deterioration caused beyond ordinary living, while the natural ageing of the building and the wear that comes with normal use sit on the landlord's side.

In practice, things usually treated as normal wear include flooring or wallpaper faded by sunlight, small indentations left in tatami or flooring by furniture legs, and the faint darkening on a wall behind a refrigerator or television. Things usually treated as the tenant's side include scorch marks, pet scratches, staining and odour from smoking indoors, mould left to spread in a room that was never ventilated, spills that were never cleaned up, and holes made for heavy fixtures that go well beyond a picture hook.

Then there are special clauses (tokuyaku). Many contracts add specific tenant obligations, most often an agreed cleaning charge at move-out, and these are generally treated as effective when they were clearly written and explained before you signed. So the short summary is that the general pattern gives you a frame, but your contract decides. I'm sharing common practice here, not legal advice. If a disagreement gets stuck, your local consumer affairs consultation centre and your municipality's housing consultation desk both give free guidance.

Getting the apartment ready for the walkthrough

The walkthrough (tachiai) is usually arranged for the day you move out or shortly after, once the rooms are empty, and slots fill up around the end of the month when everyone else is moving too. Book it when you file your notice, and try to place it after the movers have gone rather than alongside them. Empty everything, including the balcony, the shoe cupboard, the space under the sink and the storage above the closet that you had forgotten was there.

Clean the place properly: kitchen grease and the ventilation fan, mould in the bathroom seams, the toilet, window sashes and the runners they sit in, air conditioner filters. You aren't expected to match a professional cleaning service, and in many contracts cleaning is arranged anyway, but a room that has clearly been looked after changes the tone of the whole conversation. Anything you leave behind, furniture and appliances included, generally becomes a disposal task you'll be asked to cover.

Then dig out your records. The condition checklist you filled in when you moved in, the one asking you to mark existing scratches and stains, is the single most useful piece of paper you own on walkthrough day, along with any photos you took then. Take a fresh set of photos of every room once it's empty and before the walkthrough, including floors, walls, water areas and the balcony, so both ends of your tenancy are documented.

The walkthrough day, and what tends to come up

Someone from the management company or the landlord attends, occasionally with the contractor who will do the work. They go room by room with a checklist, noting marks, damage and anything needing attention. Walk with them rather than waiting by the door. Ask what each note means as it's written, and say so politely at the time if you see something differently — pointing at the move-in checklist while you're both standing in the room is far easier than explaining it in a letter afterwards.

You'll usually be asked to sign the condition sheet at the end. Understand what that signature covers. Often it records what was observed rather than agreeing to charges, because the figures haven't been calculated yet, but the wording varies. If you're unsure, it's reasonable to say you'd like to see the itemised breakdown before agreeing to anything, and to have your own comment written on the form. If your Japanese isn't confident yet, ask in advance whether someone can join, or bring a friend who can help.

The items that come up most often are damage clearly beyond ordinary use, keys that weren't returned, belongings left in the apartment, alterations made without permission and not put back, traces of smoking, and the cleaning charge if your contract carries one. None of it should be a surprise if you've lived normally and kept your records. The difficult conversations tend to come from rooms nobody documented at either end.

Keys, the final statement and the deposit

Return every key: the originals, any copies you had made, the mailbox key, the bicycle parking key, auto-lock fobs, and anything for a storage box. Keys that don't come back typically lead to a lock replacement being arranged and billed, so search the back of the drawer properly. Confirm which moment ends your responsibility for the apartment, since in some contracts it's the return of the keys rather than the walkthrough itself, and that can affect your final rent.

The settlement doesn't arrive on the day. A written statement generally comes by post or email some weeks after you hand back the keys, itemising what was deducted from your deposit and what is refunded to you, or what remains to be paid. Give the management company your new address and your bank details before you go, arrange mail forwarding at the post office, and keep that bank account open — a refund can't reach an account you've already closed.

When the statement arrives, read it against your photos. If a line doesn't match what you saw, you can ask for the breakdown and the evidence behind it, calmly and in writing, and it's a normal thing to do. Keep the exchange documented. If it stalls, the free consultation desks I mentioned exist for exactly this, and they're used to hearing from residents who have already left the area.

One quiet thing to keep running through the handover

Look at how much of this moves through your phone: fixing the walkthrough time with the management company, calls from the movers on the morning, closing your electricity, gas and water accounts (the gas close-out often needs someone present), filing your move-out notification at the ward office, and then the settlement statement and refund confirmation weeks later. That last part is why I'd keep your Japanese line active through the handover and for a while after, rather than cancelling it alongside the lease. Setting one up is refreshingly simple: you apply online with your residence card, verify with a quick eKYC, and eSIM-capable phones can connect the same day, often within about fifteen minutes.

Have a look at our setup guide for eligibility and the step-by-step, and confirm current terms on the page before you apply. File your notice on time, photograph the empty rooms, hand over every key, and the last day in a place you've lived can be quiet and unremarkable — which is exactly what you want it to be. I'll be right here to help.