UR Rentals: No Key Money, No Guarantor, No Agency Fee
UR rental Japan searches lead to public housing managed directly by the Urban Renaissance Agency, not to private landlords.1 For a foreign renter, that single difference removes the two steepest private-market hurdles: finding a guarantor and paying key money plus agency fees on top of a deposit.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Urban Renaissance Agency rental housing site.
Overview
This guide covers UR rental housing (UR賃貸住宅, yū-āru chintai jūtaku, "UR rental housing") as a search-stage option for renters open to public stock.1 It explains what the agency is, which fees disappear, the income test that replaces guarantor screening, the real move-in math, what the property pool looks like, and the search-to-signing workflow.
It applies equally to Japanese and foreign applicants at the pre-search or early-search stage. UR publishes one national application standard, so no ward-level variation applies; what varies is availability by region.23
What UR Is: The Danchi Successor Turned Default Option
The current agency is the independent administrative agency (独立行政法人, dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin, "independent administrative agency") Urban Renaissance Agency (都市再生機構, toshi saisei kikō, "Urban Renaissance Agency"), established on July 1, 2004 through a merger and managing rental housing inherited from the Urban Development Corporation.4 UR itself traces its rental-housing work to 1955, when it began as a public institution answering each era's housing needs, which makes today's stock the institutional successor to the public danchi (団地, danchi, "housing complex") stock built from that era onward.5
The stock spans two distinct types. Danchi complexes offer spacious green grounds with nearby kindergartens, schools, parks, and community rooms, and UR keeps rebuilding and renewing their layouts.6 Tower stock (タワーマンション) targets urban life instead, with strong train access, often multiple usable lines, and high-grade fittings.6
Most UR buildings use reinforced-concrete or steel-framed reinforced-concrete construction, and UR states that it pursues seismic diagnosis and retrofitting.1 Because applications go to UR shops rather than private brokers, the process reads more like dealing with a public counter than negotiating with a landlord.1
The Four Zeros: What You Do Not Pay
UR removes four standard private-market charges, and the removal is the whole pitch (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Urban Renaissance Agency).1
| Removed charge | Japanese term | Private-market equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Key money | 礼金 (reikin, "key money") | Charged on private leases7 |
| Brokerage fee | 仲介手数料 (chūkai tesūryō, "brokerage fee") | Charged on private leases7 |
| Renewal fee | 更新料 (kōshinryō, "renewal fee") | Charged by many private landlords7 |
| Guarantor | 保証人 (hoshōnin, "guarantor") | Guarantor-company fee charged on private leases7 |
No brokerage fee applies because UR sales centers, shops, and on-site offices handle applications directly (as of 2026-09).1 No renewal fee applies because the contract renews automatically with no renewal procedure (as of 2026-09).1 No guarantor applies because UR checks only the applicant's own identity and eligibility documents (as of 2026-09).1
The Guarantor Company System covers the mechanics behind guarantor-free renting, and what private guarantor companies screen for instead, in depth. Restoration costs are also split explicitly at move-in, with normal wear-and-tear restoration borne by UR at move-out.1
The Income Threshold: What UR Checks Instead of a Guarantor
UR replaces the guarantor with an income test. The applicant's average monthly income must meet UR's standard monthly income for the unit's rent band (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Urban Renaissance Agency).2 Average monthly income means continuing, taxable, provable income such as salary, business, real-estate, or pension income, divided by 12 from roughly the past year.2
Household and Single-Person Income Tables
UR runs two tables depending on who applies. Figures below are UR's published standards (as of 2026-09).2
| Applicant type | Rent band | Standard monthly income | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household | Under ¥82,500 | 4x rent (¥60,000 rent needs ¥240,000) | 2026-092 |
| Household | ¥82,500 to under ¥200,000 | ¥330,000 fixed | 2026-092 |
| Household | ¥200,000 and above | ¥400,000 fixed | 2026-092 |
| Single | Under ¥62,500 | 4x rent (¥50,000 rent needs ¥200,000) | 2026-092 |
| Single | ¥62,500 to under ¥200,000 | ¥250,000 fixed | 2026-092 |
| Single | ¥200,000 and above | ¥400,000 fixed | 2026-092 |
Salaried applicants prove income with the prior-year withholding slip plus the current tax certificate or residence-tax decision notice (as of 2026-09).8 Self-employed applicants use the tax-payment certificate, and pensioners use the pension certificate or transfer notice.8
Applicants whose income falls short but who hold substantial bank savings can still qualify through the savings standard below. Running both numbers before giving up on a unit saves a wasted search.2
If You Miss the Threshold: Savings and Lump-Sum Routes
The savings standard lets bank savings of 100 times monthly rent or more substitute for the income requirement, proven by a balance certificate issued within 7 days (as of 2026-09).28 A ¥60,000 unit needs ¥6,000,000 in savings under this route (as of 2026-09).2
The lump-sum advance system prepays rent plus common-area fees (共益費, kyōekihi, "common-area fee") for 1 to 10 years in one-year units, at a UR-set discount, and removes the income requirement entirely (as of 2026-09).2 The advance contract sits separate from the lease and generally cannot be cancelled mid-term, so it suits settlers rather than anyone expecting relocation (as of 2026-09).2 Lump-sum users skip income documentation altogether.8
Partial-threshold applicants holding at least half the income or savings standard can combine a cohabiting relative's income or savings, draw a rent supplement from a non-cohabiting relative or employer, or qualify under exceptions for elderly, disabled, single-parent, and adult-student households with a supporter's joint undertaking (as of 2026-09).2
Foreign nationals must fully understand the Japanese lease content and hold one of three statuses: permanent, diplomatic, or official status; special permanent resident; or mid- to long-term resident under the Immigration Control Act (as of 2026-09).2 Cohabitants are limited to the applicant or relatives living together or planning to: a spouse including de facto partners and fiances within 6 months, blood relatives within the sixth degree, and in-laws within the third degree.2 Friends cannot co-apply.2
All household members must be able to move in within one month of UR's set move-in date and live communally without trouble.2 Applicants with unpaid amounts owed to UR, or past UR-housing violations such as rent arrears or false statements, can be refused.2
Upfront Costs: The Two-Month Deposit Trade-Off
Move-in payment is the deposit (敷金, shikikin, "security deposit") of two months' rent plus prorated first-month rent and common-area fees, with no key money, agency fee, or guarantor-company fee added (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Urban Renaissance Agency).1 Campaign periods can lighten the deposit burden (as of 2026-09).1
| Item | Amount | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 敷金 (shikikin, deposit) | 2 months' rent | 2026-09 | Campaign reductions possible1 |
| Prorated rent and common fee | Day-counted first month | 2026-09 | Paid via UR slips before signing83 |
| Key money, agency fee, guarantor fee | ¥0 | 2026-09 | The UR policy zeros1 |
Secondary reporting adds that UR charges no lock-change fee and treats property insurance as optional, against private leases where both are standard add-ons.7
Secondary reporting from 2021 puts typical UR move-in at about 3 months' rent against 5 to 6 months for private rentals, since the official line items confirm the deposit-plus-first-month shape without stating a total.7 Move-In Cost Breakdown: What 4-6 Months Actually Buys itemizes the full private-market line-item stack for readers running the comparison. At signing, applicants bring a registered seal (実印, jitsuin, "registered seal") plus a seal certificate from within 3 months; foreign nationals without seal customs bring a consular signature certificate instead.8 Applicants who appear in person with photo ID skip the seal certificate.8
The Property Pool: Bigger Units, Older Buildings, Suburban Sites
Searchable UR regions span Hokkaido and Miyagi, the Kanto prefectures, Tokai, Kansai, Chugoku, and Fukuoka.3 Secondary reporting describes complex-based units as usually large layouts of 2LDK and above, suiting families with children, while noting that some five-story buildings have no elevator.7 Older units carry a further practical caveat: fiber-optic internet may not be available, which matters for remote workers.7
Within those regions, secondary reporting characterizes much of the stock as older danchi buildings from the 1960s to 1980s, some fully renovated, often at a distance from stations, with bus-to-station commutes common; practitioner sources describe this age and distance pattern, but figures are inconsistently reported and no UR page states the distribution directly.76
UR's own framing points the same way by emphasis. Danchi pages sell green spacious grounds and child-rearing amenities rather than centrality, while centrality is framed as the tower stock's selling point.6 A renter prioritizing a short station walk should therefore filter for tower stock or station-proximate complexes from the start rather than browsing the whole pool.
UR's savings compound over a long stay through zero key money, zero agency fee, and zero renewal fee. Comparing one month's rent against a nearby private unit without amortizing those zeros over the planned stay understates the UR advantage for long tenancies and overstates it for short ones.1
How to Search, View, and Sign
The official flow runs search, eligibility check, provisional application, viewing, document submission, contract, and move-in.3 UR allows one provisional application per household, filed at a UR shop.3 The sequence looks like this:
The Search Workflow: Website, Phone, and Sales Offices
The UR website supports vacancy search by area, train line, layout, and rent.3 House hunters can follow up favorite rooms by phone or mail, and housing advisors at UR shops assist with condition-based searches.3 No property-search app is part of this flow; search runs through the website plus direct contact with UR shops.3
Most stock is first-come-first-served when a vacancy exists, so a decided applicant applies rather than waiting.1 New builds and senior-oriented housing are partly lottery-based instead.1
The Signing Timeline: One Week for Documents, Ten Days to Contract
Documents are due within one week counting from the day after the provisional application, and the contract date falls within ten days counting from the day after the application, at the same shop where documents were submitted (as of 2026-09; confirm current timing with the UR shop handling the application).3
A viewing is possible after application, and even before application for units whose repairs are complete.3 Viewings run normally once, through a key-loan slip at the management office with photo ID (as of 2026-09).3
Application documents comprise the UR-designated application form, residence certificates for all occupants showing relationship and issued within 3 months without My Number, and income proof by income type.8 Foreign residents must request the nationality and visa fields on their residence certificate.8 Submitted documents are not returned, and false statements void the contract.8
UR shops can explain contract content online on request.3 Rent accrues from the permitted occupancy date set at contract, and keys are collected at the property's management office on or after that date.3
Good to know
Central Units Fill Fast Under First-Come-First-Served
Most UR stock goes to whoever applies first while a vacancy stands.1 Secondary reporting from 2021 describes Tokyo stock as usually fully occupied, with new vacancies filling immediately.7 A renter set on a central unit should therefore search, view, and file quickly rather than shortlisting for weeks.
Compare Total Tenancy Cost, Not Monthly Rent Alone
UR's savings arrive through absence: no key money at entry, no agency fee at entry, no renewal fee every two years.1 Over a multi-year stay those zeros outweigh a monthly rent that merely matches nearby private units. For a one-year stay, the two-month deposit dominates instead, and the advantage narrows.
The Document Window Is One Week, Not Open-Ended
Full documents land within one week of the day after provisional application, and the contract follows within ten days at the same shop.3 Treat the provisional filing as starting a clock, not reserving a unit indefinitely. Gathering the withholding slip, tax certificate, and residence certificates beforehand keeps the clock comfortable.
Foreign Applicants Must Read the Japanese Contract
Foreign eligibility turns on two gates: the ability to fully understand the Japanese lease, plus one of three status categories covering permanent, diplomatic, official, special permanent, and mid- to long-term residents.2 Short-term stays outside those categories are excluded. No separate municipal lottery or nationality quota applies; the UR categories are the entire test.2
The Deposit Is Two Months, So Move-In Still Costs About Three
Two months' deposit plus prorated first-month rent and common fee still totals roughly three months' rent at signing (as of 2026-09).1 Campaign periods can reduce the deposit load (as of 2026-09).1 Budget three months' rent as the planning figure and treat any campaign reduction as a bonus.
See also
- How Renting Works in Japan
- The Guarantor Company System
- Move-In Cost Breakdown: What 4-6 Months Actually Buys
- Property-Search Portals: SUUMO, HOME'S, athome and Their Quirks
- Foreigner-Rejection Patterns and How to Navigate Them
- Viewings (Naiken): What to Ask and What to Watch For