Rent the same apartment with an agency fee as low as ¥0

When the landlord pays an advertising fee (AD) on the listing, the agency fee is ¥0. We charge tenants nothing at all. When no advertising fee is set we cannot bring it down to ¥0 and you may have to pay part of it, which is why the site says “as low as ¥0” rather than “always ¥0”. Either way we always provide a detailed written estimate before you sign anything, so you can confirm there are no unclear charges.

Instead of charging tenants, we receive an advertising fee (AD) from property owners and management companies. This is a standard mechanism in the Japanese rental industry — the apartment, the contract and the service quality are exactly the same. The flip side is that a listing with no advertising fee cannot always be offered at ¥0.

Yes. Listings for which the landlord pays no advertising fee (AD), rooms advertised directly by the owner, and buildings whose managing company does not accept introductions from other agencies may fall outside the service. For those the agency fee cannot be waived and you would pay it as usual, or we may be unable to handle the listing at all. Most rooms currently on the market do qualify, so send us the URL and we will check for free.

No. Most rental listings in Japan can be handled by multiple agencies. The same apartment can cost you a very different amount in move-in fees depending on which agency you sign with. Send us the listing URL and we'll check for free whether we can offer it with no agency fee.

Yes. We support foreign residents of Japan and can communicate in English via LINE chat. We can also help you find foreigner-friendly buildings and explain the documents you'll need, such as your residence card and proof of income.

Shikikin (deposit) is refundable money held by the landlord, usually one month of rent. Reikin (key money) is a non-refundable payment to the landlord, also often one month. These are set by the landlord and apply at any agency — but the agency fee, typically another full month of rent plus tax, is the part we can reduce to ¥0 on qualifying listings.

Most apartments in Japan today use a guarantor company instead of a personal guarantor. The fee is typically 50–100% of one month's rent. We'll explain the exact conditions for each property before you apply.

One to two months before your planned move-in date. Rental listings in Japan are usually taken within one to two weeks of going on the market, so if your move-in is four or more months away, the apartments you find today will not still be available by the time you can sign. For the January–March peak season, and for family-sized 2LDK and 3LDK apartments, start two to three months ahead; outside those, one to one and a half months is enough. If your move is further off, message us when the time comes and we can send you a quote right away. If you already have a cost estimate from another agency, we will review it for free at any time, whatever your move-in date.

We mainly cover Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba — the Greater Tokyo area. That said, we can review your move-in cost estimate for a property in any prefecture, free of charge, and we can handle the contract outside Greater Tokyo as well. Kurabeel works entirely over LINE: viewings are hosted by the building's management company, and we book the viewing and prepare your estimate by chat, so the process is the same wherever the apartment is. Some management companies will not accept a viewing request from an agency based outside their area; if that is the case, we will tell you before you commit to anything.