You may wonder why there are unexpected costs while renting an apartment! Some people call it unknown costs or hidden costs of living. You have to pay for it, but you did not expect such expenses. At the end of the day, you need to pay it.
The decision to rent an apartment and the type of apartment depend on some conditions. Are you going to be in Japan for quite a long time? for example, more than 2 years? If you plan to be in Japan for more than10 years, you can consider to buy your own house or apartment. If you know that your stay in Japan would not be longer than two years, it is better to look for a fully furnished apartment. All you need to do is making a payments for the utilities, phone and internet bills.
During the process of searching for a new apartment, I became more aware of some of the "hidden costs". These hidden costs depend on the apartment type you choose. If you are going for a private apartment, a guarantor company should support and you need to pay for them. Some private apartment owners ask for renters insurance and lock exchange money. Public housing corporations such as UR and JKK do not have such hidden costs. However they also deduct "Damage and Cleaning" money from your deposit.
Good things with UR and JKK are the exception of Key money, Agency commission, Guarantor fee, renters fee and lock exchange money. Deposit of two months is required for UR and JKK. Private apartments have more hidden costs, but apartments of public housing corporations are not free from hidden costs.
When I approached the real-estate agent to look for an apartment in JKK housing complex in Komatsugawa, at first the agent talked about the attractive feature of Two-months Rent free campaign for couples with children. Then he informed that there is no gas stove installed in JKK apartment. Tenant needs to buy and install. Some of the rooms do not have lights. I bought lighting fixtures and fixed it myself. JKK apartments in Komatsugawa have lower wall heights compared to that of UR apartments. Hence some of the lighting fixtures became useless and we had to buy new ones.
Some private apartments offer washing machine, Refrigerator, Television, Microwave oven, Heaters, Air conditioners and furniture such as Sofa, Dining table, study table and chairs. Apartments of Public housing corporations such as UR and JKK have started providing air conditioners. UR apartments in Komatsugawa provides Gas stove. JKK apartments have lighting fixtures fixed on the ceiling of entrance area, veranda, toilet, kitchen, Washing-bathroom area and Service room.
In summary, the unexpected costs during the recent change of apartment from UR to the JKK were for Gas-stove and the light fixtures. The cost was around 60,000 JPY.
