Keep your Tokyo apartment move-out documents together

Start a folder when you give notice to leave your apartment. Save the agreed checkout date, key-return instructions, arrival photos and contract. Add checkout photos and refund details before you go. If a bill or deposit question comes up later, you may no longer be able to enter the apartment or receive mail and phone messages in Japan.

Download a copy of the folder to your phone so you can open the files without internet access. Check that you can still sign in to your email after you stop using your Japanese phone number, and change any login settings that send verification codes to that number.

Start with the accepted notice

Save the message in which the company you're renting from accepts your move-out date. A sent notice without a reply may not prove that it reached the correct address or met the contract deadline.

Record:

• Contract end date
• Accepted checkout time
• Notice date and acceptance date
• Unit name and number
• Name and contact details of the person arranging checkout
• Any written agreement allowing you to leave earlier or later

Keep the signed contract with that confirmation. Japan’s housing ministry advises keeping it through move-out because it sets out the rules for ending the rental and returning the deposit. Its move-out guidance also tells you to check who pays for cleaning or repairs.

Save the key-return instructions

List the keys, cards and remotes you received, with the return place and deadline for each.

“Leave the key” is not enough. Ask whether it goes to a front desk, staff member, unit mailbox, first-floor return box, or prepaid envelope. Confirm what to do if the mailbox is locked or the return envelope is missing.

For a PIN or app key, save the company's message confirming when it will stop working. Don't include a working code in documents you share with a mover or travel companion.

After returning the keys, photograph the sealed envelope or the box where the company told you to leave them. Send a short message with the time.

Keep checkout photos with your arrival photos

Take a wide photograph of each room, including the bathroom, kitchen and entrance. Then take closer photographs of the walls, floors, windows, furniture and appliances. Use the same angles as the arrival record when possible.

Remove your belongings before taking the photographs. Open cupboards and the refrigerator. If the rental company gave you a list of the furniture and equipment, save that document in the folder too.

Report any damage rather than trying to repair, repaint or hide it at checkout. The housing ministry’s condition checklist can help you compare the apartment at move-in and move-out.

Save any maintenance reports and replies from the rental company in the same folder. That way, a photo of an old stain has the earlier report beside it.

If a charge arrives after you leave

Suppose the final bill includes a wall-repair charge you did not expect. Ask which wall and what damage the charge concerns, and request a breakdown. The ministry’s move-out guidance advises comparing the bill with your contract and asking the landlord or agent to explain unclear amounts and how they were calculated.

Your checkout photograph shows the wall when you left; the arrival photograph and any early damage report help establish whether the mark was already there. Keep those records together so you can send the relevant pages and images in one reply. They will not, by themselves, tell you whether a cleaning fee was agreed in the contract. For that question, look at the cleaning clause and ask the company to explain the charge.

Before departure, agree an email address for these exchanges and ask for the final statement to be sent there. Japan Post’s ordinary forwarding service will not send it to an overseas address.

Separate included utilities from your own accounts

Write down which utilities the furnished-apartment invoice includes. For any utility account in your name, save the date service ends, the final meter reading if requested, the payment method and the confirmation number.

Do not cancel the internet, gas, water or electricity supplied by the rental company. If you are unsure who holds an account, ask the company before cancelling it.

Save the billing contact’s email address and give them one you’ll still use after leaving. You can then ask about a later charge even after you stop using your Japanese phone number.

Arrange mail forwarding before checkout

If you are moving to another address in Japan, Japan Post offers free forwarding from the old address for one year from the submission date. Japan Post’s service page says you’ll need proof of identity and your previous address. Japan Post says registration can take 3 to 7 business days, so submit it before checkout.

Japan Post's international-student guide says ordinary forwarding is not available to an overseas address. If you are leaving Japan, change the address directly with banks, insurers, schools, employers, and any sender that may post a final document.

Ask the rental company what happens to mail delivered after departure. Do not assume staff can open or store your mail, or send it overseas.

Confirm how you’ll receive your refund

Ask when to expect the refund and how any deductions will be explained. Save the agreed amount once it’s known, along with the receiving account, currency and any transfer fees.

Confirm whether the rental company can pay an overseas account. Use the account holder name exactly as the bank records it. If you receive an unexpected request to change bank details, contact the rental company using a number or address you already trust before sending anything.

If a deduction for damage is unclear, ask for a breakdown and photographs of the damage. Save the reply with the final invoice.

Before leaving, disconnect the phone from the internet and open the folder. Check that the contract, arrival and checkout photos, key-return confirmation and refund agreement are saved on the device. Keep another copy somewhere you can access if you lose the phone.