Kyoto landlords open arms to foreign students
A new lease / Kyoto landlords open arms to foreign students Akino Yoshihara Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Apartment hunting can be difficult under the best of circumstances. However, for non-Japanese unfamiliar with the Japanese rent system in which tenants have to pay a large amount of money up front, including so-called key money and deposits, the experience can be deeply frustrating. Kyoto, in particular, has earned a reputation for high fees, with key money equivalent to two to three months' rent and renewal charges. Zhang Yuan-ming, 36, who completed work for his Ph.D. in March and is continuing his research at Ritsumeikan University, advises foreign students, especially new arrivals, to seek advice from their teachers or university centers when apartment hunting. Although he found an apartment easily with the help of his teachers after he arrived in Kyoto in 1994 from Taiwan, he said, "When students negotiate with real estate agents in their limited Japanese, some newcomers were asked to pay excessive key money without realizing it." Zhang said key money and renewal fees were particularly difficult for foreign students to understand. "In Kyoto usually only a small portion of deposits is refunded, no matter how clean tenants keep their rooms. In Taiwan, more than half of the money is usually refundable," he said. However, some landlords of apartments built after the early 1980s have softened their attitude toward non-Japanese tenants because of a surplus of apartments since the late 1990s. Yusuke Okamura, executive director of the real estate firm Kyoto Jutaku Center-Gakusei Jutaku, said: "The surplus of housing built more than 15 years ago has created a lot of competition among landlords. It has forced them to reduce key money and deposits to fill vacancies as Japanese tend to move into new luxury condominiums." The firm has encouraged landlords to accept a broader range of tenants, including foreign students. Okamura said, "We tell landlords that foreign students don't cause much trouble because they come here to study. We also tell them we will mediate if a problem arises." Yoshio Okamoto, manager of the firm's Kyodaiseimonmae office, said, "More landlords have become flexible on reducing rents and other fees and the lengths of leases." However, he said some landlords complained about the trouble they had had with foreign tenants, including falling behind on the rent and dirty kitchens. The biggest problem is when a tenant has someone move into his or her apartment without permission. Okamoto said, "It's important for us to explain the circumstances surrounding foreign students to guarantors at the time of signing the leases as many guarantors don't take their roles seriously." In addition to real estate firms, some universities have also promoted housing assistance for foreign students. Officials of Kyoto Institute of Technology's International Planning Division have visited several real estate agents in search of buildings they can rent for student housing, which they could then make available to students without requiring a personal guarantor. Robins Nishikoji in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, is a former company dormitory that has been renovated into a dormitory for international students. Robins International Co., which offers residences for foreign students, remodeled the barely used building before opening it last spring. The dormitory is managed by Kyoto Life Support Organization for Overseas Students (KOOS), a nonprofit organization that also offers the dormitory's residents part-time jobs, such as translation work. Foreign students are happy that the dormitory does not require a guarantor or key money and that their deposits are refundable. The building houses 96 furnished single rooms, a multipurpose room with computers and satellite TVs, shared kitchens, showers and bathrooms. Yasushi Okada, KOOS secretary general, said, "We provide the essentials at the dormitory, so students can come here with only one suitcase." According to Akira Tomonaga, manager of Kyoto University's Co-op, many foreign students look for apartments with a monthly rent of 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen. This kind of apartment does not require key money or renewal fees, and the deposit is usually equivalent to one or two months' rent. However, as finances are tight for many students, Tomonaga says he asks landlords to wait for lump-sum payments until students receive scholarship money, or to let them pay in installments, depending on their circumstances. But he said it was up to the landlords to agree, adding that he cannot force them to reduce rents. Tomonaga said the university was responsible for explaining the basic rules to foreign students. "I illustrate the problems for landlords, which are usually created by ignorance about Japanese customs," he said. The co-op is preparing to publish a comprehensive guidebook for overseas students containing information on how to deal with problems, tenant regulations and other points in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. Some landlords of older apartments with shared kitchens, bathrooms and showers have taken care of foreign tenants with consideration. Akiyoshi Terada, who owns the 60-year-old Suimei Apartment building in Sakyo Ward, said: "I didn't expect to feel comfortable renting to foreign students. But I learned there was nothing to worry about if I communicated with them." Terada tries to keep the apartments clean and comfortable by doing frequent repairs for his tenants, 70 percent of whom are foreign students. He also returns the full amount of deposits when tenants vacate their rooms, unless there are serious problems. Owing to his efforts, the 30-room apartment has become fully occupied after students spread the word that the apartments were comfortable and the landlord was genial. Hiroki Watanabe of Wakatake-ryo Co., which operates seven apartments in Sakyo Ward, said it was important for landlords not to be too judgmental about foreign students while they are trying to understand the Japanese system. He said: "I watch how foreign students behave to learn how to help them follow the rules. There's no need to complain about things they don't yet understand." Watanabe recently had an unfortunate experience at one of the apartments. A foreign student disappeared leaving his belongings behind. He said, "This kind of incident is very unusual, but it affects the image of the remaining overseas students, although most of them are no problem. However, I'm happy to rent to foreign students when I know they're studying and working hard." === Housing network planned The Kyoto City International Foundation launched a project last year to establish a housing network system for foreigners in cooperation with two other private organizations and an independent administrative institution. In addition to housing information and consultation services, the foundation will encourage real estate agents to provide multilingual guidelines for rental housing and to improve their attitudes toward foreigners. The foundation also plans to dispatch volunteer interpreters when foreigners make preliminary inspections of apartments and organize a seminar for real estate agents and landlords on renting to non-Japanese. The Center for Domestic and Foreign Students, an organization affiliated with the former Education Ministry, had offered various welfare and support programs, including free services to introduce rental housing, to students. However, the free housing service was discontinued after the organization was integrated in April 2004 into a new body. Therefore, the foundation decided to continue providing a sufficient and regular supply of accommodations to foreigners through private initiatives on behalf of the center. Takafumi Hayakawa of the foundation's information and programming section said, "The project will be more effective if we engage in our own specialized areas through mutual cooperation."
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