Japan Property Management Company Fees for Overseas Owners

This article is part of the Zagdim Japan property series. It explains how rental management companies in Japan (property management companies) charge, what the fees cover and what they do not, for overseas owners who are comparing management company quotes.

As of September 2026, there is no legal cap on the monthly rental management fee (called the management fee in this article); you and the management company agree it by contract. In a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for fiscal year 2025, covering members of three industry associations, the most common fee set as a percentage of monthly rent was “4% or more but less than 5%” (38.0%). What does have a cap is the brokerage fee for finding a tenant: the owner and tenant together cannot be charged more than 1.1 times one month’s rent (tax included), with exceptions.

The contract determines which services the management fee includes. Utility costs during vacancies, renewal handling fees, repair work costs and advance payments may be charged on top of the fee. A registered company that manages 200 or more units must explain the fee and the costs outside the fee in writing before you sign. If you hire a small, unregistered company, those points can only be protected by what the contract says. For vacant homes, there is no dedicated registration system for vacant-home management as of September 2026, and minpaku (short-term home rental) falls under a separate system.

Why Are Management Company Fees So Hard to Compare?

Two quotes may both say “a percentage of monthly rent” while covering different work. MLIT’s standard management agreement for rental housing (賃貸住宅標準管理受託契約書) splits the management work into four columns: inspection and cleaning; repair arrangements; rent collection and deposit management; and other tasks such as move-in and move-out procedures, tenant complaints, tenant recruitment and vacancy management. For each item, the contract states whether the company does it itself or outsources it, and how often.

This standard agreement is a template, not a law. Its fee column is left blank, with only a blank for “__% of rent and common-area fees,” so what counts is the contract you actually sign. In this article, “the template” always means this standard agreement. When an MLIT expert panel summarized the issues in February 2026, it also listed owner and tenant complaints that “the scope of services and fees are hard to understand at signing.”

Before comparing quotes, separate two payments. The monthly management charge you pay to a condominium management association is the management fee (管理費). Under MLIT’s standard management bylaws (the model for condominium bylaws), its uses include the cost of the association’s contract with a condominium management company. The payment to a rental management company that manages your rented unit is what this article calls the management fee for rental management. Repairs to shared parts such as exterior walls and roofs are paid by the association from the repair reserve fund (修繕積立金); what a rental management company arranges is repairs to your own unit.

Also note that a company that only collects rent for you and does not do inspections or arrange repairs is not in the rental housing management business as defined by law, so the legal duties below do not apply to it.

Is There a Cap on Management Fees? How Do Companies Price Them?

As of September 2026, there is no legal cap or calculation standard for rental management fees. The Act on Proper Management of Rental Housing and Rental Housing Management Business (賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律) only requires a registered company to explain the fee amount and payment method before signing and to put the fee terms in the written contract. It sets no amount. The template’s fee column is blank, with consumption tax charged separately, and its notes explain that a flat fee per building can also be used; where cleaning, repairs and similar work carry a separate fee, a separate column can be added.

For reference, in an MLIT-commissioned survey for fiscal year 2025 (Reiwa 7), members of three industry associations were surveyed online from October 20 to November 6, 2025. There were 886 valid responses (a response rate of about 3.3%). On the form of the fee, 78.2% of companies charge a percentage of monthly rent and 13.3% use a flat fee per unit or per building.

Among the 742 companies that answered about the percentage level, “4% or more but less than 5%” was the most common at 38.0%, followed by “5% or more but less than 6%” at 32.9%, and “3% or more but less than 4%” at 13.9%. These are the levels companies reported setting, not a legal standard and not the amounts owners actually paid. They do not include the tenant-finding brokerage fee, renewal handling fees or repair costs.

When comparing percentages, first confirm what the percentage is calculated on. The template says a percentage of “rent and common-area fees.” The same percentage produces a different amount depending on whether it applies to rent alone or to rent plus common-area fees.

What Else Might You Pay Besides the Monthly Percentage?

The following costs should be read together with the management fee when comparing quotes. In this table, the only item with a statutory cap is the tenant-finding brokerage fee.

Are Repair Costs Included in the Management Fee?

The template treats arranging repairs and paying for repairs separately. The “repairs” column under management work means the estimates and arrangement of contractors that the company does when repairs are needed. The cost of emergency handling and any amounts the company advances are paid or reimbursed by you. Spending above the agreed advance limit requires prior consultation with you.

The template also provides that the management company must obtain your consent in advance to deduct its management fee directly from the rent it receives.

What Is Not Covered by the Management Fee?

• Negotiations with tenants. Under the template, acting as your agent on contract renewal, negotiating how repair costs are split with the tenant, or negotiating restoration of the unit when the tenant moves out requires your prior consent. When a dispute arises because a tenant does not respond to a lawful request, handling those negotiations would be unlicensed legal practice prohibited by Article 72 of the Attorney Act. The management company can no longer handle it and it must go to a lawyer or to you.
• Tax filing. A management company that is not a licensed tax accountant (稅理士, zeirishi) may not prepare or file your tax return as a business, even free of charge. For how tax filing is arranged, see the Zagdim guide “How Do You Manage a Japanese Rental Property From Overseas? Tenants, Repairs, Taxes and Agent Communication.”
• Tenant recruitment. The template lists tenant recruitment among the “other” management tasks that can be agreed, so whether it is included in the management fee depends on your contract. A company that brokers a lease for you must hold a real estate license (宅建業免許), valid for 5 years. This is a different system from rental management registration. One company may hold both, and each must be confirmed separately.

For new leases brokered by a licensed real estate agent in Tokyo, the Tokyo ordinance on preventing disputes in residential leasing (東京における住宅の賃貸借に係る紛争の防止に関する条例) also requires the agent to give the tenant a separate written explanation of matters such as the basic approach to restoration on move-out and to repairs during the tenancy. This is a duty of the brokering agent, not of the owner.

What Must a Management Company Tell You Before You Sign?

First check whether the other party is a registered company. A company that manages 200 or more units must register with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, renewable every 5 years. The 200 refers to the company’s total units under management, so you can hire a registered company even if you own only one unit. The register is open to the public. A registered company must appoint at least one business manager (業務管理者) at each office, who oversees matters such as whether the contract terms are clear.

Before a registered company signs a management agreement (管理受託契約) with you, it must hand over a written document (called the key-points explanation in this article) and explain the following 11 items:

1. Company name, registration date and registration number
2. The housing being managed
3. The content and method of the management work
4. The fee amount, and the timing and method of payment
5. Costs needed to carry out the management work that are not included in the fee
6. Matters that are partly subcontracted
7. Responsibility and exemption from liability
8. Matters to be reported to you
9. Contract term
10. How the management work is communicated to tenants
11. Renewal and termination

When comparing fees, items 4, 5 and 6 matter most. MLIT’s interpretive document says about one week should be allowed between the explanation and signing; an explanation by video counts as equivalent to a face-to-face explanation only if you consent, the explanation and attachments are sent in advance, and two-way communication by image and sound is possible. With your consent, the document may also be provided electronically. If you are yourself a licensed real estate agent or other professional, you are outside the group to whom the explanation must be given.

After signing, a registered company must promptly deliver a document stating the management work, fee terms, contract term and other matters; a contract that contains all of these items can serve as that document.

Who Is Responsible If the Company Passes Work to Someone Else?

A registered company may subcontract part of the work, but it must explain this in advance and state which work and to whom it plans to subcontract. The subcontractor need not be registered, and the registered company that signed with you remains responsible for how the work is performed. Handing all of the management work to someone else and doing none of it is illegal, and so is splitting all of it among several companies.

How Is Money Held, and How Often Are You Told What Is Happening?

• Separate accounts. Rent and deposits collected must be kept apart from the company’s own assets, with the books separating them according to the contract. A separate account for each owner is not required.
• Annual report. Within 1 year of the signing date, and again after the contract ends, the company must deliver a management work report and explain it. The method of explanation is not fixed, but it must be agreed with you, a setup for two-way communication must be in place, and the company must confirm you understand. With your consent it may be provided electronically. Monthly statements depend on the contract.

For management agreements signed before June 15, 2021, the legal rules on the post-signing document and the annual report do not apply. However, MLIT’s interpretive document asks that when the contract is later changed, a document stating all required items be delivered, and that regular reporting begin after renewal.

Unregistered companies that manage fewer than 200 units are not covered by the management-entrustment duties above. If you hire one, costs outside the fee, how often reports are made and how money is held must be written into the contract itself.

**Example: an overseas owner comparing two management companies**

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An owner living abroad has an apartment in Fukuoka that is ready to rent and receives quotes from two management companies, both calculated as a percentage of monthly rent. Company A is registered, so before signing it must deliver a document explaining the 11 items, including the fee, costs outside the fee and partial subcontracting. Company B manages fewer than 200 units and is not registered, so those duties do not apply to it.

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For finding tenants, the brokerage fees either company charges the owner and tenant together cannot exceed 1.1 times one month’s rent (tax included), with exceptions. What the owner should do is ask Company B to write the costs outside the fee, the advance-payment limit and the reporting method into the contract, and then compare the two companies’ cost items side by side.

A Master Lease Advertises “Guaranteed Rent”: How Should You Read the Price?

In a master lease (サブリース, sublease), a company rents your whole unit from you and sublets it to tenants. What you receive is the rent the company pays you, not the rent the tenant pays. A company that runs master leases is called a specified sublease business operator (特定転貸事業者). Even if it manages fewer than 200 units and is not registered, it must comply with the following:

• Explanation before signing. It must deliver a document and explain conditions such as the rent it will pay you, the payment date and method, and any changes to these; the expected amount of damages or penalty; and an outline of relevant laws such as the Act on Land and Building Leases (借地借家法). After signing, it must also deliver a document.
• Advertising. It may not make statements about the rent payable, the way security is maintained, contract termination and similar matters that are markedly inconsistent with the facts or that lead people to believe the terms are markedly better or more favorable than they are.
• Solicitation. It may not knowingly fail to tell you, or misstate, important matters, and may not solicit by intimidation, late at night or for long periods.

MLIT’s master lease guidelines (guidelines, not law) require that where wording such as “guaranteed rent” (家賃保証) is used in advertising, a nearby notice must say that rent may be adjusted periodically and that a rent reduction may be requested under Article 32 of the Act on Land and Building Leases. Under a master lease signed as an ordinary lease, even if it says rent will not be reduced for an agreed period, the company may still ask for a reduction when economic conditions change and in similar situations. You can decline, and if no agreement is reached a court decides.

So when comparing master lease terms, look beyond the starting rent to the conditions for rent changes and the termination clauses. If the master lease is an ordinary lease, you need a justifiable reason to refuse renewal. The guidelines require the master lease to state that when it ends, you take over the master lease company’s position as landlord toward the tenants in residence and the obligation to return their deposits. For the rules protecting tenants, see the Zagdim guide “How Does Japan’s Tenant Protection System Affect Owners? Leases, Renewals and Move-Out Arrangements.”

The Home Is Vacant: Who Manages It and How Is It Charged?

As of September 2026, vacant-home management services such as periodic visits and airing out the home have no dedicated registration or licensing system. In June 2024, MLIT issued guidelines for real estate businesses entrusted with vacant-home management (不動産業者による空き家管理受託のガイドライン), as a standard of conduct for real estate agents and property management companies taking on such work. The guidelines are not law. The vacant homes they have in mind include condominium units left empty because the owner is posted overseas.

Under these guidelines, a licensed real estate agent may sign a separate contract apart from the brokerage contract and charge a fee for vacant-home management in addition to the brokerage fee. The official sources reviewed do not give typical fee levels for vacant-home management, so the only way to compare is the contents and frequency written into each contract.

If the home is planned to be rented out, whether it is being marketed or marketing has not yet begun, the vacancy period still counts as rental housing. When a registered company is entrusted with managing it, it is within the scope of the rental housing management act. The template also lists vacancy management (periodic visits, ventilation) in the “other” column of management work, and lists utility costs during vacancy as a cost outside the fee.

Is There a Local Place to Get Advice?

A municipal mayor may designate NPOs, general incorporated associations or foundations, or companies whose purpose is vacant-home management and utilization, as vacant house management and utilization support corporations (空家等管理活用支援法人) and publish their names and addresses. Their work includes providing information or consultation on management and utilization, periodically checking the condition of a vacant home when entrusted, and searching for owners when entrusted.

This is a municipal designation, not a license. The municipality may require a support corporation to report or order it to make improvements, and may revoke the designation if the order is violated. You can check whether the municipality where your property is located has made any designations.

What Should You Watch For With a Vacant Detached House?

As of September 2026, detached houses (一戸建て) have no statutory system like a condominium management association or repair reserve fund, and the owner plans repairs to the roof and exterior walls. When you entrust vacant-home management, ask before signing who arranges repairs that visits reveal to be needed and how the cost is calculated.

Under the Act on Special Measures concerning Vacant Houses (空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法), owners of buildings that are regularly unused, and their land, must make efforts to manage them properly. This is an obligation to make efforts. If management is inadequate and the house may become a specified vacant house, the municipality may give guidance and recommendations. After a recommendation, the land no longer qualifies for the fixed asset tax special treatment for residential land.

**Example: an overseas owner not returning to a Tokyo apartment for now**

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An owner has an apartment in Tokyo that they will not live in for the time being and have not yet decided whether to rent out. As of September 2026, vacant-home management has no dedicated registration system; a licensed real estate agent entrusted with it may sign a separate contract apart from the brokerage contract and charge a fee for vacant-home management.

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If the owner decides to rent, then from the planned-rental stage through the marketing period, when a registered company is entrusted with management the arrangement is also within the rental housing management act, and the company must explain in writing before signing. What the owner should do is confirm that the contract states the frequency of visits and ventilation, who pays utility costs while the unit is empty, and how the owner will be told when repairs are needed.

Planning Minpaku: Are the Management Rules the Same?

No. A residential lodging business (住宅宿泊事業, minpaku) lets guests stay for no more than 180 days a year. When the owner is absent during guest stays, the management work must be entrusted to a residential lodging management business operator (住宅宿泊管理業者) registered with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, with exceptions. This registration is renewed every 5 years and is a different system from rental management registration.

A home used for minpaku is not rental housing as defined in the rental housing management act, so the pre-signing explanation, separate account management and annual report rules above do not apply. If you are buying a condominium, check the bylaws first: if they prohibit minpaku, you cannot operate one; if they are unclear, confirm that the management association does not intend to prohibit it.

Will the Rules on Management Company Fees Change?

This is still under study, with nothing decided. According to the materials MLIT presented to the Consumer Commission of the Cabinet Office on June 16, 2026, the directions the expert panel summarized in February 2026 include a “standard management work guideline” that distinguishes basic services from optional services, and an evaluation system for rental management led by industry associations. As of September 2026, the guideline has not been published, the evaluation system has not been created, and the law has not been amended.

What Claims Should You Be Careful About?

• “Rental management fees are set by law as a percentage.” There is currently no legal cap or calculation standard for rental management fees; the survey figures only show what companies report setting.
• “All-in at a percentage of monthly rent.” Check the key-points document for costs outside the fee and the advance-payment limit, and whether cleaning and repairs are charged separately.
• “Charging a separate advertising fee is customary.” Beyond the brokerage fee cap, only the cost of advertising done at your request may be charged separately. Ask for the name and basis. Viewing fees and application fees may not be charged separately.
• “With guaranteed rent, the rent will not go down.” Under a master lease signed as an ordinary lease, the company can still ask for a reduction.
• “Monthly reports are required by law.” The legal minimum is once a year; monthly statements depend on the contract.
• “Vacant-home management is nationally certified.” There is currently no dedicated registration system for vacant-home management; support corporations are municipal designations, not licenses.
• “We can also file your taxes for you.” If the company is not a licensed tax accountant, it may not prepare your tax return as a business.

How Should You Decide What to Do Next?

First compare each company’s key-points document side by side, focusing on the fee amount, costs outside the fee and partial subcontracting. Then confirm whether the company is registered, and whether tenant recruitment is handled by a company holding a real estate license. If the company is not registered, put the points above into the contract before signing.

For a master lease, look first at the rent-change and termination terms. If the home will be vacant, confirm the visit frequency and utility costs. If you plan minpaku, look for a residential lodging management business operator instead.

If your question goes beyond the management company, for example the monthly fees paid to the management association, tax on rental income, or the types of lease, see the main Zagdim guide “How Do Condominium Associations, Rental Management and Repair Costs Work for Foreign Owners of Japanese Property?” for the full picture of holding property in Japan.

Japan Property Management Company Fees FAQ

What Else Might Be Charged Beyond a Quote Stating Only a Percentage of Monthly Rent?

Possible extra charges include the tenant-finding brokerage fee, advertising costs incurred at your request, utility costs during vacancy management, renewal handling fees, repair work costs and advance payments. A registered company must list costs outside the fee in writing before signing; if you hire an unregistered company, have these written into the contract.

A Management Company Says It Manages Fewer Than 200 Units and Does Not Need to Give a Pre-Signing Explanation. Is That Legal?

Yes. A company that manages fewer than 200 units and is not registered is not covered by the entrusted-management duties of the rental housing management act, so a pre-signing explanation, separate account management and an annual report can only be secured through the contract. However, a company that runs master leases must still comply with the advertising and pre-signing explanation rules even if it is unregistered.

I Live Overseas and My Home Is Vacant. Do I Need a Licensed Vacant-Home Management Company?

As of September 2026, vacant-home management has no dedicated registration or license system. MLIT’s 2024 guidelines are a standard of conduct for real estate businesses, not law, and support corporations designated by municipalities are not licensed either. Before signing, confirm the visit frequency and costs outside the fee.

Glossary

• Rental management company (賃貸住宅管理業者): A company that, on the owner’s behalf, inspects and cleans rental housing and arranges repairs, and may also manage rent and deposits. Registration is required at 200 or more units managed.
• Management fee: In this article, the fee paid to a rental management company, which differs from the management fee paid to a condominium management association.
• Management agreement (管理受託契約): The contract between an owner and a rental management company.
• Standard management agreement for rental housing (賃貸住宅標準管理受託契約書): A model rental management contract produced by MLIT; not law.
• Licensed real estate agent (宅地建物取引業者): A business holding a real estate license that may broker or act as agent in real estate sales and leases as a business.
• Master lease (サブリース): An arrangement in which a company rents a whole unit from the owner and sublets it to tenants.
• Vacant house management and utilization support corporation (空家等管理活用支援法人): An NPO, corporation or company designated by a municipality to assist with vacant-home management and utilization.
• Residential lodging management business operator (住宅宿泊管理業者): A business registered with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism that manages minpaku on behalf of the operator.

About This Data

The information in this article is current as of September 30, 2026, and is based on Japanese laws and official materials from MLIT, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Consumer Commission of the Cabinet Office.

Some conclusions are drawn from official documents that do not state them in a single sentence. “There is no legal cap or calculation standard for rental management fees” is drawn from the fact that the rental housing management act and its enforcement rules only provide for explaining and recording fees, with no cap, and from the blank fee column of the standard management agreement. “There is no dedicated registration system for vacant-home management” is drawn from the 2024 MLIT guidelines’ own description and the laws reviewed. “Detached houses have no management association and the owner plans repairs” is inferred from the scope of application of the Act on Building Unit Ownership (区分所有法) and the condominium repair guidelines, and does not exclude other individual arrangements such as shared private roads.

The standard management agreement, master lease guidelines, vacant-home management guidelines and standard management bylaws are all MLIT models or guidelines, not laws; the interpretive document for the rental housing management act is an administrative interpretation by MLIT. What counts is the contract you sign and the bylaws of your own condominium.

The fiscal year 2025 (Reiwa 7) management business survey covered members of three industry associations, was conducted by online questionnaire, and had 886 valid responses (response rate about 3.3%), with 742 companies answering the fee level question. The figures are levels companies reported setting and do not represent amounts owners actually paid. The official sources reviewed do not give fee levels for vacant-home management or minpaku management, so this article gives no amounts. The conditions for exceptions to the brokerage fee cap (for example, brokerage of leases on long-vacant homes) are not covered here.

Still changing: the standard management work guideline and evaluation system for rental housing management are under study and nothing is decided; no timetable is given here.

Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.

Sources

• e-Gov法令検索－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律
• e-Gov法令検索－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律施行規則
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律の解釈・運用の考え方
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅管理業法FAQ集（令和7年10月9日時点版）
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅標準管理受託契約書
• 国土交通省不動産・建設経済局－令和７年度不動産管理業に関する実態分析に係る調査検討業務報告書
• 国土交通省－宅地建物取引業者が宅地又は建物の売買等に関して受けることができる報酬の額
• 国土交通省－宅地建物取引業法の解釈・運用の考え方
• e-Gov法令検索－宅地建物取引業法
• 東京都－東京における住宅の賃貸借に係る紛争の防止に関する条例
• 東京都住宅政策本部－賃貸住宅紛争防止条例
• 国土交通省－サブリース事業に係る適正な業務のためのガイドライン
• 国土交通省－令和７年改正マンション標準管理規約（単棟型）及び同コメント
• 国土交通省－外国人区分所有者向け「日本におけるマンション管理について」
• e-Gov法令検索－税理士法
• 国土交通省－不動産業者による空き家管理受託のガイドライン
• e-Gov法令検索－空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法
• 国土交通省－空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法の一部を改正する法律 概要
• e-Gov法令検索－地方税法
• e-Gov法令検索－建物の区分所有等に関する法律
• 国土交通省－マンションの修繕積立金に関するガイドライン
• e-Gov法令検索－住宅宿泊事業法
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅管理業について（令和８年６月16日 内閣府消費者委員会説明資料）

Important Notice

This article is a general information summary and is not individual legal, tax or real estate advice. The information is current as of September 30, 2026. Rules, guidelines and survey figures may be updated; rely on the current announcements of the competent Japanese authorities, the contract you sign and the bylaws of your own condominium, and consult a qualified lawyer, tax accountant or other professional where needed.