Introducing the difference between apartment management companies and international student guarantors.

Although not limited to international students, when renting an apartment in Japan, a “management company” acts as an intermediary between the landlord and the tenant and does the administrative work related to the contract.
This practice is not limited to Japan, but is found in many countries where there are real estate companies.

Landlords rarely recruit tenants on their own or sign contracts face-to-face with tenants, and it is common for the management company to take care of the paperwork, especially for contracts.

On the other hand, there is also a company called a “guarantee company,” which has a name similar to that of a management company. Although the names are very similar, their work from the perspective of tenants and landlords is completely different.

Today, we would like to introduce the difference between these “management companies” and “guarantee companies.

(1) What is an apartment management company?

As the name suggests, a management company is a company that is commissioned by the landlord to manage the apartment.

Most landlords often have many other apartments and are unable to manage them on their own.

It is true that some people who devote themselves solely to the landlord business manage their own apartments.
However, landlords have to do a lot of work, such as collecting rent, recruiting tenants, cleaning the apartment, changing fluorescent lights, and handling complaints from tenants, and they ask the management company to take care of these tasks.

The real estate company that takes requests from the landlord and manages the apartment is called the “management company,” and tenants basically talk to this management company more often than not.

Have you ever experienced this?

The management company is the people who will come to you as soon as you lose the key to your room or when there is garbage scattered around the apartment and you ask them to dispose of it.

(2) What is a guarantee company for international students?

When renting an apartment in Japan, another person signs the contract as a guarantor in addition to the person who wants to rent the apartment, although this is not limited to international students.

This rule is so that the landlord or management company can claim responsibility from this guarantor if the tenant fails to pay rent on time or leaves the apartment without permission, leaving his/her belongings behind and cannot be contacted.
For those who do not have a guarantor, they basically ask a “guarantee company” to guarantee that they will be taken care of if something happens.

It is difficult to ask a stranger, even a Japanese person, to be your guarantor, and it is common to ask a family member or relative to be your guarantor.
Since most international students come to Japan from abroad, it is very difficult to find a guarantor since their family or relatives are not staying in Japan.

In some cases, family members or relatives are staying in Japan and working, but in most cases, international students come to Japan to study by themselves.

Therefore, there are guarantee companies that take the place of a guarantor for those who wish to move in.
The guarantee company is like a parental substitute for that international student.

It is better not to be indebted to this guarantee company as much as possible, but any human being does not know what will happen. It is thought that it becomes impossible to work by a sudden illness even if there is no malice, and the situation where the rent cannot be paid is also thought.

Also, there may be foreign students who return to their home country without knowing the Japanese procedures.
In such cases, landlords and management companies rely on guarantee companies.
The guarantee company will pay the rent on behalf of the foreign student and organize the belongings left behind.

■Summary

How was it?
If you are an international student studying in Japan, you may have heard the names “management company” and “guarantee company” at least once.

A “management company” acts as an intermediary between the tenant and the landlord, while a “guarantee company” acts as the tenant’s parent and acts as an intermediary between the management company and the landlord.

In order to rent an apartment, many people around you, such as the management company, guarantee company, landlord, and tenants in the same apartment, support international students.

People have to deal with many people in their daily lives.
Some may feel that socializing with others is difficult, but it is very important to have relationships with many people.

If something happens to you, it is the staff of the management company or guarantee company who will help you.
Please try to communicate with them on a daily basis before anything happens.