7. Housing

Please click here for more information on Housing.

Relocation

1. Terminate the leasing contract

You should inform your landlord at least one to two months prior to your desired cancellation date.

2. Find a moving company

Usually, people ask the professional movers to do the actual moving-out tasks. It is better to obtain an estimate of the moving costs from several companies to compare prices.

3. Remove all belonging

Remove all personal belongings from the house and clean rooms thoroughly and do not leave any garbage.

4. Dispose of bulk garbage

When you need to dispose of furniture, futons, bicycles or a large amount of garbage, you must contact the environmental department of your city office to find out how to dispose of them at your earliest convenience. In most cases, the pickup days are once or twice a month, and you will be asked to purchase designated stickers for large-scale garbage.

If you offer to leave your bicycles to others, please make sure you hand over the bicycle registration documents as well.

Under the Home Appliance Recycling Law, TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, and air-conditioners cannot be disposed of as large-scale garbage.

You need to contact the stores where these appliances were purchased or the manufacturer to arrange for disposal for a fee. Also, under the “Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources”, used PCs must be collected by manufacturers themselves for a fee. (https://www.pc3r.jp/) (Japanese only)

5. Return the house key

Usually, upon returning the house key to the landlord, the standing deposits will be settled if any. You need to follow the “restoration rule” (the room should be returned to the same condition it was in when you arrived ) stipulated in the contract, and have the room inspected by the landlord or real-estate agent.

6. Notify the following establishments of your moving date