Housing

When you were teenager, you may have dreamt of the freedom of living away from your parents; a new chance to hang around with your friends all the time. However, once you tried to make it happen, you soon found out exactly how much money it costs to move out of your parents’ and move in on your own. Rental systems vary from country to country and here, in Canada, the system is very different from the one in Japan. There are three big points that may surprise you when you compare the typical Japanese rental system to the system here in Canada.

In both Canada and Japan, the first action to take in renting is, of course, to find an apartment you like and one that you can afford. Most Canadians start by accessing Craigslist in the “apartments for rent” section of the website. Once you find a list of affordable apartments, it is crucial to contact the manager(s) and arrange a viewing. It is advisable to act quickly and find an apartment that works for you, pay the deposit, sign the contract, and move in! In Japan, by contrast, you need to go to real estate rental offices first. This is because most rental units are offered by rental businesses. When you find the place for you, then, and only then, can you apply. After the application has been submitted, the renters wait until the management company investigates whether they qualify to move in or not. Once the screening process goes through, you can then fill out the paperwork for possession and pay the initial deposit and administrative costs.

The second point to consider when comparing the Japanese to Canadian rental systems are the initial costs and utility expenses. In Canada, all you need to do is to pay the deposit before moving in. The deposit fee is usually half of the amount of the rental fee. The rental fee must usually be paid on move-in day. In Japan, renters must pay the security deposit, a gratuity fee, the rental fee, a strata fee, and a handling fee for real estate office, insurance, etc., when the contract is signed. The gratuity fee is like a monetary gift for the owner; it shows appreciation for allowing the renter to rent the apartment. This traditional fee is annoying for most renters. The strata fee is considered to be a part of the rental fee; therefore, the actual rental fee is a combination of the rental fee plus the strata fee. Those combined fees add up to about 5 to 6 times as much as the one-month rental fee. Besides the initial cost, Japanese renters need to buy their own appliances: the fridge, the laundry machine and sometimes even the stove. None of the Japanese apartments or condos have a laundry room in the building. Each unit has a small place to put laundry machines, but the renters must supply their own laundry machines. As for utility expenses, Canadian renters are required to pay hydro fees, but enjoy free water and sometimes free heat. This is opposed to Japan where renters must pay for water and gas in addition to hydro fees. To start a new life in Japan, one needs to pay a lot of painful costs. In Canada, it is just the opposite. Renters pay the deposit and monthly rental fee and are then able to move in after signing a yearly lease.

The third rental comparison between Japan and Canada occurs in the leaving or moving out or on-going rental costs. In Canada, the rental contract is usually a yearly lease. When renters want to leave before the twelfth month, they only need to give one-month notice to the owner by the end of the month prior to moving out. If renters break the lease agreement and leave early, a penalty fee often applies, and amounts to about $500 or so. In Japan, by comparison, there are no penalty fees. While rental terms are usually two years, they can leave at any time without paying a penalty. When renters in Japan plan to leave the apartment, they can give one- or two-months’ notice with a move-out date and submit it to the rental office or the owner. If the unit has incurred no damage, then most deposits are refunded. Importantly, because rental terms are usually for two years, renters who want to keep renting past the two-year mark have to pay a “renewal fee” to the owners. This fee is ridiculous for renters. The purpose of the fee is to provide a deposit for any unknown current damage: owners can’t check the unit for maintenance if renters are renewing after two years, so they are ensuring coverage for unknown damage. In essence, the Canadian system is a better system for renters, because they pay rental monthly with no lease renewal fee.

In conclusion, the Canadian rental system is easier and has considerably less steps. Renting apartments in Canada provides direct access to the apartments for the renters to choose from. It is a simple system without painful fees that can devastate people with low income. Japanese renting systems come with a lot of additional costs, some that are difficult to understand and some that seem unfair. Putting aside the fact that Vancouver is ranked as one of the highest rental rate cities in the world, I much prefer the Canadian rental system; it is easy and fair.