4. Why are some landlords reluctant to rent to foreigners?
The short answer is “fear”.
It can be interpreted as a fear of foreigners. However, I prefer to think of it as the Japanese fear of conflict and change. I’m sure anyone who has lived here for a while has experienced this. It is not just the landlords but agents and property management companies too. Some of them are terrified of the potential “trouble” that may occur while working with foreigners.
In our experience, as representatives of foreign landlords, there is no anti-foreigner discrimination.
We regularly have non-Japanese tenants move into our clients’ properties. While a small number of foreigners abscond back to their home country, leaving debt and damage behind, it’s not worse than incidents that can occur when renting to Japanese.
For example renting a property to an elderly Japanese gentleman or hikikomori (individuals not participating in society). It happens that they never contacts their property manager to let them know when something is broken, never open the windows, or even die in the property without anyone being aware of it for weeks. (Boy, have we got some horror stories!)
In short, problems can occur with any tenant, regardless of nationality.
5. Why do you think more and more foreigners are moving here?
This one is obvious – it is an awesome city! Fukuoka is the perfect balance of urban convenience and laid-back lifestyle.
There is phenomenal food, amazing beaches and nature, at a lower cost of living (at least compared to Tokyo). It is one of the youngest and most vibrant cities that Japan has to offer.
Fukuoka is also conveniently located just a hop and a skip from other Asian countries with a fully functional international airport only 10-15 minutes from the city centre. Recently, Fukuoka began to position itself as a start-up hub that caters to entrepreneurs (although, sadly, that seems to be a bit more lip-service than reality, at least as far as non-Japanese entrepreneurs are concerned).
6. What is the biggest challenge for someone that wants to rent a place?
As in all official matters in Japan, language is the biggest hurdle.
Followed by finding a guarantor and demonstrable Japanese income. Without those, you will often only be able to rent pricier properties, with up to 12 months in rent payable in advance, such as from UR or similar foreigner-oriented rental solutions.