What is the "Tokyo Rule" and what it means for your move-out costs
The Tokyo Rule is a Tokyo Metropolitan ordinance requiring landlords to explain restoration and cost-sharing up front. It protects tenants, but the actual cost split follows the same nationwide guideline.
更新: 2026-06-13
If you've rented in Tokyo, you may have been handed a document at signing called the "Tokyo Rule" explanation. In short, it is a tenant-protection mechanism — not a separate price list for move-out costs.
What the Tokyo Rule actually is
The "Tokyo Rule" is the Tokyo Metropolitan ordinance for preventing rental-housing disputes. For residential rentals in Tokyo, it requires the landlord's side to explain, in writing at contract time, how restoration and cost-sharing will work at move-out. The aim is to make the burden clear before you move in, so you aren't surprised by a large bill later. It does not set price caps or penalties.
The cost split is the same as the rest of Japan
Having the Tokyo Rule does not make move-out costs cheaper in Tokyo. The actual line between landlord and tenant follows the nationwide MLIT restoration guideline. Ordinary wear and tear — sun fading, furniture dents — is the landlord's burden, while damage from negligence or misuse, like pet scratches or mold from ignored condensation, is the tenant's. Wallpaper also has a useful life of 6 years, so the longer you lived there, the smaller your share.
Use the checker below to estimate whether your case leans toward the landlord's or the tenant's burden.