Apartment/house hunting/discrimination

[JapaneseMike]

Yes sometimes I hail a cab and it does not stop. Because I am a foreigner? I don’t know. Maybe.. I will get the next cab.

Pre-Uber, my Black friends in mid-town Manhattan would have the same experience...

Doesn't matter your skin color, you can't get a cab going south of the river in London after 11pm.

I often think 'maybe the cab driver didn't stop coz I'm a foreigner', but it's just a story I tell myself. People have reasons for things....

[pfdsa]

Yes sometimes I hail a cab and it does not stop. Because I am a foreigner? I don’t know. Maybe.. I will get the next cab.

Pre-Uber, my Black friends in mid-town Manhattan would have the same experience...

Doesn't matter your skin color, you can't get a cab going south of the river in London after 11pm.

I often think 'maybe the cab driver didn't stop coz I'm a foreigner', but it's just a story I tell myself. People have reasons for things....

Who rides taxis anyway, those things are expensive

Back on topic, I also was declined several times when looking for an apartment on my own. Sometimes they honestly say they don't want to rent to foreigners, sometimes they give me the Japanese excuse and tell me they already decided to rent to someone else (eventhough the apartment is still for rent several months later...).
Like the others said, realistically speaking, there’s little you can do against that. I would just look for other apartments, use other agents, etc, it isn’t worth the trouble. To avoid this hassle, I always try to find jobs that include housing, or that sign the apartment contract for you.

[mighty58]

Back when I was renting I would always tell the RE agent to check beforehand whether they would rent to foreigners before showing them to me. Nothing grinds my gears more than finding a nice place and then have the racist landlord coming back with the 'no foreigners' line. Having the RE agent only show me places that would accept foreigners helped avoid the anguish up front.

This is exactly what I did. I would go in with 5-6 printouts of properties I found online, and I told the agent I am not interested in giving money to racists and asked him to screen them. I then had to sit there in front of him while he called the landlords and explained that, while I was indeed a gaijin, I was from a Western country (i.e. not Chinese or Korean or Vietnamese was the implied message) and also had a decent job, and therefore would it be ok to show? That was amusing and infuriating and sad all at the same time. A few would say no, but unfortunately it is the way it is.

[Gulliver]

If you are a permanent resident you are indeed protected against racial discrimination under article 14 in the Japanese constitution.

But here’s the problem: in order to receive that protection you must seek redress in the court (initiate legal action against the the landlord). Since Japan is currently ruled by a fascist party that has stacked the judiciary with fascist judges, it is very unlikely they will rule in your favor. In the off chance that they do actually adhere to their own constitution and find that your case has merit, damages awarded would probably only be in the 1 to 2 million yen range. Chump change for the landlord who will not have learned his lesson and continue business as usual.

If you have the time and the money, however, I would encourage you to challenge these landlords in court. Even if you don’t receive a favorable ruling, inconveniencing them and possibly getting your story picked up by a news organization would be worth it.

(BTW In my recent experience about 1in 50 landlords allowed non-Japanese races.)

[Tkydon]

I can recommend Public Housing - Urban Development

Public Sector - No Discrimination

礼金ナシ - No Key Money
Security Deposit - but unlike the Private Sector they are not highly motivated to keep as much of your deposit as possible.
After a reasonable period, they'll put it down to normal wear and tear.

仲介手数料ナシ - No Realtor Commission
更新料ナシ - No Renewal / Redecoration Fees
保証人ナシ - No Guarantor necessary

https://www.ur-net.go.jp/
https://www.ur-net.go.jp/profile/englis ... en_all.pdf

Some new developments are on a Lottery system, but many are on a first-come first-served basis.
Many buildings are being upgraded.
They often have minimum Salary requirements, so

One thing to remember about house hunting in Japan;
Japanese companies often rotate their staff to new positions or new locations in April, so the period March through April is usually very busy and very competitive, so it is not a good time for house hunting if you do not have to... Much better to wait for all that activity to settle down, and then the vacated properties will be looking for new renters...

Another item that I posted in another thread;
If you are not superstitious, and don't mind... Ask realtors about properties where someone died. The Landlord has to declare that someone died in the property for next two contracts, and many Japanese will not rent them, so they are often available at a significant discount (maybe 20%) for two contract periods... They'll be glad to get anyone in the place... Take the discount and put the money in your 401k or iDECO or NISA

[bryanc]

I’m a foreigner and most banks wouldn’t give a mortgage to a foreigner.

My understanding is that any bank will treat you exactly the same as a Japanese citizen in terms of getting a mortgage, provided you have permanent residency.

If you don't have PR, some banks will give you a mortgage with slightly worse conditions, but review the terms if you subsequently get PR.

sorry ,but this is not true..i have had PR for 20yrs or so and bank loan had to be in wifes name

[bryanc]

If you are a permanent resident you are indeed protected against racial discrimination under article 14 in the Japanese constitution.
)

without wishing to be too much of a killjoy,this unfortunately is untrue as well.there is no legal framework to enforce this,so it is essentially meaningless.japan refuses to enact a law against racial discrimination so this will not change any time soon.
..as a PR you are not even eligible for welfare in japan,and as we found out during corona it doesnt mean permanent either..

again sorry to be a killjoy..

[RetireJapan]

I’m a foreigner and most banks wouldn’t give a mortgage to a foreigner.

My understanding is that any bank will treat you exactly the same as a Japanese citizen in terms of getting a mortgage, provided you have permanent residency.

If you don't have PR, some banks will give you a mortgage with slightly worse conditions, but review the terms if you subsequently get PR.

sorry ,but this is not true..i have had PR for 20yrs or so and bank loan had to be in wifes name

Your income and employment circumstances will be taken into consideration. I would say that is more important than your nationality for this process.

I had no problem getting offers from several banks to get a mortgage as a PR with a stable job, my wife never set foot in the bank nor had anything to do with the process.

[bryanc]

glad it went that way for you.but as my income was higher than my wifes ,i dont believe that was the case.loan manager actually said he couldnt believe bank was refusing to lend to a foreigner.

[Tkydon]

glad it went that way for you.but as my income was higher than my wifes ,i dont believe that was the case.loan manager actually said he couldnt believe bank was refusing to lend to a foreigner.

Which bank?

There are certain loan criteria, but I have never had a problem. I think it was much harder in the 1990s, but after 2000 I think many things got a lot easier.