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Before the call

💡 What to know before you call

Many Tokyo rental leases run for 2 years, and whether you pay a renewal fee (, commonly 1 to 2 months' rent) depends on what your contract says. Japan's Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that a clearly written renewal-fee clause is valid unless the amount is unreasonably high. For an ordinary lease (), Article 26 of the Act on Land and Building Leases () provides for renewal on the same terms, without a fixed end date, when neither side gives the prescribed notice between 1 year and 6 months before expiry. A landlord’s refusal to renew also requires justifiable grounds. Fixed-term leases () follow different rules and do not renew automatically. Also budget for the fire insurance () and the guarantor company () renewal, which are separate costs. Tokyo's rental hotline (, 03-5320-4958) can advise if something in the contract looks off.

Words this call depends on

のについておしたいんですが
I'd like to ask about renewing my lease.
はいくらになりますか
How much is the renewal fee?
の1ということになっています
write it down
It's set at one month's rent (that's the rule in your contract).
はませんか
Is the rent staying the same?
もしなければなりませんか
Do I also have to renew the fire insurance?
はいつまでにすればですか
By when should I send the documents back?

Grammar you'll use

〜んですが
soft opener: explains the situation and invites the listener to help
Plain form + んですが (な-adj/noun + なんですが)
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契約の更新についてお聞きんですが
Hint: する → たい
〜ことになっている
it's the rule / it's been arranged that ~
Verb dictionary/ない-form + ことになっている; Noun + ということになっている (更新料は1か月分ということになっています).
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家賃の1か月分ということにいます
Hint: なる → て-form
〜ばいいですか
asking for advice: what/where/when should I ~?
Question word + verb ば-form + いいですか (買う→買えば, 出す→出せば, する→すれば)
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いつまでにばいいですか
Hint: 返送する → ば-form
〜までに
by (a deadline)
Noun / time + までに (金曜日までに), Verb dictionary form + までに (帰るまでに).
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書類はいつ返送すればいいですか
Hint: deadline particle

The flow of the call5 steps · orange = they'll ask you

1Give your building, room and name, and say why you're callingLines 1–2
2They confirm when your lease endsLine 3
3Ask about the renewal fee and the rentLines 4–7
4Ask about the fire insurance and other feesLines 8–9
5Ask for the deadline and close the callLines 10–12

Up next · step 2 of 4

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