· Updated
By the HalfKey team
Tokyo furnished rentals: get the full fee breakdown
A useful quote separates the stay's cost from money held as a deposit and optional services. Use a short enquiry and a worked fee table to compare apartments on the same dates without overlooking charges due later.
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Ask for the total for your dates, not just the monthly or nightly rent, when comparing Tokyo furnished apartments. Rent can be clear while utilities, cleaning or an initial fee still need confirming.
A useful written breakdown separates mandatory costs, refundable money and optional services, with a payment date for each. It lets you compare the stay's cost and the cash you'll need before arrival.
Check how a monthly price becomes a daily price
A published Union Monthly listing specifies that arrival- and departure-month daily rent is the monthly rent plus common charges divided by 30, with fractions rounded up. That rule is different from dividing by the actual number of days in that calendar month.
Using an illustrative ¥180,000 combined monthly amount, ten billable days cost ¥60,000 with a 30-day divisor. Dividing by 31 instead would produce about ¥58,065, a difference of about ¥1,935. Those are example amounts, not the listing’s quote.
A transparent reply tells you the divisor and the billable dates. A monthly headline alone cannot tell you which calculation the company will use, even after every fee has been listed.
Six fees to get in writing before you sign
Departure cleaning. Ask the amount, scope and payment date, and whether extra cleaning can be charged. Check its treatment if you cancel before arrival. The cleaning-fee guide explains the effect on shorter stays.
Utilities and common-area charges. Ask what is included and whether the amount is fixed, capped or based on actual use. Keep 共益費 (kyōekihi), the common-area charge, separate from apartment utilities unless the agreement explicitly combines them.
Refundable deposit. Ask what may be deducted, when the refund is due and which payment methods are supported. Do not treat the entire deposit as either a permanent expense or cash available immediately after checkout.
Key money and setup charges. Ask whether any non-refundable signing, application or administration fee applies. Key money isn't determined by stay length alone.
Brokerage or booking fees. Confirm whether you are booking directly or through an intermediary and who receives each fee. Ask for the amount including applicable taxes.
Mid-stay cleaning and linen. Find out whether visits are included, compulsory, optional or unavailable. A required visit is part of the accommodation budget even if it is billed separately.
Request a quote, then fill the gaps
Start with a short request:
Hello, I'm interested in [unit reference] from [start date] to [end date] for [number of guests]. Could you send the full price for those dates, including mandatory fees and utilities, with the refundable deposit listed separately?
Once you have the quote, follow up on anything it leaves out. The fee list above will help; you don't need to repeat questions the quote already answers. Before committing, also read the deposit-return and cancellation terms and ask how any estimated charges become a final bill.
Read the reply against the draft agreement. If they differ, ask for the difference to be resolved before payment. A verbal explanation can help, but request a written follow-up for anything that changes the total or your obligations.
What a complete fee table looks like
This is an illustrative 90-night quote using three 30-night billing periods, not an available apartment or a market benchmark:
| Charge | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | ¥6,800 × 90 nights | ¥612,000 |
| Departure cleaning | Once | ¥24,000 |
| Fixed utilities under the example terms | ¥9,000 × 3 | ¥27,000 |
| Common-area charge | ¥4,500 × 3 | ¥13,500 |
| Mandatory stay cost | Sum of the above | ¥676,500 |
| Refundable deposit | None in this example | ¥0 |
| Optional mid-stay cleaning | ¥5,500 per visit | Add if booked |
In this example, ¥676,500 is the cost before optional cleaning. The payment schedule tells you how much of it is due before arrival.
For a real quote, use its billing rules. A calendar-month rent, daily rent and 30-night period can produce different amounts for the same dates. Ask whether taxes and partial periods are included.
When the answer is still incomplete
Point to the missing item: “Does the total include departure cleaning?” is easier to answer than “Are there hidden fees?” If a usage charge can't be known in advance, ask for the rate, allowance and a relevant past example, clearly labelled as such.
Once two quotes are complete, compare the cancellation terms and the apartment features you need. Keep the accepted quote with the agreement and receipts so you can check later invoices against the same figures.