More than a month ago Yen For Living reported on a plan by a group of rental guarantee companies to develop a blacklist of rental scofflaws. The plan was temporarily shelved after rental guarantee companies that didn’t belong to the association complained, saying that business was bad enough right now without alienating potential renters, and NPOs protested, saying that such a blacklist would only create more homeless.
Well, according to the Asahi Shimbun, the association has turned around again. They are now dead set on making sure the blacklist becomes a reality, though now they insist it should be called a database, since it will not only list people who have repeatedly been delinquent in rent payments, but will also list people who have been consistent in their payments.
At a press conference to announce the association’s new resolve, one of the officials said that they decided to go ahead with the database because of support from “tenants” who think it’s a good idea, including many “foreigners.” The database, he continued, is useful for helping the “socially vulnerable” who are not normally “welcomed” by many landlords due to potential tenants’ economic situation or “nationality.” Presumably, having a good record of rental payments in the past will make these landlords suddenly see the light.
Maybe. But about 20 percent of tenants who use these companies as guarantors end up being delinquent in their payments, which is a lot. These companies are their last resort, meaning they have no family or full-time employer who will act as guarantors and thus are probably poorer than the average tenant. Again, this database is a service for landlords, who are the real benficiaries of these businesses, not tenants. About 40 percent of all renters in Japan use these guarantee companies.
July 2, 2011 at 9:34 am |
[...] We moved from a UR high-rise in Tokyo to a low-rise UR complex in northern Chiba Prefecture. UR makes it relatively easy to move from one of its buildings to another one. The tenant doesn’t have to go through the screening process again (unless he/she is moving to a decidedly more expensive residence), and the security deposit (shikikin) that was paid for the former apartment is transferred to the new one, with the difference either being made up by the tenant or refunded to him/her. In our case it was the latter. Though the new apartment is the same size as the one we rented in Tokyo, it is almost ¥70,000 cheaper per month. The security deposits for UR typically amount to the equivalent of three months’ rent, which is a bit higher at the moment than security deposits for private rentals, but the important thing to remember about UR is that they don’t charge “gift money” (reikin) or contract renewal fees (koshinryo), and also don’t require guarantors or co-signers. [...]