Find out everything you need to know about letting to Japanese tenants

Benham and Reeves is one of London's largest independent property companies with over 60 years of experience in letting, renting, buying and selling of London property.

Today we have a network of 21 branches across London as well as 13 international offices, managing over £10Billion worth of London Property for clients and investors around the world.

Benham and Reeves Japan Desk

Our in-house Japan Desk is headed by highly regarded expert Yoshi Tsuji.

We are pleased to be on the approved agents for most Japanese companies in London. The team specialise in arranging homes in London and beyond for Japanese executives and families from notable Japanese organisations and The Embassy of Japan.

Unlike traditional Japanese agents operating in London, Landlords using our services benefit from Benham and Reeves advanced systems and many years of experience. We are also members of ARLA Propertymark, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme and The Property Ombudsman for lettings and for sales.

While a Landlord is our client, our Japan team strive to offer the very highest levels of service in our industry to tenants to ensure they recommend us and stay as long as possible. Examples of our Japan Management service include:

• Checks - carrying out a full check of the property the day before the tenancy starts to ensure it is clean and ready for occupation
• Check-in attending the check in with the tenant to carry out an induction to ensure they understand how everything in the property works – that includes Saturdays and Sundays if required
• Induction – arranging am induction of the property (ie how everything works) in addition to at the start of the tenancy, whenever an occupier arrives from Japan at a later date.
• Attend during tenancy – regularly attending with a contractor if there is an issue in the property
• Speedy Deposit Settlement – assisting with deposit resolution with an average deposit refund and settlement by our Japan team of 21 days (against a UK average of 2-3 months)

Why would I want a Japanese tenant

It is always worrying letting a property as a landlord wants the maximum rent for the longest period of time, however a top calibre tenant is equally important who will also guarantee to pay the rent and very importantly, who will look after the property and cause minimal (if any) damage.

Letting to Japanese corporates fulfil all the above criteria:

1. The Japanese company are responsible for the rent – since we were established we have never seen a single Japanese company default on the rent Interesting fact is that during Covid while many tenants looked for reductions in rent, not one of our Japanese tenants asked for any assistance, rent reduction or early termination.
2. Japanese companies generally send their employees to London for 3-4 years – this is above the London average of tenancy length which currently stands at just over 12 months. This means guaranteed consistency of rent without void and costs such as re-letting
3. Japanese companies generally agree to generous rental increases in line with inflation which gives Landlord guaranteed rental increases over the term.
4. The Japanese company are responsible for the property – so if there is any damage at the end they cover the full costs, allowing for wear and tear
5. The custom in Japan is to remove outdoor shoes at the door – this is a way to avoid damage from things such as stilettos or shoe polish off shoes on carpets or wood floors. Japanese people are incredibly respectful - we often hear from landlords when they receive the check-out report at the end of the tenancy, that the property seems to be in the same condition as it was when the tenancy started!

Our Japan desk is a dedicated team employing only Japanese people to provide a complete service to The Embassy of Japan and Japanese company HR departments to find homes for their employees and then look after them during the tenancies.

When is the best time to get a Japanese tenant?

There is a main Japan ‘transfer’ window when most Japanese companies send their employees to London which runs from March to June and September to October. During this period our Japan team are stretched to the absolute max - inundated with hundreds of enquiries from Japanese executives, families and diplomats.

Due to our letting specialism and close relationships with so many Japanese companies in the UK, at any one time we will be searching for 5-10 homes (that’s both houses and flats) for Japanese executives, families and diplomats.

Some of the companies we let to include: Canon, RICOH, Toshiba, Hitachi, MUFG Bank, Nomura, ANA, JAL, Mitsui & Co., Sumitomo Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Uniqlo.

Would you like a Japanese tenant?

If you would like a Japanese tenant then please contact me, Yoshi Tsuji, and my team, so we can advise if your property is suitable, how much rent we can achieve and explain which Japanese corporate tenants we are currently seeking rental homes for.