# Guarantor companies in Japan (保証会社) for foreign tenants, compared

URL: https://japanhow.com/housing/renting/guarantor-company-japan/
Author: japanhow editors
Updated: Oct 20, 2026

## Summary

A guarantor company (保証会社) promises your landlord it will pay if you don't, then bills you back. MLIT says it often costs 35% to 50% of one month's rent for two years. As of October 2026, none of the six companies we checked publish fee rates. GTN, a foreigner specialist with 18 listed languages, scores highest in our method (7.7), followed by Nihon Safety (7.2), which accepts a home-country emergency contact. JID and Casa ask for a relative living in Japan.

## Key facts

- Typical fee (MLIT): 35-50% of a month's rent for 2 years
- Registered, with language help: 53 listed (Sep 30, 2026)
- Is it insurance?: No, they bill you back
- Top score: GTN 7.7 / 10

A guarantor company in Japan (保証会社, hoshō gaisha) is a company that promises your landlord it will pay if you don't. It replaces the personal guarantor (連帯保証人) most foreign residents don't have. MLIT's official guidebook says the fee is **often 35% to 50% of one month's rent, paid up front, for two years**. As of October 2026, **GTN** scores highest for foreign tenants in our method (7.7 out of 10), followed by **Nihon Safety** (7.2). None of the six companies we checked publish their fee rates.

**Sample: rent of ¥80,000 a month:** ¥28,000 to ¥40,000 (MLIT's 35-50% range for a two-year guarantee. Your quote depends on the company, plan and property.)

## What is a guarantor company in Japan?

When you rent in Japan, the landlord wants someone who will pay if you can't. MLIT says you need either a personal guarantor or a guarantor company to sign a lease. A guarantor is a person with a steady income who signs with you. Most newcomers don't have one, so agents send them to a guarantor company.

Two things to understand:

- **It's not insurance.** If the company pays rent you missed, it bills you for the full amount later.
- **You usually don't pick it.** You apply through the real estate company, and it routes your application to the guarantors the property uses. Entrust, for example, is only available through management companies that have adopted its product.

There is a national registration system for rent guarantee companies (家賃債務保証業者登録制度), run by MLIT since October 2017. It is **voluntary**, so a company can operate without registering. MLIT publishes a list of registered companies that offer foreign-language support: 53 entries as of September 30, 2026.

**Read the guarantee contract:** On December 12, 2022 the Supreme Court ruled two kinds of clauses invalid under the Consumer Contract Act: letting the guarantor company end your lease without notice, and letting it treat your apartment as vacated while the lease is still running. MLIT tells tenants to check for these clauses before signing.

## How much does a guarantor company cost?

The only official benchmark is MLIT's guidebook: **35% to 50% of one month's rent for a two-year guarantee**, paid at signing. After that, companies charge renewal or annual fees:

- **Nihon Safety:** the guarantee runs for one year. You renew every year and pay a fee each time. The fee is not refundable.
- **Casa and GTN:** both describe an annual guarantee fee, paid every year from the start date. Casa adds a ¥1,000 admin fee if a payment is late.
- **JID:** guarantee fees are not refunded.

None of GTN, Casa, Nihon Safety, JID, Entrust or Zenhoren list fee rates on their sites. Entrust says it has no standard package and sets the initial, monthly and renewal fees with each management company. So the price you see on the agent's estimate is the one to check. Ask what the initial fee is, whether it's a percentage of rent only or rent plus common fees, and what you'll pay each year after.

## What do guarantor companies ask foreign tenants for?

Beyond your residence card (在留カード) and income documents, the biggest hurdle is the **emergency contact (緊急連絡先)**. This is someone the company can call. Casa and JID say they may phone your emergency contact during screening.

| Company | Emergency contact rule (own site) | ID for foreign nationals |
|---|---|---|
| Nihon Safety | Home-country emergency contact form (Nihon Safety's format) | Residence card, front and back |
| Casa | Normally an adult relative within 3 degrees, living in Japan, able to speak Japanese by phone | Residence card, or passport with photo and visa pages |
| JID | In principle a relative within 2 degrees, living in Japan in a separate household; no minors | Not stated |
| GTN | Not stated on its pages | Not stated |
| Entrust, Zenhoren | Not stated on the pages we checked | Not stated |

If you have no relatives in Japan, the rules of JID and Casa are hard to meet. Nihon Safety's home-country form is easier to meet, and GTN is built for foreign tenants. Ask the agent before you apply.

## Which guarantor companies support foreign languages?

Each company on MLIT's list files a disclosure of the languages it supports. These are the companies' own statements, with the date each was last updated.

| Company | Languages besides Japanese | How | Disclosure date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTN | 18: English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali, Mongolian, Indonesian, Thai, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Sinhala, Bengali, Ukrainian, Russian, Uzbek, Myanmar, Taiwanese | In person, video, phone, email/SNS; multilingual move-in guide, application and result notice | Apr 2024 |
| Entrust (イントラスト) | 17, incl. English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tagalog, Nepali, Myanmar, Khmer | Phone, fully outsourced | Mar 2019 |
| JID (日本賃貸保証) | 13+, incl. English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Hindi, Indonesian, Nepali | In-house; multilingual e-contract documents | Mar 2023 |
| Casa | 11, incl. English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Nepali | Phone, partly outsourced | Dec 2022 |
| Nihon Safety (日本セーフティー) | 9: English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish, Sinhala, Hindi | Phone, in-house; English website | Feb 2023 |
| Zenhoren (全保連) | 3: English, Chinese, Korean | Phone and email/SNS, in-house | Dec 2022 |

Two gaps between what companies say:

- **JID** lists 13+ languages to MLIT, but its own FAQ says applicants who don't speak Japanese need an interpreter for the check call during the application.
- **GTN** says its multilingual service is free and unlimited on all plans. Its MLIT disclosure ticks "yes" to charges other than the guarantee fee when you use language support. Ask GTN which is current.

## How we scored them

We use the japanhow housing method: **accepts foreign residents without a Japanese guarantor (35%)**, **cost (25%)**, **English support (20%)** and **transparency of terms (20%)**. Scores are 0 to 10. When we found no evidence, we mark `n/a` and the overall is the weighted mean of the rest. Nobody pays for a rating. The full method is on our [methodology page](/methodology/).

Cost is `n/a` for every company, because none publish fee rates. That's also why transparency scores are low. A company gets an overall score only when at least 3 of the 4 criteria have evidence, so Entrust and Zenhoren are listed as not scored (too little published evidence).

| Company | Accepts foreigners w/o JP guarantor (35%) | Cost (25%) | English support (20%) | Transparency (20%) | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTN | 9 | n/a | 9 | 4 | **7.7** |
| Nihon Safety | 8 | n/a | 7 | 6 | **7.2** |
| Casa | 6 | n/a | 6 | 6 | **6.0** |
| JID | 5 | n/a | 4 | 6 | **5.0** |
| Entrust | n/a | n/a | 6 | 3 | not scored |
| Zenhoren | n/a | n/a | 4 | 4 | not scored |

- **GTN:** built for foreign tenants, with no joint guarantor, no Japanese level required and screening before arrival; 18 languages over four channels; but no published fees or emergency-contact rule.
- **Nihon Safety:** no nationality restriction and a home-country emergency contact form; 9 languages by phone and an English site that explains documents and the yearly renewal; no fee amount.
- **Casa:** foreigners can apply and screening is fast, but the emergency contact is normally a Japanese-speaking relative in Japan; 11 languages by phone.
- **JID:** says nationality doesn't matter, but wants a close relative in Japan as emergency contact and an interpreter if you don't speak Japanese.
- **Entrust (not scored):** 17 languages by outsourced phone support (2019 disclosure); terms vary by management company, and no eligibility rules are published.
- **Zenhoren (not scored):** 3 languages; covers up to 24 months' rent; no foreigner-specific terms published.

## Which guarantor company is best for foreigners?

- **Best for newcomers with no family in Japan: GTN.** It is a foreigner specialist and you can apply before you arrive. Ask for the fee in writing.
- **Best if you have a home-country contact only: Nihon Safety.** Its English page lists a home-country emergency contact form.
- **Fine if you have a Japanese spouse or relatives here: Casa or JID.** Their emergency-contact rules assume a relative in Japan.

In practice the property decides which guarantors you can use. Ask the agent which ones it works with, then compare the quotes.

**Disclosure:** GTN also runs Best-Estate.jp, an apartment portal for foreign residents. We have no commercial relationship with any company on this page.

## Related guides

- The full renting process and costs: [renting an apartment in Japan as a foreigner](/housing/renting/how-to-rent-apartment-japan-foreigner/)
- Agents and portals in English, and UR housing with no guarantor: [foreigner-friendly real estate agents](/housing/renting/foreigner-friendly-real-estate-agents/)
- The other policy you'll be asked for: [renters' fire insurance](/housing/insurance/renters-fire-insurance-japan/)
- Paying the fee: [bank accounts for foreigners](/money/banking/bank-account-for-foreigners-japan/)

## Questions people ask

### What is a guarantor company in Japan?

A company that guarantees your rent to the landlord in place of a personal guarantor (連帯保証人). If it pays rent you missed, it bills you for it. MLIT says Japanese leases need either a personal guarantor or a guarantor company.

### What is the guarantor fee in Japan?

MLIT's guidebook says it is often 35% to 50% of one month's rent, paid up front, for two years. On ¥80,000 rent that is ¥28,000 to ¥40,000. Some companies, such as Nihon Safety, run one-year guarantees with a fee at each renewal.

### Can I choose my own guarantor company?

Usually not freely. You apply through the real estate company, and some guarantors only work through management companies that have adopted their product. You can ask the agent which guarantors the property accepts.

### Do I need an emergency contact for a guarantor company?

Usually yes. JID asks, in principle, for a relative within two degrees living in Japan, and Casa normally for an adult relative within three degrees living in Japan who speaks Japanese. Nihon Safety's English page lists a home-country emergency contact form.

### Is GTN good for foreigners?

GTN is built for foreign tenants: no joint guarantor, no Japanese level required, screening possible before you arrive in Japan, and 18 languages in its MLIT disclosure. It doesn't publish its fees, and it also runs the Best-Estate.jp apartment portal.

## Sources

- [Apartment Search Guidebook (English)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001317844.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [家賃債務保証業者登録制度](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/jutakukentiku_house_fr7_000024.html), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [外国人の言語対応サポートを行っている登録家賃債務保証業者](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/jutakukentiku_house_fr7_000031.html), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [GTN language-support disclosure (2024-04-24)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/content/001898045.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [家賃保証サービス](https://www.gtn.co.jp/business/realestate/rent-guarantor), GTN (Global Trust Networks) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [家賃保証サービス（物件オーナー様）](https://www.gtn.co.jp/business/realestate/rent-guarantor/owner), GTN (Global Trust Networks) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [家賃保証サービス（ご契約者様）](https://www.gtn.co.jp/business/realestate/rent-guarantor/contractor), GTN (Global Trust Networks) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [BEST-ESTATE.JP](https://www.best-estate.jp/en/), Global Trust Networks (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [Nihon Safety language-support disclosure (2023-02-22)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/content/001601206.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [Nihon Safety (English)](https://www.nihon-safety.co.jp/english/), Nihon Safety (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [Casa language-support disclosure (2022-12-21)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/content/001593340.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [よくあるご質問](https://casa-inc.co.jp/faq/), Casa (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [JID language-support disclosure (2023-03-09)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/content/001901938.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [よくあるご質問（お客様）](https://www.jid-net.co.jp/faq_consumer/), 日本賃貸保証 (JID) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [Entrust language-support disclosure (2019-03-01)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001279789.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [家賃債務保証](https://www.entrust-inc.jp/service/guarantee/), Entrust (イントラスト) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [Zenhoren language-support disclosure (2022-12-22)](https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/content/001582966.pdf), MLIT (国土交通省) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)
- [全保連株式会社](https://www.zenhoren.jp/), 全保連 (Zenhoren) (accessed Oct 20, 2026)