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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

• 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.

Related guides

• The full renting process and costs: renting an apartment in Japan as a foreigner
• Agents and portals in English, and UR housing with no guarantor: foreigner-friendly real estate agents
• The other policy you’ll be asked for: renters’ fire insurance
• Paying the fee: bank accounts for foreigners