Do I need a guarantor for a share house?

This is TESEN, managing a newly built share house in Osaka.
This is the first in a series of articles on moving into a share house. This time we’ll be talking about guarantors.

“Do share houses require a guarantor?” Many of you may have such questions.

The system (rules) of share house guarantors varies from management company to management company. In this article, we will explain five of the main ones. Let’s go!

｜What is the main guarantor system for share houses?

• guarantor(保証人)
• joint guarantor(連帯保証人)
• emergency contact(緊急連絡先)
• guarantor company(家賃保証会社)
• not required all(全て不要)

The above five are the main types.

｜guarantor(保証人)&joint guarantor(連帯保証人)

We will start with two that are familiar to you.

｜What is the difference between a guarantor and a joint guarantor?

A joint guarantor is a person who assumes responsibility for the tenant in the event of a mishap.
A guarantor, on the other hand, is the person who pays the rent in place of the tenant when the tenant is unable to pay the rent.

 

By Google teacher

If you want a deeper understanding, just ask Google teacher! You’ll find lots of related articles!

｜emergency contact

As the name suggests, it is a contact person who can be contacted in the event of what is considered an emergency or in the event of a disaster in the rental contract. Therefore, since the emergency contact is intended to indirectly contact tenants who cannot be reached, we often ask tenants to register a relative within the second degree of kinship.

｜When should I contact my emergency contacts?

Specifically, emergency contacts will be contacted in the following situations.

• Rent reminders and renewal fees are due
• Residents hospitalized or missing, serious problems, etc
• contact about noise and other complaints from share mates and neighbors
• during disasters such as earthquakes and fires

The management companies vary in who you can register as your emergency contact, so if you find a share house you like, ask the management company!

｜guarantor company

A rent guarantee company is a company that acts as a joint guarantor for a renter, which is required when signing a rental housing contract or moving into public housing, and concludes a guarantee consignment contract with the real estate renter. If the lessee defaults on rent obligations such as rent arrears, the rent guarantee company makes subrogation payments to the lessor on behalf of the lessee. The lessee is to repay the rent to the rent guarantee company.

By Google teacher

To put it simply, when a tenant is unable to pay rent for some reason, the rental guarantee company pays the rent in lieu of the tenant to the landlord. The rental guarantee company takes on the role of a traditional joint guarantor. *The tenant has to pay the guarantee fee and bear the financial burden.

More and more share houses are requiring the use of a rental guarantee company these days!

｜not required all

As the name suggests, there are share houses that do not require a guarantor or emergency contact.
Although there are fewer and fewer share houses that do not require a guarantor or emergency contact, you may be able to find one by searching for keywords such as “share house no guarantor required”!

How was it? Most share houses require you to register an “emergency contact” when you apply for a share house, and TESEN’s share houses also ask you to register this information. Even if you are moving into a share house that does not require a guarantor or emergency contact, we recommend that you provide the management company with contact information for your parents, relatives, and siblings so that someone can come to you immediately if something should happen!

In this second installment of our “Moving into a Share House” series, we’ll be taking a look at the screening process, so if you’re thinking about moving into a share house for the first time, be sure to take a look!