Leaving a Tokyo apartment: bills, accounts and refunds

Start with the notice clause in your apartment agreement, then identify which services are in your name. Internet equipment returns, final bills and a deposit refund may need arrangements before you leave. Contact your bank early too: its rules help determine how you can receive any money due after checkout.

Make a note of each deadline and anything you need to do in person. For example, you may need your Japanese phone number to sign in to a bank account that must be closed before departure.

1. Your housing agreement: confirm the end and handover

Check whether the agreement has a fixed end date, requires notice even at that date, or continues until you give notice. Follow the stated method and ask for written confirmation of the final day and amount due.

Arrange the key return and inspection. Ask what cleaning you should do yourself, what the mandatory departure-cleaning fee covers, and what must be removed. Book any required bulky-waste disposal before the final week.

If you are leaving early, request a calculation using your proposed date. Don't assume the deposit is your last rent payment or that returning the key stops all charges immediately.

2. Internet: account cancellation and equipment return

First check whether the internet contract is in your name. If the apartment includes the connection, ask what equipment stays in the home; don't cancel the building's service or post its router away.

For your own line, contact the company on the bill. Ask about the final service date, final charges and every item to return. NTT East warns that a return kit may arrive after your move-out if cancellation is requested close to departure. Tell the company when you move out and arrange where the kit should be sent.

NTT East's rental-equipment return page explains how to pack its equipment in the return kit. You can send the parcel from a post office or a convenience store that accepts Yu-Pack parcels. Follow the instructions for your equipment and keep the dispatch receipt. A pocket-Wi-Fi rental has its own return method and deadline; check whether the deadline refers to posting or arrival.

If you pay another company for a service that uses an NTT line, ask that company how to cancel. The internet guide helps distinguish an included connection from a service you arranged yourself.

3. Utilities: closing your accounts

Check which utilities you arranged yourself and which the rental company manages. For accounts that are yours, confirm the stop date, customer number and final payment method with each company.

Tokyo Gas says someone must be there to let staff reach the meter if it is behind a locked entrance. Check any other conditions relevant to your service and whether an authorised person can attend if you cannot.

Set the dates so you retain the services you need through cleaning and handover. Ask how the final bill will reach you abroad and whether your planned bank or card closure affects payment. Electricity, gas and water do not necessarily share the same process or final billing date.

4. Subscriptions and automatic payments

Review recent bank and card statements for recurring charges: a gym, coworking space, phone plan, insurance or other subscriptions. Cancel or change each contract with the company concerned and save its confirmation.

Closing the payment account isn't a substitute for ending the service agreement. Ask whether there will be a final bill and how you can receive and pay it after leaving Japan.

Check the final dates for any automatic debits. If your bank requires you to close the account before a payment is due, arrange another way to pay.

5. Ward procedures if you registered as a resident

If you registered as a resident, check your municipality's move-out procedure and any related health-insurance, pension or tax steps applicable to you. These procedures may apply even if your apartment booking was short or you are a Japanese citizen returning abroad.

Minato's moving-out page says its online moving-out service through Mynaportal cannot be used for an overseas move. Use your own municipality's instructions for the available submission methods, timing and documents.

If you're unsure which move-out procedures apply to you, tell your municipal office when you plan to leave and ask what you need to do. Keep any submission records and contact details for follow-up.

6. Deposit: arrange the refund

Check your agreement for the deposit refund process, expected timing and deductions. For a residential lease, Civil Code Article 622-2 says the landlord must return the deposit once the lease has ended and you have returned the home. The landlord can first deduct money you still owe under the lease. Article 622-2 doesn't set a thirty-day deadline for returning the deposit.

Before handover, ask when you'll receive an itemised statement and how to query a deduction. Record the apartment's condition and returned keys. Compare the statement with fees already paid so you can ask about any apparent duplicate charge.

Make sure you can still receive money through the agreed method when the refund is due. Ask whether the money returns to the original card or by transfer, and confirm recipient details, currency and any fees. Don't assume a Japanese bank account is the only available route—or that an overseas transfer is available until the company confirms it.

7. Phone and bank: coordinate them before departure

Contact your bank before leaving and explain any final bills or refund expected after checkout. Ask whether the account can remain open, what services would be available and which updates or closure steps are required.

Japan Post Bank instructs customers moving out of Japan to close their accounts. Follow your bank's requirements. If closure is required before a refund is due, tell the housing company early and agree in writing how it will send the refund after your account closes.

If the bank lets you keep the account, update your details as required and confirm how you'll sign in from abroad. Before cancelling your Japanese phone plan, check which accounts send login codes to that number. Ask each company how you can sign in after you stop using it, and confirm that your chosen method will work. Then agree a cancellation date and final charge with the phone company.

Keep one departure record

For each service, write down whose name is on the account, what you must do and by when. Note any equipment to return or appointment to attend, the final payment and whether the company has confirmed cancellation. Add the date you expect the deposit refund and the account or card it will be sent to.

Save the confirmations somewhere you'll be able to access after your Japanese phone and accounts have closed. If a final bill or refund is late, you'll have the account details and agreed dates to hand.