Utility cut-off notice in your landlord's name: next steps

Photograph a utility cut-off notice and send it to the company you're renting from the day you receive it. Include both sides, the service address, the amount and the deadline. If the proposed stop date is close, call as well as messaging.

Don't pay a bill simply because it arrived in your mailbox. First check that the notice is for your apartment and the bill is still unpaid. Check your booking agreement to see who must pay it. If utilities are included in your rent, ask the rental company to confirm that it has paid the utility bill. If you opened the utility account in your own name and pay it separately, check your own payments against the notice.

Confirm payment, reconnection and any refund

Keep the utility company’s reply and the rental company’s reply together, but check what each one actually confirms:

If someone replies “paid,” ask which bill they mean. If the supply has stopped, you also need a restart confirmation; if you advanced the money, keep track of the refund.

Read the address and the two dates

Look for the place of use, ご使用場所, and match the building and room number. The account name alone isn't enough: it may be the owner, a company or a former occupant.

Find the payment deadline, 支払期限 or 支払期日, and any separate supply-stop date. Photograph the reference number and billing period too so the account holder can identify the right bill.

If mail was delivered to the wrong address, Japan Post says to mark the misdelivery on an attached note and return it through a postbox or contact the delivery office. For the correct address but an unfamiliar addressee, ask the company managing your stay how to return or forward it. Don't open sealed mail addressed to someone else to investigate an account.

A useful message is:

This notice arrived for [address and room], under [name]. It shows [amount], a payment deadline of [date] and a proposed stop date of [date, if shown]. Please confirm whether it is for our apartment, whether it has been paid, and what you will do before the deadline. Utilities are [included in our booking / separately arranged].

Why a rent receipt doesn't settle a utility warning

Your payment to the company you're renting from and its payment to the utility are separate records. Even if your rent includes utilities, send the notice and ask for confirmation about the utility account itself.

For example, a receipt showing that you paid September rent doesn't show whether an August gas invoice was cleared. Ask the company to match the notice's billing period or reference to its payment. This avoids both an unnecessary second payment and a reassuring reply about the wrong bill.

A notice doesn't mean someone deliberately left the bill unpaid. The bill may already have been paid, the account may have changed, or the notice may have gone to the wrong address.

Tokyo Gas explains that gas may be stopped, after advance notice, when payment remains outstanding 50 days after the day following the meter reading. It also says stop warnings may arrive by email, SMS or post. The account holder may therefore have information you haven't received at the apartment. Ask the account holder to check their messages as well as the paper notice.

Follow the deadline on your notice and ask the account holder to check with the utility company if it is unclear. The general timetable on a website does not give you extra time to pay.

Contacting the utility yourself

You can explain that you're occupying the apartment and have received a notice, but don't impersonate the account holder. Ask what the utility can confirm and whether the named holder must authorise or complete the next step.

Use an official website or an independently verified number. TEPCO has an English customer-support page. Have the notice and service address ready and explain whether the supply is still working.

Ask three precise questions: does this notice concern the current account for this room, what action is required before the stated date, and will payment alone be enough if service has already stopped? The utility may need to discuss account details directly with the holder; ask the rental company to make that contact while you remain available for any visit.

Paying a slip on the company's behalf

If the company asks you to pay, first agree the amount and how it will reimburse you. Ask it to confirm that it hasn't already paid and that the slip is the correct one. Keep the written request alongside the payment receipt.

Tokyo Gas says an expired payment slip can still be paid at convenience stores or financial institutions. Other utility companies may require a replacement slip. Confirm the instructions for the bill in your hand, especially near a stop date.

The konbini payment guide explains the counter process. Keep the stamped customer copy and send a clear photograph to the account holder.

If you can't use the payment slip, ask the account holder to contact the utility and find out how to pay. Avoid sending money to bank details supplied in an unverified message just because it mentions an urgent stop.

Payment and reconnection are separate steps

TEPCO's restart guidance says to pay all billed amounts and then complete the restart procedure. Find the plan name on the bill, then follow the matching payment and restart instructions on TEPCO’s page. If you cannot find the plan name, ask the account holder to check it. The page also warns that the time of contact can push electricity restoration to the following day.

If the account holder says the bill is paid, ask whether they've also requested reconnection and received confirmation from the utility company. A payment receipt alone doesn't tell you when the supply will return.

Tokyo Gas likewise says overdue gas charges must all be paid for supply to resume. Ask how to restart the gas and whether someone needs to be at the apartment for a visit. Tokyo Waterworks has its own procedure for a stopped water supply.

Don't open utility valves or interfere with seals to restore service yourself. If a technician needs to enter the building or apartment, ask the utility and rental company to arrange the visit.

If the apartment is already without service

Report exactly what has stopped: all electricity, one circuit, hot water only, or all water. An unpaid bill may not be the cause. A building fault, appliance problem or wider outage may need a different response; use the apartment emergencies guide for that first check.

If heat, medical equipment or another immediate safety need is affected, move to a safe place and seek appropriate help while the account issue is handled. Ask the rental company where you can stay while service is restored and when it will update you.

If the rental company hasn't replied, you may be tempted to transfer the account into your own name. Before doing that, ask the utility and rental company to explain the new contract, charges and end date.

Keep a record for reimbursement

Save the notice, messages, payment receipt, restart confirmation and the times service was unavailable. Ask for confirmation of how much you’ll get back and whether it will be refunded or credited to your next invoice. If temporary accommodation was authorised, keep that approval and receipt too.

The Japan Property Management Association's rent-reduction guidance can help when discussing equipment problems. It does not set a refund amount that applies whenever utilities stop. Agree any rent reduction with the rental company before deducting it from your payment. Seek housing or consumer advice if you cannot agree or the company won't address the claim.

For example, suppose you advance ¥8,000 with the company’s written agreement and it agrees to credit your next ¥200,000 invoice. The corrected invoice would be ¥200,000 − ¥8,000 = ¥192,000. Check that the credit appears before paying; do not make that deduction yourself without agreement. If there is no further invoice, agree how the money will be returned instead.

Before closing the matter, check that the supply works and that any agreed credit or refund has reached you.