Water leak or fire in a Tokyo rental: who pays?

If you cause a fire or a water leak in a rented Tokyo apartment, you can owe money to two different people. The landlord can claim for damage to the apartment and anything in it that belongs to them. Neighbours can claim for damage to their homes and belongings. Japanese law handles those two claims differently, and it treats fire differently from water.

This guide explains the general rules for an ordinary rental agreement. It's general information, not legal advice: your contract and your insurance policy decide the details. If your stay is a hotel-style booking rather than a rental agreement, the booking terms set out what you owe for damage to the room, but the rules about neighbours below still apply.

Fire: neighbours usually can't claim, but your landlord can

Normally, Article 709 of Japan's Civil Code makes you pay for harm you carelessly cause to other people. A one-sentence law from 1899, the Act on Liability for Fire Caused by Negligence (失火責任法, shikka sekinin hō), makes an exception for accidental fires. Someone who starts a fire by accident only has to pay the neighbours if they were grossly negligent (重大な過失, jūdai na kashitsu).

Tokushima City Fire Bureau's leaflet describes gross negligence as a case where a little care would have shown that a fire was likely, but the person paid so little attention that one started anyway. Its examples from past court cases include leaving a pan of tempura oil on a gas hob and walking out of the kitchen, and smoking in bed while knowing the risk and falling asleep. It adds that every case depends on its facts, so a similar fire isn't automatically treated as gross negligence.

So if a fire you start through ordinary carelessness spreads next door, your neighbour generally can't make you pay for their flat. The rule also works the other way. If a fire spreads into your apartment from next door, you generally can't make that neighbour pay for your belongings.

Your landlord is in a different position. Under the Civil Code, you must look after the apartment with reasonable care until you hand it back (Article 400). When the tenancy ends, you must repair damage that happened while you lived there, apart from normal wear and damage that wasn't your fault (Article 621). If you can't return the apartment in that condition, you owe the landlord damages for breaking the contract (Article 415).

The General Insurance Association of Japan spells this out: the fire law only stops Article 709 from applying. It doesn't affect Article 415, so a tenant who accidentally burns the rented room still owes the landlord.

That claim is what 借家人賠償責任保険 (shakuyanin baishō sekinin hoken — tenant's liability insurance) is for. The association describes it as an add-on to a fire policy for your household contents. It pays when a fire, explosion or similar accident that you're responsible for damages the rented room and you owe the landlord compensation.

A gas explosion or a water leak gets no special treatment

The fire law protects you only for an accidental fire. On the same page, the association notes that damage spreading from a gas explosion doesn't count as an accidental fire, so neighbours can claim in the ordinary way. A leak isn't a fire at all.

If your bath overflows and water damages the flat below, the people downstairs can claim under Article 709: if the damage came from your carelessness, you pay for it. This is what 個人賠償責任保険 (kojin baishō sekinin hoken — personal liability insurance) covers. The association's page on personal liability cover uses almost exactly this case as an example: water leaking from your bathroom damages the belongings of the people below. A gas explosion damaging the next building is on the same list.

Not every leak is your fault. If water comes from a failed pipe rather than something you did, the claim may land elsewhere. Article 717 makes the occupant of a building responsible for harm caused by a defect in how it was built or maintained. If the occupant took the care needed to prevent the damage, the owner is responsible instead. Article 615 also says a tenant must tell the landlord without delay when the property needs repair. Report a drip, a damp patch on the ceiling or a slow drain when you first notice it, and keep the message.

Furnished apartments: who pays for the landlord's furniture

In a furnished apartment, the sofa, bed, television and washing machine belong to the landlord or the rental company. That matters because of a standard exclusion. Among the cases where personal liability insurance doesn't pay, the association lists damage to property you own, use or manage, when the claim comes from its rightful owner. The furniture you're using fits that description, and so does the apartment itself: the association's fire page says plainly that personal liability cover doesn't pay for damage to the room you rent.

Tenant's liability insurance pays some of the landlord's claims, but it's built around fire, explosion and similar accidents to the rented room. Whether it pays for a television knocked off its stand, or water damage to the apartment's own floor, depends on the policy wording. If neither policy covers it, the cost falls under the damage clause in your rental agreement and may come out of your deposit.

Your own belongings need their own cover

The landlord's insurance protects the landlord. The association notes that when a landlord insures the building and its contents, the contents covered are the landlord's own, not yours. Put that together with the fire law: if a neighbour's ordinary carelessness starts a fire that destroys your laptop, neither the neighbour nor the landlord's insurer is likely to pay. You need cover for your own household contents (家財, kazai), or a travel policy whose belongings section still applies while your things are in the apartment.

Comparing the cover you might already have

You may already have one of these, or be offered one with the booking. The useful comparison is which bill each one is designed to pay.

For tenants, the association suggests having both tenant's liability and personal liability cover. If insurance comes with your rental, find out which parts it includes before buying anything else. If it already has tenant's liability, a travel policy with personal liability may cover the neighbours; read its exclusions for accommodation first.

Personal liability cover won't help after an earthquake: the association lists earthquake, eruption and tsunami damage among its main exclusions. If you're relying on travel insurance that came with a credit card, the association also warns that it may apply only when the trip was paid with that card, and may cover less than you expect.

If a leak or fire has already happened

Deal with safety first; the apartment emergencies guide covers stopping water, gas and electrical hazards. Then, for the money side:

1. Tell the rental company or building manager straight away, with photographs and the time you noticed the problem. Say whether water may be reaching another floor.
2. Call your insurer before you agree to pay anyone or sign anything about the damage. The association warns that if you accept liability without the insurer's approval, the payout can be reduced.
3. Keep receipts for anything you pay for, such as emergency cleaning or a hotel night, and ask the rental company to put in writing what it is claiming from you and why.
4. If water came in from above, photograph the damage to your things and ask the rental company to find out the cause. Whether the upstairs resident or the building owner is responsible depends on what failed.

When you're choosing your next apartment, ask the rental company whether the insurance it includes covers tenant's liability, personal liability and your own belongings, and ask for the policy details in writing. That answer tells you which of the three you still need to arrange yourself.