Housing Allowances

Below are four views answering the question: “When negotiating for salary packages in Japan, how much can a company be reasonably expected to pay for housing allowances or housing subsidies?” The information was provided by IUJ alumni, headhunters and Personnel Departments of various companies. The views vary widely, though the safe answer seems to be around 50% of the cost of rent, plus help with the “reikin” or key money.

View one:

Zero to All

View Two:

Range of cost for one room apartment with Kitchen is 60,000 – 120,000

• Local Hires can expect 7,000-25,000 a month allowance
• The company to pay the Reikin or deposits, key money, etc.
• The company to pay all relocation costs

View Three: 

3 systems a company may have:

• Allowance – Japanese companies and many foreign companies pay 30,000-50,000 a month depending on family size for housing/family allowance
• Direct Support – 50-70% of total rent but not to exceed 100,000/month
• Company Dorm – Less than 10,000/month usually 6,000-8,000/month

View four:

For tax reasons, the maximum that most companies would be willing to pay is 49%.

If no subsidy is avaialble for housing, then an allowance of 15,000-20,000 may be offered.