In the long run, 'reikin' (gift money) will completely disappear because this is a system that doesn’t make sense. Eliminating the fee will make it easier for tenants to move around.

"Not making sense" has never been sufficient cause for anything to disappear in Japan. I give you Gov. Ishihara. Enough said....

Woo hoo...yeah, couldn't say it any better "gdeshazo." Making sense, in the 'anywhere outside Japan' sense, is a plateau which will never be reached in this country until more than 50% of the population is foreign. Should happen around when? 2050? 2075? 2100?

Screw that! if i was a landlord, I'd definetely charge reikin. Part of the reason is that maintenance and renovation costs are stupidly high. also there are too many parties involved in the whole real estate business. There is always a maintenance company, sales company, etc. too many layers to go through and they all want money!

Nisegaijin, you're so 20th century, and misinformed. "Reikin" is nothing more than pure greed, plain and simple. Monthly "kanrihi" takes care of maintenance, etc, to say nothing of the rip-off of all time, the 2-year contract "renewal fee" of one month's rent. All a dying vestige of feudalistic Japan, thank god.

Trust me, reikin doesn't go to the landlord. It goes to the fudosan shop that introduces the renter. Freakin robbery!!

If they don't charge reikin, they'll come up with other ridiculous charges. Some charge obligatory fumigation charges. I was told that the agents could only charge commission based on one month's fee, maximum. That amount is supposed to be the total amount coming from the customer and the landlord, but some probably end up charging both one month's fee. Certain renovation charges should not be borne by the person renting the place - fusumas and tatami mats deteriorate naturally with time, no matter how clean you keep the place. Plus, a lot of these apts have cheap sinks in the kitchens and they don't stay in good condition for long.