Shikikin vs reikin: what is the difference?

Last checked: 2026-11-06

Shikikin is a deposit that comes back when you move out, minus unpaid rent and damage beyond normal use, while reikin is key money for the landlord that you normally do not get back. Both are usually quoted in months of rent, so a listing with one month of each costs far more than the monthly rent suggests.

Side by side

	Shikikin (deposit)	Reikin (key money)
What it is	Money held against rent and other debts to the landlord	A customary payment to the landlord
Comes back?	Yes, minus what you owe	Normally no
Legal basis	Civil Code Article 622-2 since April 1, 2020	We found no rule that requires it. Shinjuku calls it a custom.
Usual amount	Shinjuku says 1 to 2 months. MLIT says about 2 months. A Saitama guide says 1 to 3.	About 1 to 2 months. Some homes ask for none.

These amounts come from the MLIT guidebook and the Shinjuku City and Saitama Prefecture guides. MLIT says key money is often required in the Kanto region.

Move-in cost for an 80,000 yen rent

This is our own calculation, with the contract terms assumed. It leaves out tax on the agent fee, guarantee company fees, insurance and key replacement, so a real quote will be higher. Tokyo's consumer site says the agent fee is normally half a month's rent, and can be one month's rent if the parties agree.

Item	Low case	Middle case	High case
First month's rent	80,000 yen	80,000 yen	80,000 yen
Deposit	1 month: 80,000 yen	1 month: 80,000 yen	2 months: 160,000 yen
Key money	None	1 month: 80,000 yen	2 months: 160,000 yen
Agent fee	0.5 month: 40,000 yen	1 month: 80,000 yen	1 month: 80,000 yen
Total to move in	200,000 yen	320,000 yen	480,000 yen
Of which you normally never get back, apart from rent	40,000 yen	160,000 yen	240,000 yen

A Tokyo guide, seen as an excerpt, says the total is often 5 to 6 months' rent, which would be 400,000 to 480,000 yen here. MLIT's guidebook gives a rule of thumb of 4 to 7 months' rent, varying by region, which would be 320,000 to 560,000 yen.

A decision rule for no-key-money homes

A home with no key money is not always cheaper. Divide the key money you would avoid by the extra monthly rent.

Our example: home A has 80,000 yen key money. Home B has none, but rent is 3,000 yen a month higher. 80,000 / 3,000 is about 27 months. If you will stay longer than that, home A costs less over the stay, all else equal. Also compare renewal fees and move-out charges, which can change the answer.

Getting the deposit back

The Civil Code says the landlord returns the deposit minus unpaid rent and other debts after the lease ends and you hand back the home. It also says a tenant does not have to restore normal wear or aging. Damage beyond normal use can be charged to you, and your contract can contain special terms.

In Tokyo, agents must explain the restoration rules, your actual burden under the contract and any special terms. This ordinance covers new residential leases, not renewals.

Steps that help, from consumer guidance

Read the contract and any special terms before you sign.
Record the condition of the home when you move in, with dates. MLIT publishes an English move-in and move-out checklist.
Tell the landlord promptly about problems during the tenancy.
At move-out, check the settlement and ask for an explanation of any item you dispute.
If you still disagree, contact a consumer affairs center.

The National Consumer Affairs Center says it gets over 30,000 rental consultations a year, and about 40% are about restoration. Its examples include charges for damage that was already there at move-in, including in homes with no deposit.

What about the guarantor?

Tokyo's consumer site says you may need a family member or acquaintance as a guarantor, or you can use a guarantee company. If an individual guarantees a lease, a maximum amount must be set in writing, or the guarantee is void. MLIT keeps a voluntary register of rent guarantee companies and links a list of those with multilingual support. A company can operate without registering. If your guarantor is asked for a seal certificate, see inkan registration cost.

Where to ask

Consumer Hotline: dial 188. The Consumer Affairs Agency says it is in Japanese only.
Tokyo rental hotline: 03-5320-4958, for rental questions in Tokyo.

What we could not confirm

Search excerpts only. We read the Tokyo Tsunagari Foundation guide and a consumer center document only as search excerpts. The Tokyo guide returned an error when we tried to open it.
Official English guides. We could not read the Consumer Affairs Center's English PDFs, so we link to its index page.
Agent fee. The Tokyo consumer page's text was partly garbled for us, and we did not read the law itself.
Guarantee company fees. We found no official figure.
Depreciation. Private sites give figures for wallpaper and similar items. We could not check them against official text, so we leave them out.

See our moving checklist for what to do once you have keys, and Japan Post Bank's requirements if you need an account to pay rent.

This page is general information, not legal advice.