ply to such standard lease. If a contract
of a fixed-term lease stipulates provi-
sions relating to amendment to the rent
(including a provision not to increase
the rent), Article 32 of the Act does not
apply to such fixed-term lease.
deposit of money (shiki-kin) with a lessor
to secure obligations of the lessee under
the lease contract. The amount of such
security deposit is typically two to three
months' rent for a residence, and six to
twelve months' rent for an office, but may
vary depending on the area, the class
of the building and so on. The security
deposit is only returnable after the lessee
has evacuated the leased space, minus
any costs (such as cleaning) incurred
by the lessor for the recovery. There is
no legal obligation for a lessor to keep
the security deposit in safe custody; so a
lessee may need to confirm with a lessor
whether it will cause any guarantee of a
third party or any insurance to be avail-
able to secure the security deposit.
pays certain amount of money (typi-
cally in the same amount of the security
deposit) to a lessor when they enter into
the lease contract. This money is called
a commission or "thank-you money
(reikin)", which is non-refundable.
In the downward trend in the leasing
market, it appears that an increasing
number of lessors would require little or
no security deposit and/or commission.
Usually, a licensed real estate broker
acts as an intermediary between a lessor
and a lessee. A lessee is required to pay
a brokerage fee, which is regulated under
the Building Lots and Buildings Trans-
action Business Act (takuchi tatemono
torihikigyo ho). Under such Act, the
broker must deliver an "explanation
sheet of important matters (juyo jiko set-
sumeisho)" to a lessee, which describes
detailed information on the building and
the lease.