Japan Specified Skilled Worker housing: rent caps and fees

An employer housing a Specified Skilled Worker (i) in a flat it leases may charge rent of no more than the leasing cost divided by the worker occupants, and may not charge deposit, key money, agency fee or renewal fee. The rules come from the landing criteria ordinance and the Immigration Services Agency operating guidelines.

What happens when a banned fee is charged

The Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁) published the October 2026 edition of its Specified Skilled Worker operating guidelines. On a flat the employer leases from a landlord, the guidelines bar charging the worker deposit, key money, security money, agency fee, renewal fee and an early termination penalty.

Item 5 of the Specified Skilled Worker (i) row in the landing criteria ordinance requires that the worker understands and accepts recurring food and housing charges, that those charges are at actual or proper cost, and that they are shown in an itemised statement. If the employment conditions form (参考様式第1-6号) puts key money or a renewal fee on the worker, the application fails this standard.

Deducting the charge from pay raises a second problem. Labour Standards Act article 24(1) requires full payment of wages, and a deduction without a legal basis needs a written agreement with the majority union or the majority representative. A rent or key money deduction without that agreement breaches the Labour Standards Act as well as the immigration standard.

Rent and utility ceilings by type of housing

Every Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan must include help securing suitable housing, under article 3(1)(i)(c) of the ordinance on employment contracts and support plans. That help includes acting as guarantor when the worker signs a lease in their own name. Where the employer supplies the housing, the ceiling on charges depends on how the dwelling is held.

For utilities, employer staff or family members who share the dwelling count in the divisor. Dividing only by the foreign workers pushes each share above actual cost.

Ceilings on meal charges

Meals fall under the same cost standard. Ingredients or delivered lunches may be charged at no more than purchase cost. Canteen meals may be charged at no more than the price charged to other employees, so a higher price for foreign staff is not permitted.

Documents checked at the application

The cost rule is checked at the residence application against three documents:

• employment conditions form (参考様式第1-6号)
• hiring circumstances statement (参考様式第1-16号)
• Specified Skilled Worker (i) support plan (参考様式第1-17号)

Two of the forms exist in ten languages, so the itemised charges can be shown in a language the worker reads. Before filing, the employer checks that rent, utilities and meals are itemised with their basis, that no banned fee appears, and that any pay deduction rests on a signed majority agreement.

Werklist covers comparable rules in Europe: accommodation rules and rent deduction in Sweden and accommodation standards and the rent cap in Croatia. Open roles are listed on the job board. The primary sources are the Immigration Services Agency guidelines and the Labour Standards Act.