Two years ago, one of my tenants sent me a message asking if she could list her apartment as the registered address for a small online resale business. She needed it for a business registration form, and she wanted my written permission before she filed anything. I own 9 rental units and I had never gotten that exact request before, so I spent about 3 hours that week reading through my own lease templates and calling a property management friend before I answered her.
Home-based businesses are becoming a lot more common among renters in Japan, especially since remote work took off. If you self-manage like I do, you will eventually get this question too, and how you answer it matters more than most landlords realize.
Why Tenants Ask for This in the First Place
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Most requests fall into one of three buckets: someone opening a sole proprietorship (kojin jigyou) and needing an address for tax registration, someone running an online shop through a marketplace platform that requires a business address on file, or someone applying for a small business loan where the bank wants proof of a registered location. In my experience, roughly 70 percent of these requests come from people who already work from home quietly and are just formalizing something that was already happening. They are not asking permission to start seeing clients or stacking inventory in the hallway. They are asking so a government form has somewhere to point.
What Your Lease Actually Says
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Before you say yes or no, pull out the lease and read the use clause carefully. Most standard residential leases in Japan include a line restricting the unit to residential use only (jutaku senyo), which technically covers this situation. But that clause was written to stop people from opening a retail shop or a restaurant in a rental unit, not to block someone from registering an address for invoicing purposes. I have found that applying the letter of that clause too rigidly just pushes good, long-term tenants to become secretive about it or to move out at renewal. Neither outcome helps me as the owner.
The Building Type and Neighbor Factor
The bigger question isn’t the lease wording, it’s what actually changes in the building. I manage a mix of small apartment buildings, and my answer depends heavily on unit count and foot traffic. In a 6-unit building with shared thin walls, I am far more cautious about anything that brings in visitors, deliveries, or noise. In a detached house I rent out, I have almost no concerns at all. Ask yourself these questions before responding:
- Will clients, customers, or delivery trucks visit the unit regularly?
- Will the business increase water, electricity, or trash volume noticeably?
- Does the business require signage, window displays, or any exterior change?
- Would neighbors reasonably notice a difference in traffic or noise?
- Does your fire insurance policy exclude commercial activity on the premises?
If the answer to all five is no, which it usually is for online sellers, consultants, and freelancers, I approve it within about 48 hours. If even one answer is yes, I slow down and ask more questions before committing to anything in writing.
Talking to the Tenant Directly
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I always get on the phone before I put anything in writing. A 15-minute call tells me more than any application form. I ask what the business actually does day to day, whether it involves storing physical inventory, and whether the address will be listed publicly on invoices or a website. One tenant told me her online vintage clothing shop stored roughly 40 items of stock in a closet, which is nothing, versus another applicant years ago who wanted to keep a small woodworking side business running, which involves dust, noise, and flammable materials I am not willing to have in a wood-frame rental. Same request on paper, completely different risk in reality.
Putting It in Writing
Once I decide to approve a request, I never just reply by text and call it done. I draft a one-page lease addendum that spells out exactly what is permitted: no client visits, no signage, no change to insurance risk category, and the right for me to revoke permission with 30 days notice if the situation changes. I charge a small 3,000 yen administrative fee to cover my time drafting and filing the addendum, mostly so the tenant treats it as a real amendment rather than a casual favor. This document has saved me twice already when a tenant’s business grew beyond what we originally agreed to, because I had a clear reference point to point back to during the conversation.
When I Say No
I have turned down two requests in the last five years, both involving businesses that would have brought regular customer visits to buildings with only street parking for 2 or 3 cars. In both cases, I offered to help the tenant find registered co-working space addresses instead, which cost them under 5,000 yen a month and solved their registration problem without touching my lease terms at all. Tenants generally appreciate that you took the request seriously instead of just refusing outright.
Getting this right protects the value of my properties and keeps good tenants long term, which matters more to me than any single form they need signed. That’s the approach I use across all 9 of my properties, and it has kept my vacancy calls a lot quieter than they used to be.
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