Responding to rent arrears starts with early contact by phone or in writing, moves to notifying the guarantee company (hoshō gaisha) or joint guarantor (rentai hoshōnin) if the situation doesn't improve, and proceeds in stages toward certified content mail (naiyō shōmei yūbin) or legal action if it still isn't resolved. Where legal proceedings become necessary, consulting a lawyer or other specialist is essential.
- The basics of prevention are thorough tenant screening and using a guarantee company.
- Early contact matters once arrears occur — leaving it unaddressed makes collection harder.
- If you use a guarantee company, contact the guarantee company promptly.
- Certified content mail and legal proceedings such as contract termination and eviction claims should go through a lawyer or other specialist.
- Never resort to self-help measures such as changing the locks yourself, since this carries the risk of being unlawful.
Tenant Screening to Prevent Arrears
Using a guarantee company, confirming the balance between income and rent, and setting up a joint guarantor are the basic preventive measures. In particular, checking how the first rent payment or direct-debit setup goes is an important way to catch early warning signs of arrears. Carefully confirming the balance between rent and income at the screening stage is also a fundamental way to lower the risk of arrears.
Responding Right After Arrears Occur
It's common to make contact within a few days to a week after confirming that a direct debit or transfer has failed. Reach out by phone or in writing and confirm the situation early to get a clear picture. At this stage, avoid an emotional response and take a considerate approach to confirming the circumstances behind the delay — a forgotten transfer, insufficient account balance, and so on — since how you handle this affects the relationship going forward. Plenty of cases turn out to be a simple oversight, where payment is confirmed soon after contact, and early contact is what prevents the problem from dragging on.
The Flow When Using a Guarantee Company
If you have a contract with a guarantee company, the basic setup is that the guarantee company advances the rent after a set period of arrears, and the guarantee company itself follows up with the tenant. Because the guarantee company handles the follow-up with the tenant after advancing the rent, the burden of direct collection on the owner is greatly reduced. Without a guarantee company, the owner or the management company has to shoulder that follow-up directly, and the difference in psychological burden is significant.
Responding When It Drags On
If arrears run for several months, or you can't reach the tenant, a staged response becomes necessary — certified content mail demanding payment, notice of contract termination, and so on. If a joint guarantor is in place, contacting and billing the guarantor in parallel is also worth considering at this stage. Once things reach this point, the focus of the response shifts from repairing the relationship to pursuing collection or contract termination.
When Legal Proceedings Are Necessary
Eviction claims, forced execution, and other legal proceedings are territory that should be handled with a lawyer or other specialist. Taking self-help measures on your own judgment carries the risk of being unlawful. Legal proceedings take time and cost money, so consulting a specialist early and getting a sense of the likely timeline ends up reducing the overall burden. Knowing roughly how long the process will take and what it will cost in advance also makes it easier to plan your finances going forward.
Working with the Management Company and Guarantee Company
Having the management company or guarantee company serve as the point of contact for arrears response makes it easier to reduce the owner's own psychological burden. Sharing payment status with the management company on an ongoing basis makes it easier to catch early signs of arrears and respond quickly. Simply having a system in place to routinely check the monthly payment status is, in itself, the most basic safeguard against arrears dragging on. Not carrying the burden alone, and consulting the management company, guarantee company, or a specialist early when needed, ultimately lightens the load.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a tenant falls behind on rent, what should I do first?
Reach out early by phone or in writing to confirm the situation. If you use a guarantee company, contact the guarantee company promptly as well.
What should I do if I can't reach the tenant?
Switch to a form of contact that leaves a record in writing, such as certified content mail. If it drags on, consider consulting a lawyer or other specialist.
Can I change the locks myself and enter the unit?
Changing the locks or removing belongings without the tenant's consent — so-called self-help — carries the risk of being unlawful, so never do it. Legal proceedings need to be followed instead.
Summary
The basics of responding to rent arrears are early contact, coordinating with the guarantee company, and legal proceedings if needed, taken in stages. Avoid self-help measures, and consult a lawyer or other specialist whenever you're unsure how to proceed.