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Oakhouse for foreigners: rental requirements
Yes, foreigners can rent from Oakhouse, after its screening. It sets no limit by nationality, visa type, job or study status. At houses it manages there is no guarantor, but you name an emergency contact, usually a parent (a sibling or other relative if you have no parent to name), and Oakhouse phones them.
Read from Oakhouse's help center on September 18, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
On this page
Have these four ready
Screening applies to everyone, so none of this guarantees a room. Under 20, add a parent's consent form.
Who can rent from Oakhouse
Oakhouse's conditions for moving in, one row each, with the page each comes from.
- Nationality
- No restriction. Foreign nationals show a passport or residence card as ID. Oakhouse requirements (English)
- Visa
- Any visa type, if it is still valid. Oakhouse visa page (Japanese)
- Age
- 18 or over. Under 20 needs a parent's consent form. No upper limit. Oakhouse requirements (English)
- Work or study
- No restriction: employed, studying, on leave, unemployed and job-hunting applicants can all apply. Oakhouse requirements (Japanese)
- Income and savings
- Most houses set no income or savings condition. A few ask to see them, and Oakhouse says so before you book. Oakhouse requirements (Japanese)
- Guarantor
- None at houses Oakhouse manages. An emergency contact is required. Oakhouse requirements (Japanese)
- Gender
- Most houses are mixed. Some are women-only or have women-only or men-only areas, shown on each room. Oakhouse requirements (English)
Oakhouse screens everyone, whatever the nationality (requirements page). It can also decline people it thinks would disturb other residents.
Fits you if you are arriving without a Japanese bank account, a guarantor or a job yet, and 1 to 6 months works. Not for you if you want to plan a stay beyond 6 months: each contract is fixed-term, and a new one is offered at Oakhouse's discretion. See when to look elsewhere.
Does Oakhouse need a guarantor?
Not at the houses Oakhouse manages. You name an emergency contact instead, and there is no guarantor company and no guarantor fee. That answer is not something to assume for every listing on oakhouse.jp, which is why Google shows both answers for "oakhouse guarantor" (checked in Japan on October 2, 2026). Oakhouse's site also lists ordinary apartments that it only brokers, marked 仲介物件 (brokered property), and their terms depend on the listing.
| Managed by Oakhouse (オークハウス管理物件) | One brokered listing we read (仲介物件) | |
|---|---|---|
| Guarantor | None. Emergency contact only | A guarantor company |
| Key money | None | Yes |
| Agency fee | None | 1.1 months' rent |
| Contract | Fixed-term, 1 to 6 months. A new one is offered at Oakhouse's discretion | 2 years |
| What you pay instead | A contract fee, ¥50,000 for a private room, not refunded | The fees on that listing |
Managed houses: requirements, move-in page and staying longer. The brokered column is one listing, apartment 17722, read September 18, 2026. Another brokered listing can differ. The label is on the Japanese house page; check it before you rely on anything on this page.
Who can be your Oakhouse emergency contact
One of your parents, living in Japan or abroad. If you have no parent to name, Oakhouse asks for a brother, sister or other relative (requirements).
Oakhouse phones this person during screening. It asks you to warn them first that the call is coming (emergency contact notice). The pages we read do not say which language the call is in. If your contact does not speak Japanese or English, ask the help desk before you give the number.
What Oakhouse screening checks
Oakhouse lists these as the main screening items: your name, birth date, nationality and employer, plus your ability to pay rent, past rental trouble, mental illness, criminal record and links to organized crime. A false statement voids the contract (screening). Oakhouse's booking guide puts the wait at 3 to 4 days (booking steps).
Passing screening for one contract does not promise the next. Each contract at a managed house is fixed-term, 1 to 6 months, and Oakhouse offers a new one at its discretion. It can decline, for example if the house closes or it decides you broke the house rules (when it declines).
Applying for an Oakhouse room from abroad
- Choose a room and a move-in date on oakhouse.jp, and fill in the application form. Everything is online.
- Wait 3 to 4 days for screening. Oakhouse phones your emergency contact in that time.
- Pay the initial fees. They are due about 3 bank business days after screening, or sooner if you move in sooner (payment dates).
- Get the exact address. Oakhouse gives it only once the booking is complete (address). Use the map on the house page until then.
- Arrive on move-in day between 10:00 and 18:00, sign and collect your keys at the house (move-in hours). Oakhouse can offer an electronic contract to first-time applicants, at its discretion.
You cannot send luggage to the house before you move in (luggage). Viewing is optional. The online viewing is a Zoom call with a 3D walk-through, not a live camera tour (online viewing). The help center takes questions 24 hours a day in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and French and replies 10:00 to 18:00 (help center).
Before you apply
- Costs at the start. The contract fee is ¥50,000 for a private room, not refunded, plus a bed pad. Our worked examples for a 1, 3 or 6 month stay are in Oakhouse Tokyo prices.
- Canceling. After you send the application form, Oakhouse charges 50% of the normal contract fee if you cancel from 1 month to 8 days before the start date, and 100% from 7 days before (cancellation).
- Arrival. Keys are handed over 10:00 to 18:00 on move-in day, so plan your flight and train time around it.
- Not answered on the pages we read: whether overseas-issued cards other than Visa and Mastercard work, whether Oakhouse can accept an application before your visa is issued, and what happens if your emergency contact cannot take the call in a language Oakhouse supports. Ask the help desk and keep its answer before you pay.
Registering your address at an Oakhouse house
Two separate rules are involved. The first is yours: if you hold a residence card, your ward asks you to report a new address within 14 days of moving (Shinjuku City's guide for foreign residents, read October 2, 2026; other wards publish their own). It is a rule about residents, so ask the ward office if you are staying only briefly.
The second is Oakhouse's. Its own guide says residents of a share house can, and normally must, register their address (住民票, resident record) there, using the house name and room number, and that you are your own household head (Oakhouse guide). It publishes no house-by-house policy, so confirm before you book if you need the address for your residence card, a bank account or a phone contract.
Plan your Oakhouse stay
When Oakhouse is not the right fit
How we checked
Every row on this page comes from Oakhouse's help center and move-in pages, read on October 2, 2026 and September 18, 2026. Where Oakhouse's English page covers a rule, we link it: its requirements page matched the Japanese on age, nationality and gender when we read it. We used the Japanese pages where the English ones were missing a rule or differed (on September 18, 2026, the payment methods and what points can be used for). We read Google results for "oakhouse foreigners" and "oakhouse guarantor" in Japan on October 2, 2026: Oakhouse's own pages held almost every result. We have not applied to Oakhouse, so none of this is our own experience of screening.
The Oakhouse buttons on this page are A8.net affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you sign up through them. It does not change what we write. Read our editorial policy.
Oakhouse for foreigners FAQ
Can foreigners rent from Oakhouse?
Yes. Oakhouse sets no limit by nationality, visa type, job or study status. You show a passport or residence card, and every applicant goes through screening, so there is no guarantee of acceptance.
Does Oakhouse need a guarantor?
Not at houses Oakhouse manages: there is no guarantor and no guarantor company, only an emergency contact. Listings marked 仲介物件 (brokered property) are ordinary third-party apartments whose terms depend on the listing. The one we read used a guarantor company and a 1.1-month agency fee.
Which visas does Oakhouse accept?
Any visa type, as long as it is still valid. Oakhouse asks for your passport or residence card as ID.
Who can be my emergency contact at Oakhouse?
One of your parents, in Japan or abroad. If you have no parent to name, Oakhouse asks for a brother, sister or other relative. Tell them before screening: Oakhouse phones them.
Can I rent an Oakhouse room without a Japanese bank account?
Yes. Rent is paid by bank transfer as a rule, but without a Japanese account you can pay with a Visa or Mastercard card, Pay-easy or Flywire. We found no answer on whether other overseas-issued cards work, so ask the help desk first.
Can I register my Oakhouse address for my residence card?
If you hold a residence card, your ward asks you to report a new address within 14 days. Oakhouse's own guide says residents of its share houses register using the house name and room number. It does not list house-by-house rules, so ask Oakhouse before you book if you need the address for a bank account or a phone contract.
Set Up in Japan is an independent guide, not Oakhouse's site.