Employee
The core three. Employment is verified by phone with your workplace, even if you have not started yet or have an offer only.
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Village House screening: the documents and the steps
Village House checks your identity online, calls your employer and reads your income papers. Most employees need three documents. Students, pensioners and the self-employed need a few more. Prepare them before you apply, because late papers cancel the application.
On this page
The core documents
From Village House’s application document guide (August 2026) and its FAQ. These apply to a normal individual contract.
- Photo ID for the contract holder and every resident: a driver’s license or My Number card, or a residence card for foreign nationals. Not needed for minors.
- Proof of income, such as your latest payslip.
- A copy of the bankbook for the account that receives your income: the cover page and the transaction page showing your latest salary deposit.
- Insurance-related documents, as the FAQ lists them.
If you bank online, send a screenshot that shows your latest salary deposit together with the bank name, branch, account number and account holder. If you rent a parking space, add the vehicle inspection certificate (自動車検査証, shaken certificate).
Documents by situation
The guide changes the list by category. Check the one that fits you.
Pensioner
Your latest pension transfer notice, withholding tax slips for public pensions or a pension certificate. A disability pension needs the certificate. If you also work, add your latest payslip.
Welfare recipient
A certificate of welfare receipt (生活保護受給証明書, seikatsu hogo jukyū shōmeisho) from your municipal office, and the change notice if you have one. A medical ticket does not count as ID. Proxy payment is required.
Self-employed
Tax certificates Part 2 and Part 3 (納税証明書その2, その3) from the tax office. If the business is under a year old, add a business license, contract or a bankbook showing client transfers, and a joint guarantor.
Student
A payslip if you work part time, or bankbook proof of family support, plus a scholarship certificate if you have one, and your student ID or admission letter. Without income or scholarship papers, a joint guarantor is required.
Room share
Room-share contracts are joint contracts. Every co-tenant applies with the same information and documents: a roommate application form with a personal-information consent, photo ID, proof of income and a bankbook copy.
Corporate contract
A company registration record (商業登記簿謄本, shōgyō tōkibo tōhon), the latest financial statements and ID for every resident. A company under a year old needs a joint guarantor. Ask Village House for its separate corporate guide.
Minor
A parental consent form if the contract holder is under age.
How the application and checks work
- Choose a room and book a viewing, or ask to apply without oneBooking a viewing does not reserve the room. If a room becomes unavailable before your visit, Village House tells you by the day before. Rent can differ between your inquiry and your application.
- Apply onlineApplications are online only. You give the contract holder’s email address. After you submit, Village House contacts you by email about the documents and their deadline.
- Identity checkDone online. If you have no photo ID, it is done by phone.
- Employment checkDone by phone with your workplace, including when you have a job offer but have not started.
- Send the documents before the deadlineDocuments not received within the deadline cancel the application. Prepare them before you submit.
- Contract, payment and keysAfter approval you sign electronically, register your bank for direct debit and pay the initial costs and insurance, then collect the keys from the apartment manager.
Applications are first come, first served. If the room is gone, Village House says it offers a wait list on the property page.
What residents say about getting in
Three residents’ accounts touch on screening. They are anecdotes, not rules.
Satisfied with the home and calls Village House a legitimate large company with properties across the country. Was charged no key money or deposit at move-in, as advertised, and recalls being asked to prove a source of income.
Nothing was charged at move-in beyond two years of insurance, and there was a campaign. No guarantor, only an emergency contact. Real English and other-language support, everything online including signing, with documents sent in English. Their renovated unit had air conditioning, new walls, a wall-mounted kerosene heater and a system kitchen, plus cheap rent, cheap parking, city gas and a storage unit.
Calls it one of the worst real estate companies in Japan, with extremely old apartments and joint guarantors required. This conflicts with Village House’s FAQ, which says a guarantor is generally not required, so treat it as one uncorroborated opinion.
How to avoid delays
Match your documents to each other. The name and employer on your payslip, your bankbook and your application should be the same, and the bank page you send should show the latest salary deposit.
Tell Village House early if your case is unusual: a new job, income that arrives by transfer from abroad, a partner who will live with you, or a sponsor who pays your rent. The guide changes the document list for these, and a joint guarantor may be asked.
Do not book a non-refundable move before you have an approval. Screening results come by email, and rooms are not held for you.
Next steps
For foreigners
Documents, seven website languages, phone support and the online bank setup.
Costs
The move-in bill step by step, campaigns, parking, add-ons and a two-year cost sketch.
Moving out
The early termination charge, cleaning by size, worked examples and a handover checklist.
Village House
Costs, building age, residents’ reviews, how to apply and where the buildings are.
Village House’s apartment search
Opens Village House's site (English site)
Village House FAQ
What documents does Village House need to apply?
Photo ID (a residence card for foreign residents), proof of income such as your latest payslip, and a copy of the bankbook for the account your income is paid into. Other situations add documents.
Does Village House check my employer?
Yes, by phone, including when you have a job offer but have not started.
Do I need a guarantor at Village House?
Not as a rule, but its guide asks for a joint guarantor when a student cannot show income or a scholarship, or when a business or company is under a year old, and Village House may ask for one after evaluation.
Can I apply without viewing the apartment?
Yes. Tell Village House you want to apply without a viewing, and check the room’s details and photos on the website first.
Can I apply for an apartment that is not available yet?
No. Village House does not accept applications for unavailable rooms but offers a wait list that notifies you when one opens.
How long does screening take?
Village House gives no guaranteed time. It cancels applications whose documents arrive after the deadline, so send everything at once.
Set Up in Japan is an independent guide. It is not the property operator’s website.
Village House’s apartment search
Opens Village House's site (English site)
How we checked
Documents and steps are from Village House’s application document guide (PDF, August 2026), its viewing and application guide (February 2026) and its English FAQ, read on October 5, 2026. Residents’ accounts are paraphrased from Reddit comments linked on each card. We do not know Village House’s approval rate and do not state one.
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