This free site estimates the tenant's share of move-out restoration costs in Japan using the elapsed-years method of the MLIT guideline "原状回復をめぐるトラブルとガイドライン". The main version is in Japanese; this English version uses the same calculation engine.
Why it was made
The same questions about move-out bills appear again and again on Japanese Q&A sites: how many months to divide by, whether wallpaper that was not new at move-in still counts, why a manager's spreadsheet gives a different number. The answers are in the guideline and its reference material, but spread over different pages. The calculator applies them to each line of a bill and shows the formula and the page it comes from.
Foreign residents often receive these bills with no explanation in a language they read, so the English version explains the method in plain English with the Japanese page numbers you can point to.
Who runs it
Eddy Hwang, an independent developer. Email eddyhwang.kr@gmail.com. Not affiliated with MLIT, any real estate or management company, or any law firm. The site does not give legal advice on individual cases.
Sources
- Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), "原状回復をめぐるトラブルとガイドライン" (revised edition, August 2011), full PDF in Japanese: mlit.go.jp/common/001016469.pdf (checked 31 October 2026)
- MLIT Housing Bureau, reference material on the guideline (March 2023), Japanese: mlit.go.jp/…/001611293.pdf (checked 31 October 2026)
- MLIT leaflet in English, "Points for restoring rental housing to its original condition when you move out": mlit.go.jp/…/001595135.pdf (checked 31 October 2026); other languages: MLIT multilingual page
How the calculations are checked
Every build re-runs the worked examples in the official reference material (for example 50% after 3 years for wallpaper, 8,000 yen from 24,000 yen after 4 years, 70,909 yen for a whole wooden floor) and fails if any result differs. The guideline was compiled in March 1998 and revised in February 2004 and August 2011; it is checked periodically for revisions. Please report mistakes through the contact page.
How the site is funded
The site is free and funded by Google AdSense. Ads appear below the calculator and between sections of text, never on the privacy, terms, contact or advertise pages.