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Last updated: 2026-07-19  ·  TokyoEstate Guides

The Real Cost of Owning a Tokyo Apartment: Taxes, Fees, and the “Kanri-hi” Explained

When you compare listing prices for a Tokyo condominium, known in Japanese as a bunjō mansion (an individually owned unit inside a larger building), it is easy to stop reading once you see the purchase price. But the price tag is only the start. Every unit owner in Japan pays a recurring set of taxes and fees for as long as they hold the property, and those costs can shift meaningfully over the life of the building. This guide walks through what each recurring cost actually is, who charges it, how it tends to change over time, and what you should confirm before you sign anything.

Beyond the Purchase Price

Owning a condominium in Tokyo generally means paying at least four separate, recurring items: a property tax charged by the municipality, a companion urban-planning tax, a monthly fee to your building's management association, and a separate monthly contribution toward future large-scale repairs. Depending on your unit and your lender, you may also carry insurance and, occasionally, a one-time special assessment. None of these are optional extras. They are built into what it means to hold a unit in Japan, and understanding them before you buy is part of the buying process itself.

Fixed Asset Tax (固定資産税, kotei-shisan-zei)

Fixed asset tax is a property tax charged annually to whoever owns land or a building as of January 1 of that year. For a condominium, this covers both your share of the land under the building and your unit itself. In Tokyo's 23 special wards, the tax is administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Taxation rather than by a city government, which is a quirk specific to the wards; outside the 23 wards, your local municipality handles it instead.

The amount is based on an assessed value that the tax authority sets for your property, not the price you actually paid for it. Assessed values are reviewed on a periodic cycle rather than every year, so your bill years after purchase will not necessarily track market price. Rates and reductions vary by municipality and by year, so treat any percentage you see online as a starting point, not a fixed number, and confirm the current framework with the tax authority or a licensed professional before you budget around it.

City Planning Tax (都市計画税, toshi-keikaku-zei)

City planning tax is billed alongside fixed asset tax, on the same notice, for properties located within a designated urban planning area, which covers most of central Tokyo. It funds infrastructure such as roads, water systems, and parks in the surrounding district. As with fixed asset tax, the rate is capped by national law but set within that cap by the local authority, so it is worth checking the current rate that applies to your specific ward rather than assuming it is uniform across the city.

The Monthly Management Fee (管理費, kanri-hi)

The management fee, or kanri-hi, is a separate monthly charge that has nothing to do with taxes. It is paid to your building's management association, called the kanri kumiai (管理組合) in Japanese, which is made up of the unit owners themselves, even though day-to-day operations are usually outsourced to a management company. Kanri-hi covers the ordinary running costs of the building: cleaning of common areas, elevator servicing, lighting and utilities for shared spaces, front-desk staffing if the building has one, and the management company's own fee.

Kanri-hi is set out in the building's management bylaws, called the kanri kiyaku (管理規約), and is reviewed periodically by the management association rather than by an outside authority. It can rise over time, particularly if the building adds services, if the management company renegotiates its contract, or if the pool of paying owners shrinks because units sit vacant. Before you commit to a unit, ask to see recent kanri-hi statements and minutes from management association meetings; they will usually show whether fees have been climbing and why.

The Repair Reserve Fund (修繕積立金, shūzen-tsumitate-kin)

Separate again from kanri-hi is the repair reserve fund, or shūzen-tsumitate-kin, a monthly contribution set aside specifically for large, infrequent repair work: waterproofing the roof, repainting and repairing the exterior, replacing shared piping, and similar projects known collectively as daikibo shūzen kōji (大規模修繕工事, large-scale repair work). This fund is held separately from the operating budget and, in a well-run building, is not spent on day-to-day expenses.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism publishes guidelines for how associations should plan and fund these long-term repair plans, called chōki shūzen keikaku (長期修繕計画), and many buildings structure their reserve contributions to increase in steps over the building's life rather than staying flat, on the reasoning that repair costs tend to grow as materials age and major systems need replacement. This is a normal, expected pattern rather than a sign that something has gone wrong with a particular building. It also means older buildings often carry higher monthly reserve contributions than newer ones, which is one of several tradeoffs worth weighing when you compare a new-build unit against a secondhand one.

Occasional Lump-Sum Levies (一時金, ichijikin)

If a building's reserve fund falls short of what a planned repair actually costs, the management association can call for a one-time special assessment, sometimes referred to as an ichijikin (一時金), billed directly to owners on top of their regular monthly contribution. This is more likely in older buildings with underfunded reserves, or in associations that have deferred raising contributions for years. Before buying, ask whether the building has ever levied a special assessment and whether one is currently being discussed.

Insurance You'll Likely Need

Most lenders, and many management associations, expect individual owners to carry fire insurance, called kasai hoken (火災保険), covering the interior of their own unit, and many owners add earthquake insurance, jishin hoken (地震保険), as a rider, given Japan's seismic activity. Coverage for the building's structure and common areas is usually arranged separately by the management association and funded through kanri-hi, but exactly where that split falls varies by building, so confirm it directly.

If You're Considering a Leasehold Unit

Everything above assumes you own the land under the building outright, or a fractional share of it, which is the arrangement for most bunjō mansion purchases. Some units, however, sit on leasehold land, where you own the building but pay ground rent to a separate landowner. Ground rent is its own recurring cost, on top of everything described here, and it behaves differently from the items above. If a listing mentions leasehold land, read leasehold vs freehold in Japan before going further, since the ongoing math changes substantially.

A Quick Reference Table

The table below summarizes each recurring cost. It is meant as an orientation, not a quote. Actual figures depend on your specific property, its assessed value, its management association's decisions, and the year in question.

What to Check Before You Commit

A few habits will save you from unpleasant surprises after you take ownership:

• Ask for the building's current long-term repair plan (chōki shūzen keikaku) and the reserve fund's balance against that plan, not just the current monthly contribution.
• Ask whether kanri-hi or the reserve contribution has increased over the past five to ten years, and by how much.
• Ask whether the building has ever levied a special assessment, and whether one is being discussed.
• Check the delinquency rate among current owners; a building with many owners behind on payments can signal deeper financial strain.
• Confirm your likely fixed asset tax and city planning tax exposure with the relevant tax office or a tax accountant, since assessed value is unit-specific.
• Have a judicial scrivener confirm the registered ownership share of land tied to your unit, since this affects your portion of shared costs.
• If the building is older, weigh these figures against a comparable new-build unit, where reserve contributions typically start lower but rise on a different schedule.

None of this replaces professional advice. A 宅建士 (takken-shi, licensed real estate transaction agent), a 税理士 (zeirishi, tax accountant), and a 司法書士 (shihō shoshi, judicial scrivener) can each confirm the parts that apply to your specific purchase, and their answers will be more current than any general guide. What you can do on your own is ask the right questions early, before the recurring costs become a surprise instead of a plan.

References

• 総務省 (MIC) — 固定資産税の概要 (Fixed Asset Tax overview). Accessed 2026-07-19.
• 総務省 (MIC) — 都市計画税 (City Planning Tax overview). Accessed 2026-07-19.
• 東京都主税局 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Taxation) — 固定資産税・都市計画税（土地・家屋）. Accessed 2026-07-19.
• 国土交通省 (MLIT) — 住宅：マンション管理 (Condominium Management: standard bylaws + long-term repair plan guidelines). Accessed 2026-07-19.