Job Discussion Forums

[Hoser]

Last month I decided I wanted to move out on my own-and avoid paying the ridiculous apartment fees that Nova charges. So I faxed in my Termination of Sublease notice. I soon found to my chagrin that livin own your own ain't much cheaper than living with Nova. Therefore today I called Nova to cancel my Termination notice and I was told that the lease with the landlord for my apartment had been cancelled.

This was a bit of a shock for me because I might soon find myself on the street What exactly are my rights here? I read somewhere that the Lessor has to give the Lessee 6 months notice when they are cancelling or not extending the lease. Do those same conditions exist in the case of the sub-leasor? According to Nova's sublease contract it says 30 days.

I'm in a bit of a gray area because I sent that notice of Termination but I had a roommate and he planned on staying. What are his rights? They are probably going to try to move us to another apartment. Can we refuse that? We signed the contract specifically for this room in this apartment.

Can I demand any concessions, such as them finding us a new apartment and paying the key money costs and whatnot? Or am I pretty much own my own here. Anyone who has some knowledge about Japanese tenancy laws I'd definitely appreciate some advice. And even if the law is on my side, will it even matter? Am I going to get steamrolled by Nova no matter what?

Also a notice of termination is just that right? Just a notice, not an actual termination. So as long as i fax them written notice saying that I'm cancelling my notice I should be ok right? Or is my contract basically null and void because what i did?

Thanks!

[Sage]

You sent in your letter before you had a new place paid for and contracted down?

I really want to feel bad for you but I just can't bring myself to do it...

However, I'm nearly positive that they can't kick you out of your apartment but you won't be making your employer very happy with what you're doing.

EDIT: Oh, and I find the topic of this thread really pathetic. Yeah, NOVA isn't all flowers and roses, but you caused this problem not them.

[Hoser]

Thanks for the moral support Sage. Remember my roommate didn't give any notice that they were leaving and yet they're still cancelling his lease as well. I'm not looking for a hug I just want to know where I stand in legal matters.

[PAULH]

[PAULH]

Question: I was fired over a dispute about working conditions. Although I have not agreed with being dismissed this way, my employer also told me to move out of the apartment provided by the company, as required by the contract. Do I have to leave the apartment now ? If so, I will have to find another place. What should I do ?


Answer: When an apartment is contracted by a company, the civil laws are applied differently depending on whether it is provided free or is leased.
Normally, the former cases is covered by the provisions in Article 593 of Civil Law, and the latter by Article 601 of the Civil Law. However, if the rent is extremely low, there will be some question as to whether the latter case applies.
If you have a rent-free apartment, you are required under the terms of worker-as-tenant to give up the apartment on the day specified in the contract (Article 597,Civil Law).

The employer has demanded that you move out of the apartment at the time of your dismissal. If you do not comply with that demand, your employer could possibly take to matter to court.
On the other hand, a lease contract with a company is governed by Article 28 of the Land and Building Act. According to the act, in order to end a lease relationship, an employer as a landlord is required to give notice to an employee, with a justifiable reason. When the lease has a specified period, the landlord should give advance notice of 6 months to one year and should clearly tell the employee that he/she does not intend to renew the lease contract.

Also, with a lease that has no specified duration, advance notice to vacate the property of at least 6 months is required. Therefore, even if it is stated in a contract that the employee shall move out immediately upon dismissal, such requirement is totally contrary to the Land and Building Act (Article 30, Land and Building Act, or Article 6, former Land and Building Act). The landlord can never make a tenant leave by force. In the case of a company house, the argument often turns on whether it is provided free or is leased. The court rules that each case should be carefully considered under its own merits. Since the situation that arise are not always typical, the right decision is not easily reached. Therefore, it is recommended that further discussion is needed between you and your employer and that your landlord should wait until you find another place to live.

[Willy_In_Japan]

Faced with your situation, I would simply move into a Leo Palace. From what I hear of costs on a Nova apartment, Leo Palace's aren't as bad.

Decide what to do from there.

[Hoser]

Thanks I'll talk with Nova and see what can be worked out. They evicted one apartment of teachers and offered them either a new nova apartment or to pay the first month of whatever apartment they found themselves. I suspect this was probably because they were probably breaking some tenancy laws and hoping that the teachers wouldn't make a fuss-which they didn't of course.

So it looks like I might be screwed-or maybe not that screwed as it will probably turn out. NOVA rent is so high that it's hard to feel screwed when they're kicking you out. While my termination is in a couple days I'm sure they'll let me stay until the lease officially ends-why skip a chance to screw a teacher out of even more money?

I wonder what the possibility is of being able to take over the lease from Nova. I will suggest this the next time i talk to them and see if it's feasible or not.

[Gordon]

The problem with taking over the lease from Nova is that I suspect you will have to find a guarantor and will have to cough up the key money. Neither of which will be very appealing.

I can't see how Nova is to blame here. They are doing what you asked of them and that was to cancel the lease. Can you not see that you are responsible for this whole situation? Yes, Nova overcharges its teachers, but that does not put them at fault here.

[PAULH]

[Vince]

I doubt you have any rights in terms of getting that apartment back. A little sympathy and favorable treatment is the most you can hope for, but don't expect anything.

I don't know what has changed since I had a NOVA apartment several years ago, but I didn't see it as anything special. My roommate and I had a 3LDK in Kanagawa, they were going to move a third person in, it was unfurnished except for a table and futon, and the rent was Y65,000 for each person. Although we didn't have to pay key money or a security deposit, they were still making quite a profit. I didn't mind moving out.

If you don't have enough money to get your own place, consider staying at a gaijin house while you save up. You might even find that the gaijin house meets your needs and that there's no reason for you to pay for an apartment (freeing up a few thousand dollars that could be invested or used for education). You might have heard horror stories about gaijin houses, but that can easily be managed. You'd of course start by looking for a clean and relatively modern facility, then decide how you'll handle late-night noise, English leeches, and the other common gaijin house problems. Think carefully about it. If you're still of the frat house mentality, you'll probably just get sucked into the gaijin house's social scene and see little personal, career, or financial development. If you're mature, you'll stand above the gaijin house games and make good use of the solitude and savings.

[canuck]

Silly move.

However, your roommate has a case. They can't just get rid of him/her. I thought NOVA's policy was that you could leave at anytime, but you need to give them 30 days notice.

I don't think you have a leg to stand on if they've already accepted your termination. Just find a new apartment. Pretty simple.

[Theshoveller]

I don't know if these guys are where you live but check out Leo Palace. I know someone living in this arrangement and its pretty good for getting out of a jam. No key money, but you pay your first month up front, which is standard in any apartment arrangement. From what I understand its a month to month type place. You'll have to look it up though I don't know much more than I just said.

[ionix-]

If your roommate didn't sign anything, they can't evict him on the base that you sent your termination. However, they are in their perfect legal right to kick YOU out of the appartment on the day you said in your termination letter. They will put a new guy in for your roommate and that's the end of the story. Nova is not to blame and has no reason what so ever to assist you financially such as paying your key money. Should Nova either accept to dismiss your termination notice or extend your stay date until you find a new appartment, consider yourself very lucky since Nova doesn't really like people moving out of their appartment. With that in mind, Nova is not screwing you by refusing to pay you money that they don't owe you like first month of appartment.

[Vince]

I too thought the roommate having to leave was odd. Are there circumstatnces we haven't heard about?

[Zzonkmiles]

I hope one of the moderators changes the subject of this thread. While I'm not a NOVA apologist by any means, I think the title of this thread is very misleading.

Sounds like the original poster and NOVA were made for each other.

It is inconceivable to me that someone would submit a lease termination notice before they signed a new lease. Would you submit a letter of resignation before you signed your new job's contract too? NOVA is under no obligation to pay any key money for you or help you find a new apartment. MAYBE (MAYBE) they have information about local properties and rental agencies, but I wouldn't bet on it. But it wouldn't hurt to inquire.

Yes, NOVA does make a profit from charging all three tenants the price of one whole apartment, but it is very convenient for new teachers and for those who will only stay in Japan for a year or less. Don't knock them because you thought you could do better on your own and fell flat on your face because you didn't have a good gameplan. Living on your own and furnishing your own place is a huge responsibility. You have to buy EVERYTHING, and I do mean EVERYTHING. This means appliances (large and small, such as a stove, refrigerator, and microwave), light fixtures, curtains, and basic furniture) are expenses that will have to come out of YOUR pocket. Did you not think about any of this?

If you're really pressed for options, you can check out a gaijin house. It won't be clean, but it will be fairly cheap. If you do go this route, be sure not to make the same mistake again of packing up before you even have a place to go.