Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

First I will lay out what is happening and then if anyone can offer some actionable advice I would like to hear it.

I have recently returned to Tokyo after doing a stint in the countryside of two years with my company. Early in the year a few complaints were lodged against me in regards to noise and some papers flying from my balcony to the one next door. After the initial complaints which all came within the first month of living there, I recieved no other warnings or complaints from either the landlord (who i spoke with directly on a few occassions) the agency or any other tenants directly.

Fast forward a year. I am back in Tokyo and the new teacher has taken over my apartment in the countryside ( my old apt ). Suddenly the company has been hit with an eviction notice for my old apartment. ( that is how it was explained to me )

This is where things get interesting. Our new teacher is African American. I know for a fact that one neighbour in particular had a problem with me but now I am being told that all the tenants are threatening to leave if the apartment is not vacated immediately by our company. The landlord is asking our company to give up the apartment.

The kicker is I am NOT THERE ANYMORE! Isn't is just a little bit strange that after "an entire year of me making too much noise" we are suddenly being asked to leave a week after our "black" teacher moves in? Our new teacher has barely been there a week. What the hell is going on here? It seems pretty obvious to me but I just can't believe this still happens.

I have heard of something called TACHINOKIRYOU which is basically asking for payment from the landlord to vacate the premises. Has anyone ever heard of this? If we have to leave there is no way in hell they are going to get any of my deposit. In fact I want some blood money for what I consider to be pretty obvious racism.

[Gaijinheadpothead]

So, you've just returned to tokyo after being away for two years and you've found your apartment is occupied by an african american guy who was placed there by your company.

So when you lived in the apartment,　you had some complaints at first right? ''Fast forward a year, and your back in tokyo'' Shouldn't you still be in the country side??

Who was in the apartment for the two years you were gone?

This is like a Guy Ritchie movie.

[Yawarakaijin]

The whole situation is happening out in the countryside.

They are evicting (my company) "me" from countryside residence AFTER I have left and given up the apartment to the new teacher, an african American. Sorry if that wasnt clear, I was a little flustered.

So they are asking our company to vacate the premises after the individual they supposedly had a problem with ( me ) has already moved out. The new guy has been there less than a week.

[dove]

I think your company needs to handle this. Let's face it, they (rental agency, tenants) aren't going to want to deal with foreigners. Also, you aren't living there any more, right? So is this really your problem? But I am confused--is your deposit still on the apartment.? I hope your company has the fortitude to make noise about this. It DOES sound like racism and if your company calls them on this, it will be a much stronger case.

[mitsui]

weird. Are you back in Sagami-Ono?

Sounds like racism to me.

If the complaints against you stopped, then all of a sudden you get evicted...Yeah, I hear you, but the black teacher needs some of that blood money.

[Bread]

I honestly have no idea how this has anything to do with you. Why would you be demanding "blood money" from them when some other guy is getting evicted?

[Glenski]

I'm a little lost here.

Point 1.

[ShioriEigoKyoushi]

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[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[Hoser]

Yeah I'm not sure what the problem is here. You don't live there anymore and it isn't even your apartment-it's the company's apartment. So what exactly is the problem?

[Yawarakaijin]

Hmm I will try to be more clear.

1. Two years ago I was transferred to Nagano
2. A year into my stint I got a new apartment out there. A different company apt.
3. In the first week there, there were some complaints about me. None after that.
4. A year later ( last week) I get transferred back to Tokyo
5. New African American teacher moves in.
6. Same week our company is given an eviction notice.

In the contract it is stated that he only needs to give one months notice.

The owner is saying that the orignal few complaints against me when I first moved in, plus some garbage incidents the very first 2 days (putting burnable garbage out on non-burnable day ) the new guy moved in, is why he wants to evict us.


So last weekned I (the new manager) and the owner are out to Nagano to deal with the situation.


Turns out that "ALL" the tenants who were threatening to leave unless we (our company) were evicted actually turned out to be only one lady. The same lady who complained about me originally.

Asked if there was any evidence, ie dates and times of offences, the answer was no.

In the end we decided to vacate immediately. Of course we could have taken them to court but in fact it just wasn't worth it.

We stuck it to the rental agency for not having dealt with the situation properly. Never informing us of further complaints, not being willing to back us and so on. We have a long history with them and have never recieved any complaints about any teachers, myself in particular.

Got a few months rent free in a new place, ironically constructed by the same builder, an exact copy of the original place. Basically we were only asked to pay the security deposit of 500$


We are still waiting to see how much of the original security deposit will be returned. If it isn't every penny there will be further action. This will depend on how much damage the owner of the building deems to have been done. The place is pristine.

Here is where we get some measure of revenge. All our teachers are placed "in house" to the major engineering company we teach at. We sit in the personel section and are very close with the very men who place company workers in apartments throughout the city. The company is the major employer in the area and no less than 3 of the men I work with have called the landlord ( not the rental agency ) and have informed him that they will never be placing any of our company's workers or families in any building owned by him ever again.

So. To satisfy one crazy bitch and her desire to live in a Gaijin free apartment this landlord just shot himself in the ass big time.

Hope that is comprehensible.

[Glenski]

[Yawarakaijin]

Well it simply isn't a perfect world is it. Sure we could have fought tooth and nail and had a teacher living in a place where he obviously wasn't welcome or we could have handled it the way we did.

I think you are getting a little confused between the actual landlord of the building and the agency that we went through Glenski.

It is the landlord that wanted us out. They of course do that through the agengy, it is what they are there for I suppose.

First we won a great deal of concessions from the agency because they failed to warn us of any of the complaints against us and chose not to defend us to the landlord. From the agency we won 3 months of free rent on our new apartment. All other regular fees, which can be quite substantial when moving in, were also waived. We only paid a 500$ security deposit which we will get back if we move out.

For the actual owner of the building I believe that messing with us will cost him more in the future than winning a lawsuit against him would have. As stated before the company we are contracted to teach in is by far the biggest employer in the area and they have gone to bat for us. Basically informing the landlord that they will never place another employee in any building that he owns.

Imagine if you owned a rental property in say Detroit or Oshawa and the heads of all the major automobile companies called you up and effectively stated that no one who works for their company will ever live in a property you own. Trust me, this landlord is going to be hurting for a very long time, much more so than say if he lost a single lawsuit against us.

[cornishmuppet]

I take it this isn't an eikaiwa that you're working for?

[Glenski]