Tokyo Rent Report: May 2026 | HousingAssist<br>Home / Blog / Tokyo Rent Report: May 2026<br>Tokyo Rent Report: May 2026<br>May 29, 2026 by ゆ<br>TL;DR<br>Based on 39,209 May listings from SUUMO, Homes.co.jp, and at Home across 5 weekly scrapes: cheapest 1K in Tokyo is Edogawa at ¥75,379/month, most expensive is Minato at ¥145,466 (down 7.4% from April — cheapest in 2026). Shinagawa leads zero-key money at 55%, with Koto, Toshima, and Sumida also above 50%. The most telling signal: 55 individual listing price drops vs 1 increase in the final week, evidence that landlords are actively cutting asking rents.

We analyzed 39,209 active rental listings across Tokyo’s 23 special wards in May 2026, sourced from five weekly scrapes of SUUMO, Homes.co.jp, and at Home. The headline isn’t the monthly average — it’s the listing-level signal underneath. In the final week alone we tracked 55 individual listings cutting their asking rent vs 1 raising it . Landlords across Tokyo are actively negotiating prices down. The full ward breakdown is on the rent index.

Where are the cheapest 1K apartments in Tokyo?

The five cheapest wards for a 1K apartment (one room + kitchen) all average under ¥91,000/month in May 2026. Edogawa leads at ¥75,379, followed by Adachi, Katsushika, Nerima, and Suginami — all with under ¥91k average rents and over 1,100 active listings each.

Edogawa — ¥75,379/mo (1K) (1,152 listings)

Adachi — ¥77,999/mo (1,255 listings)

Katsushika — ¥80,920/mo (1,208 listings)

Nerima — ¥86,886/mo (1,281 listings) — but +3.9% MoM, rising

Suginami — ¥90,047/mo (1,195 listings)

Edogawa unseated Adachi as Tokyo’s cheapest 1K this month. Adachi’s average rose slightly while Edogawa’s fell 3.7% MoM. Nerima is the cautionary entry: cheap, but rents are climbing AND landlord terms are the worst in Tokyo (more on that in the zero-key section).

Where are the most expensive Tokyo wards?

Five wards dominate the high end, all averaging over ¥134,000 for a 1K. Minato tops the list at ¥145,466/month, 7.4% cheaper than April. That’s the lowest Minato has averaged in 2026. The premium tier softened broadly through May.

Minato — ¥145,466 (1K) · ¥288,917 (1LDK) — -7.4% MoM

Chiyoda — ¥140,429 — +3.8% MoM (the only premium ward rising)

Shibuya — ¥137,282 — -3.9%

Chuo — ¥136,427 — -1.3%

Shinjuku — ¥134,886 — -1.0%

The gap between Edogawa and Minato is ¥70,087/month for the same 1K layout, nearly double. The gap narrowed by ~¥10k from April as the premium tier softened. Compare any two wards side by side for layout-specific tradeoffs.

A note on Minato’s distribution: median is ¥144,000, almost identical to the ¥145,466 mean. Luxury outliers that distorted the April Minato average (median was 5% below mean) have rotated out. The average is a reliable anchor this month.

Where can you skip key money in Tokyo?

Key money (礼金 reikin) is a non-refundable “thank you” payment to the landlord, traditionally one month’s rent. Four Tokyo wards now waive it on more than half of listings : Shinagawa 55%, Koto 54%, Toshima 53%, Sumida 51%. Three more sit at exactly 49%: Taito, Arakawa, and Kita.

Shinagawa — 55% zero key money (2,297 listings)

Koto — 54% (2,626 listings, biggest in Tokyo)

Toshima — 53% (1,796 listings) — +9 points vs April, biggest May gainer

Sumida — 51% (2,243 listings, 7yr-avg buildings)

Taito / Arakawa / Kita — 49% (tied at the threshold)

Shinagawa held the crown through all five May batches, the strongest single signal in our dataset. Toshima was May’s biggest mover: zero-key jumped from 44% in April to 53% in May while rent also climbed 4.6%. Landlord flexibility caught up faster than rent rose, a net win for fee-conscious renters.

The reverse: Nerima at 31% and Minato at 32% are tied for worst zero-key rate . Nerima is the worst combo on every metric — cheap rent but rising prices and no landlord flexibility.

How much does it cost to move into a Tokyo apartment?

For an ¥85,000/month apartment with standard fees, the move-in total is around ¥421,000, roughly five months’ rent upfront. In wards where zero key money is the norm, that drops by ¥85,000 immediately.

FeeStandardShinagawa (55% zero-key)Nerima (31% zero-key)First month’s rent¥85,000¥85,000¥85,000Deposit (敷金 shikikin)¥85,000¥85,000¥85,000Key money (礼金 reikin)¥85,000¥0¥85,000Agent fee (仲介手数料)¥85,000¥85,000¥85,000Guarantor (保証会社, 0.5mo)¥43,000¥43,000¥43,000Fire insurance + lock change¥38,000¥38,000¥38,000Total ¥421,000 ¥336,000 ¥421,000<br>If you find a zero-key listing in Shinagawa, you save ¥85,000 before you’ve moved in. Combined with rent (Edogawa at ¥75,379 vs Minato at ¥145,466), your annual housing cost difference can exceed ¥900,000. The cost calculator lets you plug in a target rent and ward to see your real total.

What changed in May 2026 vs April?

The dominant trend was premium-tier softening : five wards saw 1K rents drop 5% or more MoM. Three mid-tier wards moved in the opposite direction. The zero-key map also reorganized; the biggest...