Minpaku Management Contract Checklist
Look beyond the management fee. Confirm who performs each task, who approves it, and who pays the related cost.
A minpaku management agreement covers more than reservations and guest messages. It allocates responsibility for the property, cleaning and hygiene, equipment, safety, neighborhood complaints, reporting, subcontracting, costs, and handover at the end of the contract.
The short answer: confirm the method, approver, cost bearer, response window, and handover item for every service before signing.
This article organizes an owner's review around the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism model management agreement and the Japan Tourism Agency minpaku portal. Ask a lawyer or another qualified professional when legal interpretation of a specific contract is required.
Start with responsibility boundaries, not the percentage
Labels such as “reservation management,” “cleaning management,” and “emergency support” do not show who will actually act. Processing a booking change, sending the schedule to a cleaner, requesting a quality correction, conducting an onsite check, and making an emergency visit are separate tasks.
For each task, place the executor, instructor, owner approval point, external cost bearer, and completion record on the same line. This reduces disagreements after the contract begins.
What Japan's model agreement asks you to define
The MLIT model agreement covers the parties and registration number, contract term, property, services, subcontracting, compensation and necessary expenses, emergency action, reporting, confidentiality, liability, termination, and the return of documents and keys.
The model is not a universal service package. The actual manager's duties, operating method, price, service area, and response conditions still need to be stated in the signed agreement and schedules.
10 items to review before signing
- 1. Parties, registration, and property: match the manager's legal name, contact details, Housing Accommodation Management Business registration number, address, unit, and included equipment.
- 2. Term, renewal, and notice: confirm start and end dates, automatic renewal, notice period and method, early termination, and any penalty.
- 3. Guest operations: define the channel, response window, and decision maker for pre- and post-booking messages, identity checks, check-in, complaints, refunds, and refusal of stay.
- 4. Cleaning and hygiene: list schedule coordination, completion photos, correction requests, onsite checks, recleaning, linen, and consumable replenishment as separate tasks.
- 5. Equipment, safety, and emergencies: confirm initial assessment, onsite dispatch, police or fire contact, repair approval limit, service area, and additional charges.
- 6. Management fee and external costs: separate the fee base and payment date from consumption tax, OTA fees, cleaning, travel, supplies, and repairs.
- 7. Subcontracting: identify the scope assigned to cleaners or local partners, the manager's responsibility, and when owner approval is required for a change.
- 8. Reports and records: set the format, frequency, and custodian for the guest register, bookings and sales, cleaning evidence, incidents, operating reports, and monthly settlement.
- 9. Accounts, personal data, and access: define ownership and administrator access for OTA, PMS, and smart-lock accounts, two-factor authentication, guest data handling, and removal of access at termination.
- 10. Damage, termination, and handover: define liability, exclusions, insurance contact, and the delivery date for keys, documents, bookings, unsettled amounts, and operating records.
Put every cost outside the management fee in one table
Two contracts with the same fee percentage can leave the owner with different costs. Review the payer, approval timing, limit, and settlement method—not only the name of each charge.
- Where OTA fees, taxes, refunds, and cancellation charges sit before or after the management-fee calculation.
- Whether cleaning, linen, basic consumables, travel, and extra visits are included, capped, or charged separately.
- Who approves and pays for arranging repairs, replacements, interior work, appliances, and outside vendors.
- Whether additional amenities are reimbursed item by item or handled under an extra percentage agreed before the work.
Handover checklist when changing managers
- The current agreement's notice deadline and the old and new managers' exact end and start dates.
- Responsibility for stays after the transfer date and for changes, refunds, and fees tied to earlier bookings.
- Ownership, administrator access, and two-factor authentication contacts for OTA, PMS, payment, and smart-lock systems.
- Cleaning schedules, cleaner contacts, keys, access instructions, inventory, lost property, and unresolved damage or complaints.
- Guest registers, statutory reporting data, sales, expenses, unsettled balances, and historical operating records.
- Any notification required because of the manager change, confirmed with the local authority or a qualified professional.
StayJP reviews the plan and the owner's remaining work together
StayJP separates our work, owner-managed work, conditional onsite work, and costs outside the management fee across the 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30%+ plans. Onsite checks under 20% require agreed area, frequency, and timing. Emergency local response is within the contract conditions of 30%+. Owners arrange and pay for repairs, replacements, interior work, and appliances under every plan.
The standard contract term is 12 months with automatic renewal. Notice is due by the designated email one month in advance for 10%, 15%, and 20%, and three months in advance for 30%+. There is no termination penalty.
- Use the same task names, responsible parties, and cost categories in the comparison table and contract
- Treat onsite inspection and emergency local response as separate services
- Confirm the contract limit for cleaning, basic linen, and designated basic consumables under 30%+
- Keep procurement and external vendor costs for repairs, replacement, interior work, and appliances with the owner
We confirm the contract scope after receiving the property's location, current operating setup, OTAs, cleaning arrangement, and requested delegation.
Check the clauses against official sources
The legal framework and contract items in this article were checked against publications from MLIT and the Japan Tourism Agency. A model agreement and your signed agreement are not necessarily identical.
- MLIT: Model Housing Accommodation Management Agreement
- Japan Tourism Agency minpaku portal: Entrusting management duties
Checked: August 19, 2026
Frequently asked questions before signing
Must I use the MLIT model agreement without changes?
The model is a reference for the points to define; it does not set every company's services or prices. Confirm the property, operating method, costs, service area, and response conditions in the actual agreement and schedules.
Can I compare companies by the management fee alone?
No. Align the fee base, cleaning, linen, consumables, onsite response, travel, repairs, taxes, and OTA fees, then compare the tasks that remain with the owner.
What should an emergency-response clause specify?
Check reception hours, channel, dispatch decision maker, service area, whether arrival time is guaranteed, the amount that can be spent without owner approval, additional fees, and the incident record. “Emergency support included” is not a complete scope.
Can an OTA listing and its reviews always transfer to a new manager?
Treatment depends on the account holder, administrator permissions, the OTA's current terms, and the existing contract. Confirm access and data handover for each OTA before changing managers; do not assume transferability.
Is a filing required when the Housing Accommodation Manager changes?
The Japan Tourism Agency states that when entrustment changes information in the filed documents, the host must notify the prefectural governor or other competent authority before the new agreement starts. StayJP does not file applications or notices, so confirm the process with the local authority or a qualified professional.