Dealing with the growing number of abandoned and empty homes across Japan is proving to be a difficult task as out-of-date property titles are making it almost impossible to track down the owners, some of whom died decades ago. In many situations the local governments are unable to take any action without the consent of the property owner, and have no choice but to let dangerous and ageing buildings rot while they embark on a lengthy and complex process to find the owners. Between July and August, the Mainichi Shimbin surveyed 355 local governments across the country that have enacted ordinances to deal with empty homes. Approximately half of them said they had cases where they could not locate the property owner and could not take any action. Of those, a third said that the building was not even registered on the land title, which made matters worse. The first step to identifying a property owner, or building owner if the house and land are owned by different people, is to check the property title or land register. Authorities hit a wall when there is a structure on the land but no ownership details are recorded on the land register. In Oga City, Akita Prefecture, the local government has been unable to contact the owners of 73 empty homes. Half of the buildings are also unregistered. In 2013, the city was informed of an abandoned wooden home in a residential area that posed a potential risk to neighbours in the event of a storm or strong winds. The building owner was not recorded on the land register so the city had to ask residents in the neighbourhood for information on the possible owner. They received four potential names, but each person said they were only tenants and did not know the true owner. Many of the unregistered buildings date from the chaotic early post-war period. From 1947 onwards, owners of new buildings were obligated to register them on the land register. In those days, however, a lot of home owners paid for their homes using cash rather than home loans. Since there was no mortgage and no lien on the property, few bothered register their property. According to a representative from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Building Standards Act does allow for the removal or repair of buildings that are deemed to pose a risk to the environment, but there are no provisions for the removal of trees and weeds on lots that are overgrown. Inheritance issues There are also cases where properties are still recorded in the names of the deceased former owners. In April, local residents contacted Kyoto City about a long abandoned townhouse. It was discovered that the owner had died 50 years ago. His older sister had later lived in the house but died 10 years ago without any heirs. City officials are searching for surviving relatives through the family register, but the process is time consuming. According to a report by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there were 8,200,000 unoccupied residential properties across Japan in 2013. After removing properties that are advertised for rent or sale, or used as vacation homes, the number of abandoned homes is 3,180,000, up 18.6% from the last survey in 2008. Source: The Mainichi Shimbun, October 13, 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 00:28:17 +0000
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