The number of vacant homes has reached a record high of 9 million, doubling in 30 years… Over 20% of them, or 3.85 million, are deteriorated or damaged due to "neglect"
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On the 30th April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced the results (preliminary figures) of the 2023 Housing and Land Survey. The number of vacant homes nationwide has risen to 9 million (including individual rooms in apartments), setting a new record high. This represents an increase of 510,000 homes from the previous survey five years ago, nearly doubling over the past 30 years. Vacant homes that are left unattended or poorly managed can have adverse effects on local communities in terms of security and disaster prevention. However, with population decline and aging demographics, there seems to be no sign of stopping the trend of increasing vacant homes.
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According to the survey, the proportion of vacant homes as a percentage of the total housing stock in the country (vacancy rate) has also increased by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous survey. It has reached an all-time high of 13.8%.
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Among the vacant homes, the number of "abandoned vacant homes," which have no residential or usage purpose, reached 3.85 million, an increase of 370,000 from the previous survey, accounting for 5.9% of the total housing stock. Rot and damage were confirmed in over 20% of the abandoned vacant homes. The remaining approximately 5.15 million homes are intended for rental, sale, or use as second homes, but it is believed that even within this category, there are vacant homes with insufficient management and left in neglect.
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The prefectures with the highest vacancy rates were Wakayama and Tokushima, both at 21.2%, followed by Yamanashi at 20.5%. When considering only abandoned vacant homes, Kagoshima had the highest rate at 13.6%, followed by Kochi at 12.9%, and Tokushima and Ehime at 12.2%. There is a trend of high vacancy rates in western Japan.
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The rates of abandoned vacant homes were low in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with Tokyo at 2.6% and Kanagawa at 3.2%, while Osaka, Aichi, and Fukuoka prefectures, which have major cities, were all in the 4% range. Okinawa Prefecture also had a rate of 4.0%.
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The survey has been conducted every five years since 1948. This time, approximately 3.4 million homes were surveyed as of October 1, 2023, and the national situation was estimated. The total number of households is 65.02 million, an increase of 2.61 million (4.2%) from the previous survey, reaching a record high. The trend of increasing housing stock continues amid population decline.
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The government is advancing legal revisions to prevent the neglect of vacant homes and has also introduced support measures for local governments. The amended Act on Special Measures for Vacant Houses, enacted in December last year, establishes a system where municipalities can designate vacant homes that may collapse in the future as "partially managed vacant homes." If property owners do not comply with maintenance requests from municipalities, they will no longer be eligible for property tax preferential treatment.
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Written by Tsuyoshi Hikichi
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