Owning Japanese Property From Abroad: Duties and Costs After Purchase

This article is part of the Zagdim encyclopedia series on buying property in Japan. It sets out what a foreign owner has to deal with after purchase: the condominium management association, the management company and tax rules that apply when the property is rented out, repair costs in older buildings, and the lease rules that apply once a tenant is in place. It is written for owners, or prospective owners, who live outside Japan.

When you buy one unit in a Japanese condominium, you automatically become a member of that building’s management association. You pay a monthly management fee and a repair reserve contribution, and you must follow the building’s bylaws; a tenant must follow them too. When you live overseas, meeting notices, tax filings and property registration contacts fall under separate systems. For each one, check whether it applies to you and who will handle it in Japan on your behalf.

Rental management can be handed to a management company, but there is no legal cap on rental management fees, and the legal duties on entrusted management bind only registered operators. A condo’s repair reserve may not be enough to cover major repairs, in which case monthly amounts may be raised or a one-off charge collected. Once a unit is let under an ordinary lease, the owner cannot ask the tenant to leave just because the owner wants the home back.

Six Key Points at a Glance

• Membership in the management association is not optional. Buying a condo unit makes you a member. The bylaws bind you and whoever later takes over the unit, and your tenant must follow them when using the unit and common facilities.
• The rules changed on April 1, 2026. Condo meeting resolutions are now counted by those present. Owners who do not live in Japan can appoint a Japan-resident domestic manager to receive notices and vote on their behalf.
• The people who act for you in Japan belong to different systems. The condo’s domestic manager, the tax agent for taxes, and the domestic contact for property registration are separate roles. Setting up one does not mean the others are done.
• There is no legal cap on rental management fees. Only operators managing 200 or more units must register, and the legal duties (pre-contract explanation, segregated accounts, annual reports) bind only registered operators.
• The repair reserve may fall short. In the official 2023 survey, of 1,402 management associations that answered this question, 36.6% had actual savings below their long-term repair plan.
• The lease type decides whether you can recover the home. Under an ordinary lease, declining to renew or terminating requires a justifiable reason. If you want the home back at the end of a set term, you can use a fixed-term lease from the start.

Who This Article Is For

This article is for owners who live outside Japan and already hold, or plan to hold, property there. What you own might be a rented-out condo unit, a holiday home you use a few times a year, or a detached house.

You may not have bought yet and want to know what has to be handled after purchase. Or you may have already received a meeting notice from the management association, a report from a management company, or a proposal to raise the repair reserve. The sections below follow the order in which these questions usually come up.

What Do I Join Automatically When I Buy a Condo Unit?

You join the building’s management association (kanri kumiai, the body formed by all the unit owners of a condominium). Under the Building Unit Ownership Act (建物の区分所有等に関する法律), all owners of a condominium automatically form a body that manages the building, the site and the attached facilities. It can hold meetings, set bylaws and appoint a manager.

As of September 2026, Japanese law gives owners no way to opt out of or leave the management association. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) model bylaws state that membership is acquired on becoming an owner and lost on ceasing to be one. The law also requires all owners to cooperate so that the building is managed smoothly.

Foreigners and owners living overseas can be members on the same footing. The domestic manager system introduced on April 1, 2026 was designed with owners who have no address in Japan in mind, and MLIT has also produced an explanatory booklet for foreign owners.

What Are the Bylaws, and Do They Bind Only Me?

The building’s rules are written in its bylaws (kiyaku). They must be made in writing or as an electronic record and kept by the manager. When an interested party asks to read them, the request may not be refused without good reason.

Bylaws and meeting resolutions also bind whoever buys the unit later, and a tenant has the same duties as the owner in how the building is used. A tenant who lives there with the owner’s consent can attend meetings and state an opinion on matters affecting the tenant’s interests, but has no vote.

MLIT also publishes standard condominium bylaws (マンション標準管理規約). This is a model for buildings to refer to when writing their own bylaws, not a law. Wherever this article says “the model bylaws”, it means this document; the actual rules are in the bylaws of your own building.

Under the model bylaws, an owner who rents out a unit must write into the lease a clause requiring the tenant to follow the bylaws, and must have the tenant submit to the association a pledge to comply and a notice of the tenancy. If a tenant breaks the bylaws, the owner must take the necessary corrective steps. The law also provides a last resort for serious cases: where a tenant’s conduct seriously harms communal living and cannot be stopped by other means, the association can, by resolution of a meeting, sue to terminate the lease and have the unit returned.

If you want to run a minpaku (short-term rental) in your own unit, check the bylaws first. If they prohibit it, you cannot. If they are silent, you must confirm that the association does not intend to prohibit it. You must then also comply with minpaku-related laws such as the Private Lodging Business Act.

What Do I Pay Every Month, and Do I Inherit the Previous Owner’s Arrears?

You pay the management association a management fee (kanri-hi) and a repair reserve contribution (shuzen tsumitate-kin, the long-term repair fund) each month. Under the law, each owner’s share of the common areas is, in principle, proportional to the floor area of the owner’s unit, and costs are borne according to that share. The bylaws can set a different rule.

Under the model bylaws, the two payments have different purposes:

• Management fee: day-to-day management, such as the building manager’s wages, maintenance of shared equipment, cleaning, fire and earthquake insurance for the common areas, and the fee paid to a condo management company.
• Repair reserve: may be used only for special management such as scheduled planned repairs, repairs after unexpected accidents, and improvements to common areas, and must be kept in separate accounts from the management fee.

In MLIT’s FY2023 (Reiwa 5) Condominium General Survey (1,589 management associations responded; published June 21, 2024), the average monthly management fee per unit was 11,503 yen and the average repair reserve was 13,054 yen, in both cases excluding amounts transferred in from parking fees and similar. These are national averages from a questionnaire, and individual buildings differ widely.

In this article, “management fee” means the monthly fee paid to the management association. The fee paid to a rental management company is called the “management remuneration”, and the two must not be confused.

What Happens If I Don’t Pay, or Pay Late?

Under the model bylaws, if payment is overdue the association can claim late-payment damages (the rate is set in each building’s bylaws) and legal fees, and the board chair can sue after a board resolution. Fees already paid cannot be refunded or divided up. The law also gives the association a statutory priority right over your unit and similar assets for such claims (sakidori tokken).

The model bylaws collect management fees by transfer from the owner’s deposit account. If you live overseas, ask the association or the condo management company it has engaged which payment methods are available.

The Previous Owner’s Arrears

Under the Building Unit Ownership Act, claims arising from the bylaws or from meeting resolutions can be enforced against the new owner who takes over the unit. The model bylaws state that management fees and similar charges are such claims, though the bylaws of the actual building govern. So when buying a second-hand condo, confirm whether any amounts are unpaid on the unit.

In the same FY2023 survey, 30.1% of buildings had residents who were three months or more behind on management fees or the repair reserve.

I Live Overseas: What About Meeting Notices and Voting?

You must notify the association of an overseas mailing address and vote in writing or through a proxy. If needed, you can appoint a domestic manager to receive notices and vote for you.

The association’s general meeting must be held at least once a year. The law requires notice at least one week before the meeting; the bylaws can lengthen this period but not shorten it, and the model bylaws set two weeks. Notices go to the address you registered with the manager. If you have not registered one, a notice sent to your unit is treated as delivered.

When the unit is rented out or empty, you may never see a notice sent to the unit, which is why an owner living overseas needs to register a mailing address first.

Three Voting Rule Changes From April 1, 2026

• Resolutions are counted by those present. Apart from resolutions that dispose of unit ownership, such as rebuilding, an ordinary resolution is decided by a majority of the owners present and a majority of their voting rights. Votes cast in writing or by proxy count as present. MLIT’s examples include resolutions on large-scale repair work such as exterior walls and roof waterproofing.
• Bylaw amendments: a majority of all owners and a majority of all voting rights must be present, and then at least 3/4 of those present and of their voting rights must approve. Until March 31, 2026, the rule was 3/4 of all owners and of all voting rights, so earlier materials may still state the old rule.
• Owners who cannot be reached: where an owner’s whereabouts remain unknown after necessary investigation, a court can issue a ruling at the request of other owners or the manager. An owner ruled to be of unknown whereabouts has no vote at the meeting. A court ruling is required; being unreachable does not by itself remove the vote.

Meetings whose convening procedure began on or before March 31, 2026 are still governed by the old rules.

Who Can Vote for You?

The law does not limit who can act as a proxy. The model bylaws limit it to a spouse (including a de facto spouse), relatives within one degree, relatives living with the owner, other members and the domestic manager. In a building that follows the model bylaws, a friend or an ordinary real estate agent is not within the permitted range of proxies.

The domestic manager (kokunai kanrinin, 国内管理人) is a system in effect from April 1, 2026. An owner with no residence or dwelling place in Japan can appoint one person living in Japan to handle management matters for that unit. The statutory powers are five:

• acts that preserve the property;
• using or improving your unit within limits that do not change its nature;
• receiving meeting notices on your behalf;
• voting at meetings on your behalf;
• paying, on your behalf, debts for common areas and similar, and debts under the bylaws or meeting resolutions. The domestic manager has only the power to pay on your behalf; the principal is not placed under a duty to pay by that appointment.

After appointment, you must notify the manager of the domestic manager’s name and address without delay; the model bylaws specify written notice to the board chair. The law says an owner “may” appoint one. The commentary to the model bylaws points out that a building’s bylaws can provide that members who do not live in Japan “must” appoint one. MLIT’s booklet gives examples of people who can be appointed: relatives, friends or lawyers living in Japan.

What Else Must I Report to the Association, and Could I Be Made a Board Member?

Under the model bylaws, acquiring or losing membership, and any change to your reported details (such as address or telephone number), must be reported to the association in writing immediately. If a failure to report hampers management, the board chair may trace your whereabouts and claim from you the cost of doing so.

The model bylaws make board members and auditors eligible if they are “members”, whether or not they live in that building. A building can add a residency requirement. Whether an owner overseas could be elected to the board depends on the bylaws of your building.

For more detail on the management association, management fees and the repair reserve, see Zagdim’s article on what a Japanese condo management association is, including management fees, the repair reserve and owner responsibilities.

Who Handles What in Japan While I Am Overseas?

There are at least three roles, belonging to three separate systems (condo management, tax and registration), plus a management company if you rent the unit out. Completing one does not mean the others are completed.

Role	What it handles	Required?	Reported to
Domestic manager (国内管理人)	Condo management: receiving meeting notices, voting, and paying sums owed to the association on your behalf	The law says an owner may appoint one; the bylaws can require it	The manager (model bylaws: written notice to the board chair)
Tax agent for national taxes (納税管理人)	Income tax filing, receiving tax office documents, paying tax and receiving refunds	Must be appointed by a non-resident who needs to handle these national tax matters; an individual or a corporation can serve	The head of the tax office; by e-Tax, in person or by mail
Tax agent for fixed asset tax	Fixed asset tax matters	Must be appointed if the owner has no residence and similar ties in that municipality; may be omitted if the mayor recognizes that collection is not affected	The mayor of the municipality
Domestic contact (国内連絡先となる者)	Contact point for ownership registration	Since April 1, 2024, owners residing overseas must provide one when registering; if there is none, the applicant can report that there is none	Provided together with the registration application
Rental management company	Repair arrangements and rent collection during the tenancy	Your choice	The management entrustment contract

The tax agents for national tax and fixed asset tax are set up under different laws and reported to different authorities. The general understanding is that each must be set up separately and that one does not automatically cover the other. The domestic contact can be an individual or a corporation; the Ministry of Justice gives real estate businesses and judicial scriveners as examples.

What Recurring Procedures Apply Every Year?

• Fixed asset tax (固定資産税): the person registered as owner on January 1 each year pays. The municipality sends a tax notice, and payment is in principle in four installments, with the months set by local ordinance.
• Registration of address changes: from April 1, 2026, a change of name or address must be registered within two years. Failing to do so without good reason may bring a non-penal fine of up to 50,000 yen. For changes made before that date, the deadline is March 31, 2028.
• Overseas addresses: an owner living overseas is outside the group for whom the registry office changes the address on its own initiative, so you must apply yourself. Moving within overseas countries also counts as an address change.

How Is Rental Income Taxed After I Rent the Property Out?

If you are a non-resident (an individual with no address in Japan and no place of residence there continuously for one year or more), the person who pays rent in Japan must, in principle, withhold 20.42% at the time of payment (gensen choshu). No withholding applies to rent paid by an individual who rents for their own or relatives’ residence, and tax treaties can also affect the rate.

The withholding duty falls on the payer of the rent, not on you. When a company rents the property, withholding is required regardless of purpose. For income from January 1, 2027, the taxes are renamed income tax, special defense income tax and special reconstruction income tax, and the total remains 20.42%, so this is not a tax increase.

When a management company collects rent on your behalf, confirm with the company and a tax professional who actually withholds and how the lease and the management contract allocate this.

Do I Still Have to File a Return After Withholding?

That depends on the amount of income. Real estate income is a type of income taxed on a comprehensive basis and subject to a final return. An owner who lives overseas for the whole year and whose Japan-source income exceeds the total of income deductions must, in principle, file a final return (kakutei shinkoku) between February 16 and March 15 of the following year, through the tax agent for national taxes. Tax already withheld can be claimed back through the return.

Income is rent revenue minus necessary expenses. The main expenses listed by the National Tax Agency are fixed asset tax, casualty insurance premiums, depreciation and repair costs. Interest on a loan taken to acquire the rental property can also be included, but not the loan principal. Income tax and resident tax are not themselves necessary expenses.

Can the Repair Reserve and Management Fee Be Treated as Expenses?

The repair reserve is in principle a necessary expense, to the extent used, in the year the repair is actually completed. If the bylaws conform to the model bylaws and all four of the following conditions are met, it can be deducted in the year it is paid:

1. the owner has a duty to pay it to the association;
2. the association has no duty to return it;
3. it is used only for future repairs and not diverted to other uses;
4. the amount is calculated by a reasonable method based on the long-term repair plan and each owner’s share.

Whether your building qualifies depends on its bylaws and long-term repair plan; you can confirm with a tax accountant (zeirishi). The National Tax Agency’s explanation does not itemize the association’s management fee or the management remuneration paid to a rental management company, so confirm these with a tax accountant before filing.

Can the Management Company File My Return for Me?

No, unless it is a tax accountant (税理士). A management company that is not a tax accountant may not, as a business, prepare your return, file it for you or advise on how to calculate the tax base, even if it charges no fee. A violation is punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 1 million yen. The income and expense reports a management company provides can be used to prepare a return, but the filing itself must go to a tax accountant or be done by you.

What About Resident Tax and Sending Money Abroad?

Individual resident tax applies to people who have an address in Japan on January 1 each year. As of September 2026, an owner who was already living overseas on January 1 and has no address in Japan is generally not subject to the income-based portion of resident tax on rental income. Owners who moved away mid-year or returned to live in Japan, and the question of whether the per-capita portion is levied on someone who owns a house but has no address in Japan, should be confirmed with the municipality where the property is.

When remitting rent overseas, the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act’s after-the-fact reporting threshold is a payment or receipt exceeding the equivalent of 30 million yen per transaction. The reporting duty falls on residents and non-residents are exempt.

Example: Mr. Wang, who lives overseas and rents out a Tokyo condo

Mr. Wang lives overseas and owns a condo in Tokyo that is currently rented out. If the tenant is a company, the company must withhold 20.42% when paying the rent. If the tenant is an individual renting for their own residence, nothing is withheld.

Either way, if his income exceeds the total of his income deductions, he must in principle file a final return between February 16 and March 15 of the following year through his tax agent for national taxes, and tax already withheld is settled in that return. The management company he has appointed can supply income and expense reports, but unless it is a tax accountant it may not prepare his return. What he needs to do is confirm who withholds the tax on the rent, appoint a tax agent, and then decide whether a tax accountant will file or he will file himself.

For the details of managing a Japanese rental property from abroad, see Zagdim’s article on managing a Japanese rental property from overseas, covering tenants, repairs, tax and communication with your agent.

If I Hand the Property to a Management Company, What Rules Apply and What Does It Cost?

Rental management companies are regulated by the Rental Housing Management Business Act, but the statutory duties bind only registered operators (registration is required for operators managing 200 or more units). Management remuneration has no legal cap, whereas the brokerage fee for finding a tenant does.

First, separate two kinds of “management company”:

• Condo management company (マンション管理業者): engaged by the management association to handle the whole building’s accounts, repair planning and similar. It must register with MLIT (valid for five years) and keep repair reserves and other entrusted funds separate from its own assets. Its client is the association, not an individual owner.
• Rental management company (賃貸住宅管理業者): engaged by you to manage the letting of your unit. This is the kind described below.

The law defines rental housing management as work done under entrustment from the owner: inspection and cleaning, and arranging repairs based on the results (maintenance), or that together with management of rent, deposits and similar. A company that only collects rent for you and does not arrange repairs is not in this business category. Letting a single condo unit is within the scope of the law.

Which Operators Are Regulated?

Under the Rental Housing Management Business Act (賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律), an operator managing 200 or more units must register with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, renewing every five years. Operating without registration is punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both. The 200 units is the operator’s total; you can entrust a single unit to a registered operator, and the register is open to public inspection.

An unregistered operator managing fewer than 200 units is not subject to this law’s duties for entrusted management. So the following protections bind only registered operators:

• Explanation before signing: delivery of a written document and an explanation of 11 important matters, including the amount and method of payment of remuneration, costs other than remuneration, partial subcontracting, liability and exemption from liability, the contract period, renewal and termination. MLIT’s interpretive guidance says about one week should be left between the explanation and signing, and that video explanations are allowed when conditions are met.
• Written document after signing: a document stating the management work, remuneration, contract period and so on.
• No wholesale subcontracting: partial subcontracting is allowed, but the entire management work may not be passed to someone else.
• Segregated accounts: rent and deposits received must be kept apart from the operator’s own accounts and recorded in books by contract. A separate account for each owner is not required.
• Annual reports: within one year of the contract date and after the contract ends, a management report is delivered and explained, covering the status of the work and the handling of tenant complaints. Contracts signed on or before June 15, 2021 have transitional provisions. The statutory minimum frequency is once a year; monthly statements depend on the contract.

Is There a Cap on Management Fees?

As of September 2026, rental management remuneration has no statutory cap or calculation standard; it is agreed between you and the management company. MLIT’s standard management entrustment contract is also a model: its remuneration field leaves only a blank for “__% of rent and common-area charges”, with a note that a fixed amount per building is also possible. The model separately lists costs other than remuneration, such as utilities during vacancy management and renewal handling fees.

For reference, a FY2025 (Reiwa 7) survey commissioned by MLIT was run as an online questionnaire from October 20 to November 6, 2025, asking members of three industry bodies, and received 886 valid responses (response rate about 3.3%). 78.2% of operators charge as a percentage of rent. Among the 742 that stated a percentage level, “4% or more but under 5%” was the most common at 38.0%, followed by “5% or more but under 6%” at 32.9%. These are operators’ self-reported fee levels, not a legal standard, and they exclude tenant-finding brokerage fees, renewal handling fees and repair costs.

The brokerage fee for finding a tenant does have a cap. The total fee a licensed real estate broker may charge the owner and the tenant combined for a lease brokerage may not exceed 1.1 times one month’s rent (tax included). For residential leases, unless that party’s consent was obtained when the engagement was accepted, no more than 0.55 times may be charged to either side, with some exceptions. Apart from advertising costs incurred at your request, viewing fees, application fees and the like may not be charged separately. A company that finds tenants and brokers the lease for you must hold a real estate broker’s license (宅地建物取引業), which is a separate system from rental management registration.

What Should I Look for in the Management Contract?

Under the design of the standard management entrustment contract (a model, not a law):

• In emergencies such as disasters or accidents, the management company may act first and then notify you in writing of what was done and the cost.
• Advances up to a limit agreed by both sides for each item do not need your prior consent; amounts above the limit require prior agreement. This figure is set by the parties and written in the contract’s header section.
• Renewing the lease on your behalf, agreeing with the tenant on sharing repair costs, and agreeing on restoration to original condition at move-out all require your prior consent.
• When a tenant fails to respond to a lawful request and a dispute arises, negotiating it would amount to acting as a non-lawyer in violation of Article 72 of the Attorneys Act, and the management company cannot handle it any further.

What Should I Know About Master Leases (Sublease)?

In a master lease (sabu-rīsu), the operator leases the whole unit from you and subleases it to a tenant. Even an unregistered operator must comply with the rules on advertising, solicitation and pre-contract explanation if it runs master leases. MLIT’s master lease guidelines add two warnings:

• The words “guaranteed rent” do not mean the rent cannot be reduced. Under a master lease signed as an ordinary lease, the operator can request a reduction when economic conditions such as taxes or land prices change, or when the rent is out of line with nearby rents, even if the contract says rent will not be reduced during a set period. You can refuse, and if no agreement is reached a court decides. Only where the master lease is a fixed-term lease with a no-reduction special clause can the operator not request a reduction.
• Getting the property back is not easy. Under a master lease signed as an ordinary lease, a refusal to renew by you needs a justifiable reason. The guidelines also require the master lease to state that, when it ends, you take over the master lease operator’s position as landlord towards the tenants in residence; after that you cannot refuse to renew a tenant’s lease without a justifiable reason, and you also take over the duty to return the deposit.

Minpaku and Vacant-Home Management

For an owner overseas running a minpaku (private lodging business, with no more than 180 nights of lodging a year), a registered private lodging management operator must be engaged when the owner is absent, with some exceptions. This is a different system and registration from ordinary rental management.

For a home left empty where someone is hired to inspect or air it regularly, there is, as of September 2026, no dedicated registration or license system for this kind of vacant-home management service. In June 2024 MLIT issued guidelines that serve as standard rules for real estate businesses entrusted with vacant-home management; the situations they envisage include a condo left empty because the owner is posted overseas. Municipalities can also designate NPOs, companies and others as vacant-home management support corporations. This is a municipal designation, not a license, and you can check whether the municipality where the property is has made any designations.

Changes Still Under Study

According to explanatory materials that MLIT presented to the Cabinet Office’s Consumer Commission on June 16, 2026, the direction summarized by an expert panel in February 2026 includes drawing up “standard management work guidelines” that distinguish basic services from optional services, and having industry bodies study an evaluation system for rental management. As of September 2026, the guidelines have not been published, the evaluation system has not been created, and the law has not been amended.

For details of management company fees and the scope of services, see Zagdim’s article on how Japanese property management companies charge, covering rental management, vacancy management and repair arrangements.

As the Building Ages, Will the Repair Money Be Enough, or Will I Pay More?

It may not be enough, and you may have to pay more. Major repairs to a condominium are paid from the repair reserve. When savings are short, the association may raise the monthly amount, collect a one-off charge (ichijikin) or borrow from a financial institution. Costs for common areas are shared by all owners according to their shares.

How Often Are Repairs Needed, and What Do They Cost?

MLIT’s guidelines for preparing long-term repair plans (guidelines, not law) recommend a plan period of at least 30 years that includes two rounds of major repairs, reviewed about every five years based on survey and diagnosis results, with the repair reserve reviewed at the same time. For major repair work such as exterior wall painting and roof waterproofing (daikibo shuzen kōji), the guidelines state that the cycle is generally about 12 to 15 years, depending on materials and the specification of the work.

The guidelines also list reference cycles, for example replacement of water supply and drain pipes at 30 to 40 years and elevators at 26 to 30 years. These are references, not statutory cycles, and they do not mean that equipment can be used until that age; some items may fall outside the 30-year plan period.

In MLIT’s FY2021 survey of construction cases (200 companies, 818 cases), the most common major repair cycle was 13 years, and about 70% fell between 12 and 15 years. The band with the highest share for cost per unit was “1 million to 1.25 million yen”; this is not an average, it excludes common assumption costs and consumption tax, and it does not reflect later changes in construction costs.

Is the Repair Reserve Being Saved Up Enough?

MLIT’s repair reserve guidelines (revised June 2024) give reference values, calculated as the average across the whole plan period and expressed per month per square meter of exclusive floor area. For example, for a condo under 20 floors with total floor area under 5,000 square meters, the average is 335 yen, with two thirds of cases falling between 235 and 430 yen, excluding mechanical parking. The guidelines state that being outside the reference range does not mean a plan is immediately judged inappropriate.

There are two ways of accumulating: level accumulation, saving an equal amount each month, and stepped accumulation, which starts low and rises. The guidelines regard level accumulation as preferable, because some buildings have ended up short of savings when owners could not reach agreement on a needed increase. For stepped accumulation, the guidelines consider that the initial amount should be at least 0.6 times the benchmark amount and the final amount no more than 1.1 times; but this does not limit large increases caused by rising construction costs.

Figures from the FY2023 Condominium General Survey:

• 47.1% used stepped accumulation and 40.5% level accumulation (1,522 management associations answered this question).
• 88.4% of associations had prepared a long-term repair plan.
• Among the 1,402 associations that answered about the gap between actual savings and the plan, 36.6% had actual savings below the plan, and 11.7% were short by more than 20%.
• Among associations’ concerns about the future, “aging of owners” was the largest at 57.6%, and “shortage of the repair reserve” was 39.6%.

In addition, some condos charge a repair reserve fund (shuzen tsumitate kikin) at the time of purchase, and interior finishing inside a unit is, in principle, outside the scope of the repair reserve.

How Does the Association Borrowing for Repairs Affect Me?

An association can apply to the Japan Housing Finance Agency for a loan for repairs to common areas; the borrower is the association, not the individual owners. According to the agency’s web pages as of September 2026, when the loan is guaranteed by organizations such as the Condominium Management Center, the monthly repayment must in principle be within 80% of the repair reserve collected each month. For owners, the repair reserve may therefore be raised to fund repayment, which requires a resolution of the general meeting.

What Else Should I Check in an Older Condo?

At the end of 2025, there were about 1.588 million condominium units aged 40 years or more (MLIT’s estimated stock based on construction starts statistics and similar). MLIT projects this to rise to about 2.0 times in 10 years and about 3.2 times in 20 years.

On earthquake resistance, the current new seismic standard (shin-taishin kijun) has applied since June 1981, and the test is the date of the building confirmation (kenchiku kakunin), not the completion date. Buildings that received building confirmation on or before May 31, 1981 (that is, before June 1) were built to the old seismic standard, and MLIT says many of these have inadequate earthquake resistance. In the FY2023 survey, 31.6% of condos built to the old standard had undergone a seismic diagnosis.

The thresholds for rebuilding, from April 1, 2026, are as follows:

• General rule: a rebuilding resolution requires at least 4/5 of owners and of voting rights.
• Lowered to 3/4 where there is an objective reason: failure to meet seismic or fire-safety standards; exterior walls and similar peeling in a way that endangers the surroundings; deterioration of water supply and drainage pipes posing a significant hygiene hazard (only where improvement is markedly difficult); and failure to meet accessibility standards.
• New renewal methods: renovation of the whole building, sale of the building and site together, demolition followed by sale of the site, and demolition alone also in principle require 4/5, or 3/4 where the reasons above apply. For the two methods involving a sale, the value of the site-use-right shares must also reach the same ratio.
• Notice period: a meeting to decide on rebuilding must be notified at least two months before the meeting, with the content of the repair plan and the amount of repair reserve accumulated attached.

Changes to common areas are in principle a special resolution (a majority of owners and voting rights present, then at least 3/4 of those present and their voting rights). For changes needed to remove defects in common areas (for example inadequate earthquake resistance or corroded water and drain pipes) or to improve accessibility, the ratio of those present is reduced to 2/3. As of March 31, 2025, cumulative condo rebuildings nationwide totaled 323 cases (about 26,000 units), excluding rebuildings of condos damaged by the three major earthquakes.

The Condominium Management Plan Certification System

Since FY2022, management associations can voluntarily apply to local governments for certification of a condominium management plan, renewed every five years. Criteria include holding a general meeting at least once a year, a long-term repair plan of 30 years or more including two rounds of major repairs, and a repair reserve average that is not markedly low; local governments may set additional criteria. Applying is voluntary, and lacking certification does not mean a building is badly managed.

A revision already enacted takes effect on April 1, 2027, and as of September 2026 is not yet in force: sellers of new condos will be able to apply for certification at the time of sale and hand the building over to the association, and a certification labeling system will be established.

Detached Houses and Empty Homes

As of September 2026, detached houses (ikkodate) have no statutory system comparable to a management association or repair reserve; the cost and timing of repairs are planned by the owner.

The owner of a house left unused for a long time must make efforts to manage it properly so that it does not affect the surrounding environment; this is a duty of effort. Where poor management may turn it into a designated vacant house, the municipality can give guidance and make recommendations. Once it has become a designated vacant house (for example, one with a marked danger of collapse), the municipality can issue guidance, recommendations and orders in sequence and, if the owner does not comply, carry out the work in the owner’s place. After a recommendation, the land loses the residential land special rule for fixed asset tax (the taxable base is 1/6 of the value for the portion up to 200 square meters and 1/3 for the rest).

For details of repair risks in older properties, see Zagdim’s article on how to assess repair risk in older Japanese property, covering major repairs, a short repair reserve and owner burden.

Once a Tenant Is in Place, Can I Take the Property Back? How Do Deposits and Repairs Work?

Whether you can take the property back depends on the type of lease. Building leases in Japan are governed by the Act on Land and Building Leases (借地借家法). This article distinguishes ordinary leases from fixed-term leases; the protection given to the tenant differs between the two.

Ordinary Leases

• Renewal if no notice is given at expiry: if neither party gives notice of non-renewal between one year and six months before the term ends, the lease is deemed renewed on the same terms, but the renewed lease has no fixed term. If notice is given but the tenant keeps using the property and you do not object promptly, the lease is also deemed renewed.
• Non-renewal or termination needs a justifiable reason: your notice of non-renewal or termination must have a justifiable reason (seitō na jiyū). The assessment considers each side’s need to use the property, the history of the lease, how the property is being used and its present condition, and any payment you offer, commonly called tachinoryō (relocation money). The lease ends six months after a termination notice.
• Wanting to live there yourself is not automatically a reason: as of September 2026, the law has no rule allowing termination just because the owner wants to move in. Your own need to live there is only one factor, and it is the same when ownership changes.
• No fixed amount: there are no fixed conditions for a justifiable reason, and there is no statutory amount or calculation standard for relocation money; it is decided case by case by negotiation or by a court.

Special terms that go against these renewal rules to the tenant’s disadvantage are invalid.

Fixed-Term Leases

A fixed-term lease (定期建物賃貸借) can provide that the lease will not be renewed at expiry, on these conditions:

• It must be made in writing; the statute says “a notarized deed or other document in writing”, so a notarized deed is only one option and notarization is not required.
• A document must be delivered in advance stating, with an explanation, that the lease will not be renewed and ends on expiry; without this explanation, the no-renewal term is invalid.
• For terms of one year or more, the tenant must be notified between one year and six months before expiry that the lease will end; if notified later, the lease can end only after six months from the date of notice.

For fixed-term residential leases of units under 200 square meters, a tenant can terminate mid-term for unavoidable reasons such as a job transfer, medical treatment or caring for a relative, and the lease ends one month after notice.

Whether to use an ordinary or fixed-term lease depends on whether you might want to move in yourself later and how long you plan to let the property.

Example: Ms. Chen, who lives overseas and plans to return to her Osaka condo in a few years

Ms. Chen owns a condo in Osaka and plans to let it first and move back in about five years later. If she lets it under an ordinary lease and wants it back at expiry, she needs a justifiable reason; her own need to live there is only one factor.

If she instead lets it under a five-year fixed-term lease, she must make the lease in writing, deliver a written explanation in advance that it will not be renewed, and notify the tenant between one year and six months before expiry, and then the lease can end at expiry. What she needs to do is decide the lease type before letting, note the notice window, or write it into the instructions to her management company.

How Do Rent, Repairs and the Deposit Work?

• Rent adjustment: where economic conditions such as taxes or land prices change, or where the rent is out of line with the rent for similar nearby properties, either side may request an increase or decrease. A special term that rent will not be increased for a set period is honored as agreed. If no agreement is reached, a court decides. This request does not apply where a fixed-term lease has a rent-revision special term.
• Repairs are the owner’s duty: repairs needed for use of the property are the owner’s responsibility, except where the tenant is to blame. If you do not repair within a reasonable time after the tenant notifies you, or in an urgent case, the tenant can repair it and immediately claim the necessary cost from you.
• Rent reduction when part of the property cannot be used: where part of the property cannot be used and the tenant is not at fault, the rent is reduced in proportion to the part that cannot be used.
• Deposit (shikikin): after the lease ends and the property is returned, the balance after deducting amounts the tenant owes must be returned to the tenant; the tenant cannot demand that the deposit be set against rent.
• Buying a property that has a tenant: for a lease where the tenant has moved in, the landlord’s position passes to the buyer when the property is sold, and the duty to return the deposit also passes to the buyer.

What Does the Tenant Pay for at Move-Out?

Under the Civil Code as amended and in force from April 1, 2020, a tenant has a duty of restoration to original condition (genjō kaifuku) for damage arising after move-in, but ordinary wear and tear and aging over time are not included. Restoration is not a return to the brand-new condition at move-in.

MLIT’s guidelines on restoration to original condition (re-revised edition, August 2011) state that they are not legally binding, but they provide general standards:

• Repair costs for ordinary wear and aging are regarded as already included in the rent and are borne by the owner.
• The part the tenant should bear also decreases with the years elapsed; for example, wallpaper and carpet are treated as having a residual value of 1 yen after six years.
• Examples in the guidelines: dents in the floor from furniture, black marks on the wall behind a refrigerator and wallpaper discoloration from sunlight are borne by the owner; tobacco stains and smell, scratches from moving and graffiti are borne by the tenant.
• To make the tenant bear ordinary wear, the guidelines list three requirements drawn from case law, and the scope must be stated concretely in the contract with the tenant’s clear agreement.

For details of tenant protection and how it affects owners, see Zagdim’s article on how Japanese tenant protection affects owners, covering leases, renewals and move-out arrangements.

Seven Things to Check While You Hold the Property

1. Obtain the building’s bylaws and check whether they require a domestic manager, who may act as a proxy, whether minpaku is allowed, and what notices and pledges apply when renting out.
2. Report your overseas mailing address and contact details to the management association, and appoint a domestic manager if needed.
3. Look at the year of the last review of the long-term repair plan, how the repair reserve is accumulated, the gap between actual savings and the plan, and any plan for increases or one-off charges.
4. When buying a second-hand condo, confirm whether the previous owner left unpaid management fees or repair reserve.
5. Appoint tax agents for national tax and fixed asset tax; confirm the domestic contact for registration, and register address changes within two years.
6. Before entrusting rental management, confirm whether the company is a registered operator, and compare the remuneration and the costs other than remuneration in its explanation of important matters.
7. Before letting, decide between an ordinary and a fixed-term lease, and note the notice window.

Japan Property Management FAQ

Can a Japanese condo owner choose not to join the management association?

No. As of September 2026, buying one unit in a condominium automatically makes you a member of the management association, and Japanese law gives owners no way to opt out or leave; you stop being a member only after selling. Foreigners and owners living overseas are members in the same way, and must pay the management fee and repair reserve and follow the bylaws.

How much are the monthly management fee and repair reserve for a Japanese condo?

According to MLIT’s FY2023 Condominium General Survey (1,589 management associations responded), the national monthly average per unit is 11,503 yen for the management fee and 13,054 yen for the repair reserve, excluding amounts transferred in from parking fees and similar. These are questionnaire averages; individual buildings differ widely, and actual amounts should be taken from the building’s own materials.

How is rent on Japanese property taxed when I live overseas?

For a non-resident’s rent, the party paying in Japan first withholds 20.42%; no withholding applies when an individual rents for their own residence. If you live overseas for the whole year and your income exceeds the total of income deductions, you must in principle file a final return through your tax agent between February 16 and March 15 of the following year. A management company that is not a tax accountant may not prepare your return.

Is there a cap on Japanese property management company fees?

As of September 2026, there is no statutory cap on rental management remuneration; it is agreed between the owner and the management company. In MLIT’s FY2025 operator survey, 38.0% set remuneration at “4% or more but under 5%” of monthly rent and 32.9% at “5% or more but under 6%”, but these are operators’ self-reported levels, not a legal standard. The brokerage fee for finding a tenant does have a cap: no more than 1.1 times one month’s rent in total from owner and tenant (tax included), with some exceptions.

Once a tenant has moved in, can the owner take the property back to live in it?

Under an ordinary lease, the owner needs a justifiable reason not to renew or to terminate; the owner’s own need to live there is only one factor, and the law has no rule that allows recovery just because the owner wants to move in. There is also no statutory amount for relocation money. Under a fixed-term lease, where the required explanation and notice have been given, the lease ends at expiry.

Glossary

• Management association (kanri kumiai, 管理組合): the body that all condo unit owners form under the law to manage the building.
• Bylaws (kiyaku, 規約): a building’s own management rules, binding on owners, later buyers and the way tenants use the property.
• Standard condominium bylaws (マンション標準管理規約): model bylaws produced by MLIT for buildings to refer to; not a law.
• Repair reserve (shuzen tsumitate-kin, 修繕積立金): the long-term repair fund a condo saves monthly for future major repairs.
• Long-term repair plan (chōki shūzen keikaku, 長期修繕計画): a condo’s plan of repair items, timing and costs for 30 years or more; the guidelines recommend reviewing it about every five years.
• Domestic manager (kokunai kanrinin, 国内管理人): an agent living in Japan whom a condo owner who does not live in Japan can appoint to handle condo management matters.
• Tax agent (nōzei kanrinin, 納税管理人): a person who receives documents, files and pays tax for a taxpayer who does not live locally; national tax and fixed asset tax are handled separately.
• Domestic contact (kokunai renrakusaki, 国内連絡先となる者): the Japan contact person that an owner residing overseas provides when registering ownership; if none, the applicant can report that there is none.
• Withholding (gensen choshu, 源泉徴収): the payer deducts tax at the time of payment and pays it over on the recipient’s behalf.
• Tax accountant (zeirishi, 税理士): a Japanese tax professional who can prepare returns and file them on a taxpayer’s behalf.
• Master lease (sabu-rīsu, サブリース): an arrangement in which an operator leases the whole unit from the owner and subleases it to a tenant.
• Justifiable reason (seitō na jiyū, 正当の事由): the reason an owner needs to decline renewal or terminate an ordinary lease, judged by weighing factors such as each side’s need to use the property.
• Relocation money (tachinoryō, 立退料): a payment an owner offers to get a tenant to leave; one factor in judging a justifiable reason.
• Fixed-term lease (teiki tatemono chintaishaku, 定期建物賃貸借): a building lease that is agreed in writing not to be renewed at expiry.
• Restoration to original condition (genjō kaifuku, 原状回復): at move-out, the tenant restores damage arising after move-in; ordinary wear and aging are excluded.
• Building confirmation (kenchiku kakunin, 建築確認): the legal confirmation of a building’s design; the date it was obtained decides whether the old or new seismic standard applies.

Notes on the Data

The data in this article were checked on September 30, 2026, and rely on Japanese laws and official materials from MLIT, the Ministry of Justice, the National Tax Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, the Japan Housing Finance Agency and the Cabinet Office’s Consumer Commission. No separate web research was done.

The following conclusions are drawn from official documents, which do not state them in the same words. “There is no way to opt out of or leave the management association” is inferred from the wording in Article 3 of the Building Unit Ownership Act that “all” owners form the body. “Foreigners and owners living overseas can be members” is inferred from the absence of any contrary provision in the documents checked, and from the domestic manager system being premised on non-resident owners. “Detached houses have no statutory system comparable to a management association or repair reserve” is inferred from the scope of the Building Unit Ownership Act and the two condo guidelines, and does not exclude other individual arrangements such as shared private roads. “Rental management remuneration has no statutory cap” is drawn from the absence of any cap in the Rental Housing Management Business Act and its enforcement regulations. “Vacant-home management has no dedicated registration system” is drawn from the 2024 MLIT guidelines’ own description and the laws checked. “An owner who wants to live in the home cannot automatically recover it” and “there is no fixed standard for justifiable reason or relocation money” are inferred from Articles 26 to 30 of the Act on Land and Building Leases, without checking court-judgment statistics.

The following points are not addressed by the official documents, and this article makes no judgment on them: who is responsible for withholding when a management company collects a non-resident owner’s rent, and whether the association’s management fee and rental management remuneration can be treated as necessary expenses. The statement that an owner living overseas “is generally not subject to the income-based portion of resident tax on rental income” is an inference from MIC’s explanation, Articles 294 and 318 of the Local Tax Act, and an explanation from Edogawa Ward in Tokyo; the official sources do not use a rental property as the example. Whether a rented-out house counts as a “house and premises” subject to the per-capita portion is not addressed in the documents checked. The FY2023 Condominium General Survey that was checked does not report the share of foreign owners or owners living overseas.

The standard condominium bylaws, the standard management entrustment contract, the repair reserve guidelines, the long-term repair plan guidelines, the master lease guidelines, the vacant-home management entrustment guidelines and the restoration-to-original-condition guidelines are all MLIT models or guidelines, not laws; the actual rules are those of each building’s bylaws and the contract you sign. The surveys cited each have their own scope. The FY2023 Condominium General Survey is mainly a questionnaire to management associations, with different numbers of answers per question (1,589, 1,522 and 1,402), and the 30.1% figure is the share of buildings with residents three months or more in arrears. The FY2021 major repair survey covers 818 cases from 200 construction companies. The FY2025 management business survey asked members of three industry bodies, with a response rate of about 3.3%.

Items still changing: the standard management work guidelines and the evaluation system for rental housing management are under study and not settled; the expansion of condominium management plan certification takes effect only on April 1, 2027; and the Japan Housing Finance Agency’s loan conditions were taken from its web pages of September 30, 2026 and may change at any time.

Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.

Sources

• e-Gov法令検索－建物の区分所有等に関する法律
• 法務省民事局－区分所有法・被災区分所有法の改正について
• e-Gov法令検索－マンションの管理の適正化の推進に関する法律
• 国土交通省－マンション標準管理規約
• 国土交通省－令和７年改正マンション標準管理規約（単棟型）及び同コメント
• 国土交通省－外国人区分所有者向け「日本におけるマンション管理について」
• 国土交通省－報道発表資料（令和５年度マンション総合調査結果）
• 国土交通省－令和５年度マンション総合調査結果〔概要編〕
• 国土交通省－令和5年度マンション総合調査結果からみたマンションの居住と管理の現状
• 国土交通省－令和5年度マンション総合調査の結果について（資料4）
• 国土交通省－マンション管理計画認定制度
• 国土交通省住宅局－施行規則等改正省令について（概要）
• 国土交通省－マンション関係法改正の概要（令和７年９月）
• 国土交通省－マンションの修繕積立金に関するガイドライン
• 国土交通省－長期修繕計画標準様式・長期修繕計画作成ガイドライン・同コメント
• 国土交通省－令和３年度マンション大規模修繕工事に関する実態調査について（概要）
• 国土交通省－築４０年以上の分譲マンション数の推移（2025年末現在）
• 国土交通省－マンションの耐震性等についてのＱ＆Ａ
• 国土交通省－住宅・建築物の耐震化について
• 国土交通省－マンション建替え等の実施状況（2025年3月31日現在）
• 住宅金融支援機構－マンションすまい・る融資（管理組合申込みの場合）
• 住宅金融支援機構－マンションすまい・る融資 ご利用条件
• e-Gov法令検索－空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法
• 国土交通省－空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法の一部を改正する法律について
• 国土交通省－空家等対策の推進に関する特別措置法の一部を改正する法律 概要
• e-Gov法令検索－地方税法
• 総務省－地方税制度：固定資産税
• e-Gov法令検索－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律
• e-Gov法令検索－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律施行規則
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律の解釈・運用の考え方
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅管理業法FAQ集（令和7年10月9日時点版）
• 国土交通省－サブリース事業に係る適正な業務のためのガイドライン
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅標準管理受託契約書
• 国土交通省－宅地建物取引業者が宅地又は建物の売買等に関して受けることができる報酬の額
• 国土交通省－宅地建物取引業法の解釈・運用の考え方
• e-Gov法令検索－宅地建物取引業法
• 国土交通省不動産・建設経済局－令和７年度不動産管理業に関する実態分析に係る調査検討業務報告書
• 国土交通省－賃貸住宅管理業について（令和８年６月16日 内閣府消費者委員会説明資料）
• e-Gov法令検索－住宅宿泊事業法
• 国土交通省－不動産業者による空き家管理受託のガイドライン
• e-Gov法令検索－税理士法
• 国税庁－税理士法基本通達 第2条関係
• 国税庁－税理士制度のQ&A
• 国税庁－タックスアンサー No.2880 非居住者等に不動産の賃借料を支払ったとき
• 国税庁－リーフレット「非居住者等から不動産を借りた場合の源泉徴収」
• 国税庁－防衛特別所得税及び復興特別所得税の源泉徴収のあらまし（令和９年１月以後の源泉徴収）
• 国税庁－タックスアンサー No.1926 海外勤務中に不動産所得などがある場合
• 国税庁－タックスアンサー No.1370 不動産収入を受け取ったとき（不動産所得）
• 国税庁－令和７年分 収支内訳書（不動産所得用）の書き方
• 国税庁－質疑応答事例「賃貸の用に供するマンションの修繕積立金の取扱い」
• e-Gov法令検索－国税通則法
• 国税庁－タックスアンサー No.1923 海外勤務と納税管理人の選任又は解任
• 国税庁－所得税・消費税の納税管理人の選任届出又は解任届出手続
• 法務省－令和6年4月1日以降にする所有権に関する登記の申請について
• 法務省－住所等変更登記の義務化について
• 法務省－検索用情報の申出について
• 財務省－日本と海外との間の送金を行う際に必要な手続
• 日本銀行国際局－外為法の報告書についてよく寄せられる質問と回答
• e-Gov法令検索－借地借家法
• e-Gov法令検索－民法
• 法務省－パンフレット「賃貸借契約に関するルールの見直し」
• 国土交通省住宅局－原状回復をめぐるトラブルとガイドライン（再改訂版）
• 国土交通省－「原状回復をめぐるトラブルとガイドライン」について

Important Disclaimer

This article is a general information summary and is not individual legal, tax, financial or real estate advice. The data were checked on September 30, 2026. Rules, guidelines and survey figures may be updated; rely on the current announcements of the relevant Japanese authorities, the bylaws of your own building and the contract you sign, and consult a qualified lawyer, tax accountant or judicial scrivener where necessary.