law

Japanese Real Estate Essentials: City Planning Law for the residential districts.

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The city planning law, which was created by the ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, exist to regulate urban development.

The law divides all Japan into mainly two parts; city planning area which is regulated by the city planning law and the non-city planning area which is not regulated by this law.

The law defines 12 zoning districts within urbanization promotion areas.

Of these zoning districts, three have a primary effect on real estate projects residential district, commercial districts and industrial district.

Specific regulations for each district such as allowable use, building coverage ratio and floor area ratio are defined by the building standards law.

When you buy a property in Japan, it is very important to know which district your property exists.

Because each district is highly regulated by the specifics of city planning law(and building standards law)

and such regulations always affect the neighbourhood.

The law regulates the hight, allowable use, building coverage ratio, floor area ratio, type of the business and the size of the business and so on.

For example, you can not open a restaurant in category 1 low-rise exclusive residential districts.

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Japanese real estate essentials: What is the Building Standards Law?

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What is the purpose of the mission of the Building Standards Law?

The Building Standards Law （建築基準法）was created for the MLIT to provide basic rules for construction during a building and the stipulates minimum engineering safety requirements concerning fire earthquake and other natural disasters.

It also stipulates the types of buildings we can build according to each zoning district(用途地域)

under the city planning law.

A building not contracted to meet this requirement is regarded as an illegal building however a building previously constructed in compliance with a standard existing at the time of the construction but which no longer meet current construction standards is not considered as an illegal building but rather called non-conforming building. (既存不適格）

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When you find the cheap property, please make sure if it is a non-conforming building or not. It is not a fatal mistake to buy such a property, but you have to understand what you are running into beforehand. 

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Japanese real estate essentials: The city planning law : You need to understand before you buy a property in Japan

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What is the purpose of the city planning law ?

The city planning law which is set by the Ministry of land infrastructure transport and tourism (MLIT)

exists to regulate urban development.

The law divide Japan into mainly two parts :

1.The city planning area which is regulated by the city planning law

2. The non-city planning area which is not regulated by this law

City planning area is mainly divided into urbanization promotion areas where development is promoted and urbanization restricted areas where the development is restricted.

Urbanization restricted areas consist of agricultural, forestry and fishery projects.

Urbanization restricted areas are not allowed to build residential, office and retail properties.

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For example, if you want buy a land in the agricultural areas, you may not able to build your own house.

Don’t forget to check the relevant law and regulation before you purchase such land.

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Japanese real estate essentials: What kind of laws do you need to understand before you buy a property in Japan ?

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Here is  how it works : Japanese real estate essentials.

What kind of laws are protecting rights of your real estate in Japan ?

The civil law describes the general rules for the purchase and sales (and lease) of the property.

The civil law regulates ownership and superficies and also provide the definition of rights such as pledge and mortgage.

As a conventional individual, I think you only need to know how the mortgage works in Japan.

The land lease and building lease law, which is special law of civil law, provides

the general rules of land lease and building lease.

The act on sectional ownership of buildings provides the general rules on sectional ownership, meaning

the law is for the condominiums.

The real estate registration law is for the real estate registration system.

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Essentials : How is the real estate ownership registered in Japan ?

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Just the basics.

Today I am going to share some basic laws and regulations on the real estate in Japan.

1 How does the real estate registration work in Japan ?

The real estate registration system is governed by the real estate registration law (不動産登記法）

Properties are registered in the real estate register which gives the basic information of the property and its

rights/titles.

The registration record can be reviewed at the legal affairs bureau. (法務局)

The registration information can be accessed by the internet by paying a small fee (you can also

get a copy of registration at local legal affairs bureau.

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