Explanation of the Itabashi Ward Apartment “Rent 2.5 Times” Incident
What kind of incident?
In January 2025, in a seven-story rental apartment building in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, immediately after the owner changed to a Chinese person, the residents suddenly received a notice saying, “The rent will be about 2.5 times the previous amount, from 72,500 yen to 190,000 yen.
” As a result, many residents decided to move out or were confused, saying, “I can’t pay such a high rent.”
Why did this happen?
In Japan, there are almost no restrictions on foreigners buying real estate such as apartments. Therefore, cases of people from overseas, including China, buying properties in Japan are increasing.
In China, the rules for rent and contracts are very different from those in Japan, and it is not uncommon for owners to significantly raise rents or ask residents to leave immediately.
Therefore, it is believed that the rent was raised in a Chinese style without fully understanding Japanese laws and customs.
What did the residents do?
Residents who thought the large rent increase was unacceptable consulted the management company and the media.
This issue was widely reported and became a social problem, even being discussed in the National Diet.
Furthermore, the owner harassed residents who did not leave by stopping the elevator and starting unauthorized short-term rentals (minpaku) in vacant rooms.
What happened afterward?
In response to media coverage and social backlash, the Chinese owner withdrew the rent increase, stating that he did not know the rent market in Japan.
He also promised to stop the short-term rental business.
What can we learn from this incident?
In Japan, there are laws (the Land and House Lease Act) that protect the rights of tenants, and owners cannot arbitrarily raise rents significantly or evict tenants immediately.
As the number of foreign owners increases, such troubles may occur in the future, so it is important to understand differences in rules and culture and to improve laws.
Summary
A Chinese owner bought an apartment in Japan and suddenly raised the rent 2.5 times, causing a big problem.
The difference in real estate circumstances between Japan and China is the background.
The rent increase was withdrawn due to residents’ complaints and media coverage.
There is concern that similar problems may occur in the future as the number of foreign owners increases1.
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