Housing Problems: Prevent Real Estate Firms from Targeting Elderly, Forcing Home Sales
With real estate prices soaring, unscrupulous businesses have in many instances forced elderly people to sell their homes. The government must quickly take measures to address this issue.
There have been many disputes due to leaseback contracts, under which homeowners sell their property to real estate companies and use the proceeds as rent to continue living in their home. According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, it received 239 requests for consultation on this issue last fiscal year, 10 times more requests than it saw five years ago.
In one case, a woman in her 70s, facing financial difficulties, sold her condominium unit to a real estate agent for ¥16 million on the condition that she could continue living there for ¥60,000 per month in rent. However, the rent was suddenly raised to ¥110,000, and she said she was pressured to move out if she could not pay.
In another instance, a person was persistently pushed to sign a contract and charged a ¥6 million penalty when they sought to cancel the contract later. In other cases, homeowners were forced to sell their homes at prices far below the market rate.
Most of the people who sought consultations at the center were elderly people with a diminished ability to make judgments. Real estate prices are rising, particularly in urban areas. Businesses seem to be using slick words to purchase homes and resell them at higher prices for a profit. Such unscrupulous business practices targeting the vulnerable cannot be overlooked.
The leaseback system itself is not inherently problematic. Use of the system has been expanding, such as in cases in which homeowners looking to move into care facilities want to sell off their homes to raise the funds they need while continuing to live at home until a spot for them opens up.
The problem lies in how some companies repeatedly make aggressive solicitation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems there was an increase in cases in which companies approached isolated elderly people and proposed buying their home.
It is said that these unscrupulous companies often do not properly explain the terms of the contracts, such as the duration of the lease after the sale, rent increases and penalties for canceling.
It is not uncommon for elderly people sign contracts without fully understanding these terms. In some cases, relatives living elsewhere have trouble detecting the sale because the elderly individual continues to live in the same home.
The government needs to establish specific guidelines on what companies need to explain before a contract is signed and how to prevent disputes over the way in which firms understand customer intentions. Real estate industry groups should also create rules proscribing unscrupulous solicitation.
In the insurance industry, the Financial Services Agency has presented guidelines for when companies sell to elderly people, requiring that family members be present, discussions be recorded and sufficient time be given for consideration. Such measures could serve as a reference.
For an elderly person, it is a major blow to lose the home they have grown accustomed to. Family members and others around the elderly should be on the lookout for any unusual changes.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 22, 2025)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
18 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Housing Problems: Prevent Real Estate Firms from Targeting Elderly, Forcing Home Sales
With real estate prices soaring, unscrupulous businesses have in many instances forced elderly people to sell their homes. The government must quickly take measures to address this issue. There have been many disputes due to leaseback contracts, under which homeowners sell their property to real estate companies and use the proceeds as rent to continue living in their home. According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, it received 239 requests for consultation on this issue last fiscal year, 10 times more requests than it saw five years ago. In one case, a woman in her 70s, facing financial difficulties, sold her condominium unit to a real estate agent for ¥16 million on the condition that she could continue living there for ¥60,000 per month in rent. However, the rent was suddenly raised to ¥110,000, and she said she was pressured to move out if she could not pay. In another instance, a person was persistently pushed to sign a contract and charged a ¥6 million penalty when they sought to cancel the contract later. In other cases, homeowners were forced to sell their homes at prices far below the market rate. Most of the people who sought consultations at the center were elderly people with a diminished ability to make judgments. Real estate prices are rising, particularly in urban areas. Businesses seem to be using slick words to purchase homes and resell them at higher prices for a profit. Such unscrupulous business practices targeting the vulnerable cannot be overlooked. The leaseback system itself is not inherently problematic. Use of the system has been expanding, such as in cases in which homeowners looking to move into care facilities want to sell off their homes to raise the funds they need while continuing to live at home until a spot for them opens up. The problem lies in how some companies repeatedly make aggressive solicitation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems there was an increase in cases in which companies approached isolated elderly people and proposed buying their home. It is said that these unscrupulous companies often do not properly explain the terms of the contracts, such as the duration of the lease after the sale, rent increases and penalties for canceling. It is not uncommon for elderly people sign contracts without fully understanding these terms. In some cases, relatives living elsewhere have trouble detecting the sale because the elderly individual continues to live in the same home. The government needs to establish specific guidelines on what companies need to explain before a contract is signed and how to prevent disputes over the way in which firms understand customer intentions. Real estate industry groups should also create rules proscribing unscrupulous solicitation. In the insurance industry, the Financial Services Agency has presented guidelines for when companies sell to elderly people, requiring that family members be present, discussions be recorded and sufficient time be given for consideration. Such measures could serve as a reference. For an elderly person, it is a major blow to lose the home they have grown accustomed to. Family members and others around the elderly should be on the lookout for any unusual changes. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 22, 2025)
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: ‘They pay their taxes,' and yet no COVID relief for sex workers
Lawyers representing an escort service that has sought equal eligibility for government aid speak to reporters in Tokyo on June 16. (Yuto Yoneda) I was deeply disappointed by the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the government's decision to exclude the sex industry from COVID-19 relief payments. In its June 16 decision, the top court ruled that the exclusion of sex-related businesses from eligibility for emergency cash benefits—introduced to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic—did not violate the Constitution. The lawsuit had been brought by a company based in the Kansai region that operates a so-called 'deribarii herusu' (delivery health) service—a type of business that dispatches sex workers to clients' homes or hotel rooms, rather than operating from a physical storefront. Put simply, the court concluded that such work 'poses a risk of undermining the dignity of workers' and therefore does not merit public financial support. This view was endorsed by a majority of justices—four out of five—on the Supreme Court's First Petty Bench. Had the ruling pointed to concrete examples of workers' dignity being violated—such as, 'your employees suffered such and such specific harm at the hands of customers'—it might have been easier to accept. Instead, the judgment rested on an abstract and hypothetical 'risk' of such violations, offering no tangible basis for its conclusion. If this kind of work truly undermines the dignity of those engaged in it, that would be a compelling argument for banning the business altogether. Prostitution, for example, is explicitly prohibited in Japan on the grounds that it 'violates human dignity.' In contrast, delivery health services are legally permitted under the 'Fueiho'—a comprehensive regulatory framework that governs a broad range of nightlife, entertainment and sex-related businesses. And yet, despite operating within this legal structure alongside establishments such as cabarets and nightclubs, delivery health businesses are singled out and treated differently based on vague and subjective reasoning. It's a policy stance that is difficult to justify. 'They pay their taxes appropriately—so what the hell makes them any different?' That blunt remark came from then-Finance Minister Taro Aso during Diet deliberations on the COVID-19 relief payments. Crude and characteristically unfiltered as ever, Aso's words hit the mark this time—I found myself nodding in agreement. 'There are plenty of bureaucrats who haven't had enough experience with this sector to answer this question,' he added. Japan is said to have more than 18,000 types of occupations. Yet this Supreme Court ruling appears to lend official approval to the idea that some professions are inherently more 'humble' than others. 'Isn't it this very judgment that undermines human dignity?' The plaintiff's words at a news conference rang with conviction—and truth. —The Asahi Shimbun, June 20 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Closed schools find new lives as businesses, research centers
A dome tent stands on what was previously the yard of an elementary school, against the background of the former schoolhouse, at the Glamping & Port Yui lodging facility in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, on April 30. (Tetsuro Takehana) SHIMADA, Shizuoka Prefecture—While the declining birthrate has forced many public schools across Japan to close, some have found second lives as camp sites, artificial intelligence research centers, "senbei" rice cracker factories and more. Hundreds of public schools have closed annually over the last two decades or so, leaving many officials wondering how best to use the campuses. However, efforts to repurpose school facilities face common challenges as well. The now closed Yui Elementary School in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, stands surrounded by idyllic tea fields. On a recent day, 21 tents were lined up on its former schoolyard. In addition to the typical dome-shaped tents, some less-typical tents allow guests to bring their dogs. Glamping & Port Yui, as the 'glamorous camping' facility is called, opened for business in March 2022, roughly a year after the school closed. The reception area is in the former school library, where the lyrics of the school song still hang on the wall. The complex takes full advantage of the school facilities and has become popular for the variety of activities it offers. For example, guests can play basketball and other sports in the gymnasium and learn to make matcha-flavored sherbet in test tubes in the science and home economics rooms. The glamping site is about a 15-minute drive from the Tomei Expressway interchange. Iwa Connect Co., the Shimada-based operator of the complex, has signed a 20-year lease agreement with the city authorities. 'Business hotels account for the bulk of the available accommodations in Shimada,' Iwa Connect President Kazuhiro Fukazawa said. 'There used to be few facilities where families could stay.' Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Glamping & Port Yui achieved an 80 percent occupancy rate in its first year. The occupancy rate remained close to 70 percent in the summer of its second and third years. About 80 percent of the guests come from outside Shizuoka Prefecture, typically from Tokyo and Aichi and Kanagawa prefectures. A community space on the premises regularly hosts a market where locally grown vegetables and other products are sold. A SECOND LIFE In Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture, the facilities of three closed schools have been transformed into AI research and development centers and other facilities. Miyawaka is located roughly midway between Fukuoka and Kita-Kyushu, about a 40-minute drive from either city. Trial Holdings Inc., a Fukuoka-based discount retailing giant that has a training facility in Miyawaka, approached the city about using the closed schools. The Miyawaka city government spent 1.15 billion yen ($7.98 million) to refurbish the former municipal Yoshikawa Elementary School, which closed in 2017. The AI research and development center opened in the school's facilities in 2021. City officials granted Trial Holdings the right to administer the facilities under a private finance initiative (PFI), which aims to utilize the know-how of the private sector in operating public facilities. The school's classrooms were remade into offices and meeting rooms, which are decorated with flasks, beakers and other classroom items, alongside a map of Japan. A farm produce shop was set up on the school's playground and a farm-fresh restaurant was opened in the gymnasium. Trial Holdings also acquired, this time for a fee, the facilities of two other schools that had closed—another elementary school and a junior high school. They are now being used for research and development on retail and physical distribution methods. 'We hope all this will promote long-term residency in the area,' said an official with the city government's secretarial and policy division. Elsewhere in Japan, other school buildings are finding success in their new lives as well. The former Hokuyo Elementary School in Koshimizu, Hokkaido, has been converted into a rice cracker factory with its own shop attached. The former Imazu-Nishi Elementary School in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, is now a mushroom farm, while the former Shiina Elementary School in Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, has been transformed into an aquarium, attracting many tourists. DETERIORATION LOOMS School closures have increased due to the extensive municipal mergers of the 2000s. Education ministry figures show an average of 440 schools closed annually during the 20 years through fiscal 2023. The annual number of school closures peaked at 597 in fiscal 2012 and has since been on the decline. Of the 8,850 schools that closed during those two decades, 7,612 had not been demolished as of May 2024. Three-quarters of those school facilities were being used in some way, but 1,951 were in disuse. The former Nagase Elementary School in Nabari, Mie Prefecture, which closed in 2008, became a call center for a major transport company the following year. However, the lease was discontinued in 2023, partly because of the age-related deterioration of the 40-year-old schoolhouse. A survey by the education ministry asked respondents to list reasons that uses for closed school facilities had not been decided upon. 'A lack of requests from local communities,' and 'age-related deterioration of buildings,' were both cited in more than 40 percent of the cases. 'It is essential to enlist the help of the private sector to use closed school facilities effectively so they will not be left neglected as a 'negative legacy,' but will instead be used for regional revitalization,' said Toru Hatakeyama of the Organization for Urban-Rural Interchange Revitalization. Because leaving schools and other public facilities disused presents security risks—possible collapse during an earthquake or crimes such as trespassing—the internal affairs ministry in fiscal 2025 began allowing about half of demolition costs for these buildings to be covered by the central government's local allocation tax. Hatakeyama pointed out that if an effective use cannot be found for these closed school facilities, local governments have no choice but to take responsibility and demolish them. (This article was written by Yoshiko Aoyama, Michiko Yoshida and Yoshinobu Motegi.)
