Scope of inspection
Structural frame, foundations, roof, exterior walls, water-tightness, drainage, and signs of deterioration or past leaks. Appliances and cosmetic items are excluded.
Guide · Buying · Used Property
Used Property Guide
Pre-owned homes offer better value and location in Japan, but come with two questions every foreign buyer should ask: was it built to the post-1981 seismic standard, and what does the inspection actually cover?
New vs Used
What you actually pay, on top of the price
Budget roughly 5–6% of the purchase price for closing costs and first-year taxes.
Building Inspection · 建物状況調査
What an inspection actually covers
A non-destructive survey by a qualified inspector. For any used home we strongly recommend ordering one before signing the purchase agreement.
Who performs it
A nationally certified existing-home inspector (既存住宅状況調査技術者) — typically a licensed first-class architect with the additional national certification.
Typical cost
¥50,000 – ¥120,000 for a single detached home depending on size and age. Condominium unit inspections are typically at the lower end of the range.
Certification · 安心R住宅Anshin R Jutaku
Anshin R Jutaku
— a signal of quality
A government-backed certification for used homes that clear a quality bar set by MLIT (国土交通省).
Info · Certification
What it means when a listing carries the Anshin R label
A property labelled Anshin R has passed a recent building inspection, meets the post-1981 seismic standard (or has been retrofitted), and comes with a prepared disclosure bundle covering renovation history and known defects.
Why it matters for foreign buyers: the certification condenses the due diligence that a first-time buyer might not know to ask for. You still order your own inspection — but the baseline information is already on the table.
Benefits: clearer price negotiation, smoother financing (some lenders give preferential rates), and possible reductions on acquisition and registration taxes if combined with a qualifying renovation.
Seismic · 新耐震基準
The 1981 line you cannot ignore
Japan's building code was overhauled in June 1981. Everything depends on which side of that line the property sits on.
Old standard · 旧耐震– 1981.5Designed for medium quakesAvoid collapse under magnitude-5 class shaking.
New standard · 新耐震1981.6 –Designed for major quakesAvoid collapse under magnitude-6 to 7 class shaking.
WeakerStronger
Why 1981 changed everything
After the 1978 Miyagi earthquake exposed weaknesses in the existing code, Japan introduced a fundamentally stronger set of requirements effective June 1, 1981. Buildings designed under the new code performed dramatically better in the 1995 Kobe and 2011 Tōhoku earthquakes.
For buyers this matters in three ways: mortgages and insurance are easier on post-1981 buildings; acquisition tax reductions typically only apply to post-1981 (or properly retrofitted) homes; and resale liquidity is meaningfully higher.
Pre-1981 stock is not automatically off the table — many have been retrofitted to the new standard. But you must verify the construction date and any retrofit certificate before making an offer.
10-Point ChecklistWhat to verify
What to verify
before you offer
A condensed version of the checklist we run on every used-property purchase.
Used property due-diligence checklist
- Construction dateConfirm whether the building is pre- or post-June 1981. Ask for the building confirmation certificate (建築確認済証) or the registered completion date.
- Seismic retrofitFor pre-1981 stock, request the seismic diagnosis report (耐震診断) and any retrofit certificate. Without these, treat it as old-standard.
- Building inspection reportOrder a 建物状況調査 from a certified inspector. Review the report sections on structure, water-tightness and deterioration in detail.
- Renovation historyWhich rooms have been renovated, when, and by whom? Cosmetic refreshes often hide underlying issues — ask for invoices.
- Management association rulesFor condominiums, read the 管理規約 and recent board minutes. Check the repair reserve balance and upcoming large-scale repair plan.
- Monthly fees & reservesMonthly management fee + repair reserve fee. Low repair reserves often mean future special assessments.
- Title & encumbrancesPull a fresh registry extract (登記簿謄本) and confirm there are no unreleased mortgages, liens, or ownership disputes.
- Boundary confirmationFor detached houses, confirm that boundaries are surveyed and that the cross-border walls / fences are legally placed.
- Zoning & future riskCheck the zoning designation and hazard maps (flood, landslide, liquefaction). Future road-widening plans can also affect value.
- Disclosure of defectsRequest a written disclosure from the seller covering known defects, past leaks, and any history of insect damage or mould.
Risk · 契約不適合責任
The non-conformity clause matters more than you think
Japan's Civil Code (reformed in 2020) replaced the old "defect liability" with a broader "contract non-conformity" regime. It cuts both ways for used property.
Warning · Know the clause
What non-conformity means in practice
If the delivered property differs from the contract — in type, quality or quantity — the buyer can demand repair, price reduction, damages or contract cancellation within a notification window (typically 1 year from discovery).
Most used-property contracts between individual sellers now limit or exclude non-conformity liability. That clause is legal, but it shifts nearly all structural risk onto the buyer. Always read it carefully and renegotiate if the scope is too broad.
Case study 1 · Hidden water damage (detached house)
Buyer discovered extensive rot beneath a first-floor bathroom 4 months after closing. The contract excluded non-conformity liability for items “not visible without demolition”. Buyer bore the full ¥3.2M repair cost. Lesson: a pre-signing inspection focused on plumbing joins and subfloor humidity would have caught it.
Case study 2 · Undeclared renovation without permit (condo)
A previous owner had removed a load-bearing wall without the association’s approval. The new buyer was ordered by the board to restore it. Seller was individual (not a licensed broker) — liability was excluded. Lesson: always pull the renovation records from the condo association, not just the seller.
Case study 3 · Boundary dispute with neighbour (detached)
An unregistered boundary encroachment from a neighbour’s retaining wall surfaced in the post-closing survey. The non-conformity clause covered land — so the seller was liable and reduced the price retroactively. Lesson: land-related non-conformity is typically harder to exclude; push back if the contract tries.
Case study 4 · Undisclosed past flood damage
A riverside property had flooded in 2019. The seller omitted this from disclosure; the buyer discovered it when filing an insurance claim later. Because intentional concealment cannot be excluded by contract, the buyer successfully reclaimed restoration costs. Lesson: hazard-map checks + direct questioning about flood history protect you even when contracts are restrictive.
Looking at a specific used property?
Share the listing and we will run our 10-point checklist for you — construction date, seismic status, management reserves, contract clauses, and more. Free of charge.
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