Japan Govt to Promote Rental Use of Vacant Homes

Tokyo, Sept. 8 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s land ministry will introduce a program to provide low-interest loans to businesses that renovate vacant houses and offer them as rental housing for families with children and low- and moderate-income households, in a move to facilitate the effective use of empty homes across the country. The increasing number of vacant homes has become a serious problem in Japan. The ministry has included related expenses in its budget request for fiscal 2027. There are companies currently operating nationwide that buy and renovate vacant houses to put them up for sale, but cases in which vacant houses are renovated for rental use remain largely limited to a handful of small-scale businesses. At present, businesses often face difficulties raising funds when purchasing vacant houses prior to renovation as financial institutions tend to be reluctant to accept such houses as collateral due to their low asset value. Therefore, under the new program, investment returns on funds contributed by the government to the Japan Housing Finance Agency will be used to support such companies by enabling the agency to provide low-interest loans for their renovation costs. In providing loans, the ministry will place emphasis on cooperation with local governments implementing vacant-home measures. For example, priority will be given to companies that provide housing for families with children in line with local governments’ community development plans. In addition to ordinary vacant houses, companies will also be eligible for low-interest loans for renovating old public housing for rental use. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]