Vacant homes get new lease on life

In recent years, an increasing number of vacant houses have been sitting unoccupied — even in good locations in urban areas. Now, however, owners are taking advantage of leasing services that renovate such homes and sublease them as residences or shops.

e businesses turn a profit by rehabilitating properties and transforming them into income-producing assets on behalf of the owners, who o en lack the relevant expertise to utilize their properties e ectively.

e central and local governments are currently strengthening measures on vacant houses due to possible problems following a natural disaster, and hope the growth of such services will help reduce the number of empty homes.

EMPTY FOR 7 YEARS

A popular ice cream store in Nishinari Ward, Osaka, set up shop in an empty property. Although the building was in a convenient location near Tengachaya Station on the Nankai Electric Railway line, it had sat unoccupied for seven years.

e shop opens late, at 8 p.m., but the neon-lit building, which is over 50 years old, is known for its Instagram-friendly appearance.

Originally, the building leaked and had an uneven

oor, but it was given a new lease on life last autumn by a vacant house utilization service operated by Tokyo-based real estate company Ject One.

e service, dubbed “Akisapo,” is structured so Ject One or a partner company can lease, renovate and sublease vacant properties.

e service, which began in 2016, has already been used to revamp about 50 properties nationwide.

Old houses and other properties in Tondabayashi and Kishiwada in Osaka Prefecture are among Ject One’s ongoing projects.

Owners bear no nancial burden. On the contrary, Ject One pays a portion of the rent upon a house lease. e company uses rental income to cover renovation costs and takes a slice of the rent as pro t.

A er all the company’s renovation costs are recovered, the owner is free to rent the property out and receive 100% of the income.

e ice cream store was opened by an Osaka City-based yakiniku barbecue restaurant operator. Rent was set at an affordable ¥70,000 per month, motivating the restaurant to try running a di erent type of business, according to the store.

e building’s owner, an Osaka City resident in her 60s, said the building was previously used by her father as an o ce.

“My father passed away and I had no choice but to leave it empty,” the woman said. “I’m glad to see it put to good use.”

METRO INVOLVEMENT

Osaka Metro Co. became involved in the housing market in December 2019. e company rents vacant buildings around three subway stations on the Midosuji Line — Nishitanabe, Nagai and Abiko — and subleases them following renovation work. e company has completed work on ve such houses so far, with plans to increase this number to around 100.

“We want to create a lively atmosphere along our subway line and increase user numbers,” an Osaka Metro o cial said.

In the past, getting information on vacant houses was di cult, leading to the belief that such premises would be unlikely to make a pro t. Nevertheless,

the central and local governments have begun to act over the empty home issue, fearing the buildings could collapse or catch re if le unattended. is has encouraged the spread of private companies and other services.

GOOD LOCATION VITAL

According to government statistics, as of 2018, there were 8.48 million vacant houses nationwide, with the gure more than doubling over 30 years. In 2015, the government enforced the law on special measures against vacant houses and has also opened “empty house banks,” which facilitate online searches for vacant house

information. Currently, some 5,600 houses in about 640 municipalities are registered.

e Kobe city government has recently begun a project to subsidize up to ¥5 million for renovation work on empty homes in cases where architects are involved. Twenty houses will be revitalized as shared living quarters, artist activity centers and other facilities to improve the community’s appeal.

However, observers say it is di cult to pro t from vacant houses unless they are well located. Currently, there are only limited examples of homes that have bene ted from the renovation service. (Sept. 5)

The Yomiuri Shimbun An ice cream store, which set up shop in a house that lay abandoned for seven years, is seen in July.