Condominiums are rapidly aging, and the question is how to prolong their lifespan. Cooperation between local governments and residents will be essential to protect people's living environment.
A bill to revise the law on the appropriate management of condominiums, so as to facilitate the smooth maintenance and management of buildings, was passed into law at the previous Diet session. The main pillar of the revisions is measures to strengthen the involvement of local governments.
Efforts need to be made by management associations comprising the owners of condominium units and others to extend the life of properties, and there must also be regular repair work. However, there are many difficult issues to be addressed.
The residents of old condominiums are also aging, which leads to a shortage of people to manage them. The number of vacant rooms has increased, and there are many cases in which reserve funds for repairs cannot be sufficiently amassed.
In urban areas, the number of large properties such as high-rise condominiums has increased, and interest in management associations tends to decline. It is not easy to consolidate the opinions of residents.
Although it is fundamentally the owners' responsibility to manage buildings, it is necessary for local governments to help them to some extent, considering the impact on local communities in such areas as the landscape and the environment.
Under the revised law, a system will be established by 2022 in which local governments evaluate long-term repair plans, reserve funds and management association activities, among other factors, and certify well-managed properties. If approved, a property can be expected to maintain its asset value.
The revised law also stipulates that local governments can instruct or make recommendations to management associations in line with the situation. It is important to quickly ascertain whether the management of owners and others is functioning properly.
The Tokyo metropolitan government has made it mandatory to report the management status of condominiums built before 1983. It is hoped that local governments will take effective measures, using such cases as a reference.
According to an estimate by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, there were about 6.66 million condominium units as of the end of last year, with about 15.51 million residents living there. Among them, about 920,000 units were more than 40 years old, and 20 years on, the number will increase to more than four times that level, to about 3.85 million.
Condominiums that are not properly managed could pose a danger to their surroundings, such as having their outer walls come off.
The Yasu city government in Shiga Prefecture demolished a condominium that was thought to be in danger of collapsing, based on the law on substitute execution by administration, and paid about 100 million yen to do so on behalf of the owners. A series of similar incidents must be avoided.
It is desirable to rebuild condominiums that have been aging, but no progress has been made because more than 80% of the owners of such condominiums must give their consent. There still are about 1 million condominium units that were built under the old quake-resistance standards before May 1981.
If the earthquake resistance of a condominium is insufficient, local governments also should consider helping owners reach an agreement on reconstructing the building.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Aug. 25, 2020.
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