OSAKA – Across the nation, there is a growing problem of aging condominiums left vacant and improperly managed becoming a danger to communities. Given the possibilities that such condominiums could be illegally entered, vandalized or set on fire, preventing this deterioration of public safety has become an urgent issue.
"I entered there to test my courage," a 19-year-old male arrested in March on suspicion of trespassing in a residence reportedly told investigators at the Osaka prefectural government. He allegedly trespassed with his friends in an uninhabited five-story condominium in Hirano Ward, Osaka, in the early morning in November last year.
The condominium was built 53 years ago. Once the home of families raising children, it became vacant more than 10 years ago. Now it has broken windows and walls covered with graffiti, and a number of young people have illegally entered the building.
A fire occurred soon after the 19-year-old boy entered the condominium. The Osaka city government had received similar complaints from residents before the incident. However, the real estate company that owned the condominium went bankrupt and never responded to written requests from the city government to address the situation.
The number of such condominiums is expected to increase in the future. According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, there were about 810,000 condominiums more than 40 years old in Japan as of the end of 2018. It is estimated that the number will increase 4.5 times to 3.67 million in 20 years.
Maintaining a building requires regular repairs, but a land ministry survey shows that 34.8% of condominium management associations said they had insufficient reserve funds for repairs. With residents aging, the proportion of households headed by people at 70 or older more than doubled from 10% in 2003 to 22% in 2018. If a condominium is abandoned after its residents die, the likelihood it will be left in a state of ruin is high
In Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, a 48-year-old condominium left abandoned for many years saw its exterior walls fall off. The Yasu city government carried out administrative subrogation to demolish the building in January at a cost of about 100 million yen.
SUBHEAD: Possible use by criminal groups
Since neighbors do not pay much attention to such condominiums, there have been a number of cases in which fraud groups have used vacant units as a place for receiving money. "Terrorists could also use such condominiums for hiding," a public safety official said,
Respective municipalities are increasing their sense of urgency on the matter. This month, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began requiring businesses to report management conditions of condominiums built in 1983 and before. The Kobe city government will in this fiscal year begin to make available online the management conditions of condominiums reported to the government. The state submitted to the current Diet session a bill to revise the law on proper condominium management, which includes legalizing municipalities to certify condominiums that meet certain standards.
"Many high-rise condominiums in urban areas could be poorly managed in the future," said real estate critic Tomohiro Makino. "Condominiums are private assets and governments are reluctant to be involved in the issue. However, in order to prevent condominiums from being used by criminal groups, it is necessary to encourage residents to properly manage their condominiums and support them by dispatching experts and by other means."
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