Glossary / 154 terms in all

Short explanations of words you do not understand.

Selling a vacant house, inheriting, repairing a kominka. This glossary explains the 154 terms that come up, in wording that is easy to follow even for readers in their 70s and 80s. The definitions are the same as the notes in the site's pages.

Selling and buying a house 26 terms

Brokerage fee
The fee you pay to a real estate company.
Brokerage (chūkai)
A way of selling in which a real estate company finds the buyer.
Appraisal (satei)
Working out the price at which a house can be bought.
Cleared land (sarachi)
Land with no building, after a house has been demolished.
Seller's liability for non-conformity (keiyaku futekigō sekinin)
The seller's duty to fix defects found after handover.
Exemption from liability (menseki)
Not having to take responsibility.
Residential land tax reduction
A rule that lowers the property tax on land with a house on it.
Residential land tax reduction
A rule that lowers the property tax on land with a house on it.
Non-rebuildable land (saikenchiku fuka)
Land where no new house can be built once the current one is demolished.
Land with no road access (mi-setsudō)
Land that does not touch a road of the required width.
Road frontage (setsudō)
The site touching a road.
Road frontage requirement (setsudō gimu)
A rule that a house can be built only if the site touches a road at least 4 m wide along at least 2 m.
Shared ownership
Owning one house in the names of several people.
Handover
Handing over the keys, when the owner changes.
Vacant-home bank
A scheme in which the municipality introduces vacant houses.
Viewing (naiken)
Going to see the inside of a house before buying.
Master lease
A company or similar renting a house and letting it to its staff as their home.
DIY lease
A kind of rental in which the tenant repairs the house and lives in it.
Restoration to original condition (genjō kaifuku)
Returning the house to the state it was in when rented.
Move-out (taikyo-ji)
Moving out of a rented house.
Exit strategy (what to do with the house in the end)
What you finally do with the house: sell, rent out, keep it, and so on.
Brokerage agreement (baikai keiyaku)
A contract asking a real estate company to sell for you.
Duty to disclose (kokuchi gimu)
The duty to tell the other party about defects you know of.
Contract signed by mail (mochimawari keiyaku)
A contract signed by mail, without meeting.
Encroachment (ekkyō)
Branches and the like reaching over into a neighbour's land or the road.
Conversion to another use (ten'yō)
Changing to another use.

Inheritance and tax 43 terms

Inheritance registration
The procedure for moving the owner's name from the person who died.
Registration
The national record of who owns land and buildings.
Land and building register (tōkibo)
The record of land and buildings kept at the Legal Affairs Bureau.
Designated hazardous vacant house (tokutei akiya-tō)
A vacant house the municipality has judged to be dangerous.
Vacant house in poor upkeep (kanri fuzen akiya-tō)
A vacant house the municipality has pointed out may become dangerous if left alone.
Vacant Houses Act (Akiya Law)
The law that sets out measures for vacant houses.
Recommendation
A strong warning from the municipality.
Enforced demolition
The municipality demolishing the house in your place and billing you for the cost.
Renunciation
Telling the family court that you will accept none of the estate, assets or debts.
Petition to the family court (shinjutsu)
An application to the family court.
Cost addition
A special rule that lets you add part of the inheritance tax you paid to the cost of acquiring the house.
Acquisition cost (shutokuhi)
The price paid when the house was bought.
Estimated acquisition cost (gaisan shutokuhi)
A calculation that treats 5% of the sale price as the purchase price when the original price is unknown.
Capital gain from a sale (jōto shotoku)
The profit made from a sale.
The ¥30 million deduction
A special rule that lets you deduct up to ¥30 million from the profit of a sale to reduce tax.
Agreement on dividing the estate (isan bunkatsu kyōgi)
A discussion among all heirs on who receives what.
Deceased person (hisōzokunin)
The person who has died.
Administrative fine (karyō)
Money you must pay to a government office, like a fine.
Eye-closing memorial service (heigan kuyō)
The "removing the spirit" ceremony held before a Buddhist altar is disposed of.
Disaster damage certificate (risai shōmeisho)
A document in which the municipality certifies how badly a house was damaged.
Publicly funded demolition (kohi kaitai)
Demolishing a house at the expense of the state or the city.
Taxable value (kazei hyōjungaku)
The amount on which a tax is calculated.
City planning tax (toshi keikaku-zei)
A tax on land and houses in town areas.
Property tax statement (kazei meisaisho)
The yearly statement of your property tax.
Depreciation
Lowering the value of a building in the calculation as the years pass.
Tax return (kakutei shinkoku)
Filing a tax report with the tax office.
National Treasury Return system (kokko kizoku seido)
A system for having the state take over land you do not want.
Judicial scrivener (shihō shoshi)
A specialist who handles registration procedures for you.
Land and house surveyor (tochi kaoku chōsashi)
A specialist who measures land and registers it.
Agricultural Committee (nōgyō iinkai)
The municipal committee that approves the sale and purchase of farmland.
Agricultural Land Act
The law that restricts the sale and purchase of farmland.
Land category (chimoku)
The type of land written in the register.
Land boundary map (kōzu)
The map of land boundaries kept at the Legal Affairs Bureau.
Land subdivision (bunpitsu)
Dividing one plot and registering the parts.
Inside an urbanisation control area (shigaika chōsei kuiki)
An area where, as a rule, new houses cannot be built.
summary enforcement
The local government demolishing a house for you when the owner cannot be found.
Preservation district for groups of traditional buildings (dentōteki kenzōbutsugun hozon chiku)
A district chosen by the state to protect an old townscape.
Change of building use (yōto henkō)
The legal procedure for changing a house into a shop or lodging.
Made mandatory (gimuka)
Something the law now requires.
Successive inheritances (sūji sōzoku)
When an heir also dies before the registration is done, so that inheritances pile up.
Heir's declaration registration (sōzokunin shinkoku tōki)
A procedure in which you notify the Legal Affairs Bureau that you are an heir, which counts as meeting the registration duty for the time being.
Certified list of legal heirs (hōtei sōzoku jōhō ichiranzu)
A single chart of the heirs' relationships, certified by the Legal Affairs Bureau.
Final income tax return for the deceased (jun-kakutei shinkoku)
Filing the deceased's income tax for that year, which the heirs must do within four months.

Minpaku, lodging and company housing 19 terms

Whole-house rental (ittō-gashi)
Renting out the whole house to one group.
Minpaku (private lodging)
A lodging where a house is let to travellers.
Occupancy rate (kadōritsu)
The share of days on which guests are staying.
Pure success fee (kanzen seika hōshū)
A fee you pay only when sales are made.
Two-home living (nikyoten)
A way of life with two homes, moving between them.
Private Lodging Business Act (Minpaku Law)
The law that sets the rules for minpaku.
Registered private-lodging (minpaku) management operator
A business registered with the state that is entrusted with managing minpaku.
Ryokan Business Act (Hotel Business Act)
The law that sets out licences for running a ryokan.
Hotel business licence (ryokan-gyō)
The licence system for operating as a ryokan.
Host-present
Minpaku in which the owner lives in the house while renting it out.
Host-absent
Minpaku in which the owner does not live in the house.
Real estate transaction business licence (takken)
The licence for dealing in the sale and purchase of houses and land.
Construction business licence (kensetsu-gyō no kyoka)
Approval from the prefecture to take on construction work.
Long-life quality housing
The standard set by the state for long-lasting houses.
Sublease
Renting out a house that you yourself rent.
Room sharing
Several people sharing one house to live in.
Albergo diffuso (scattered hotel)
The idea of using a whole village as if it were one lodging.
Technical intern trainee (ginō jisshūsei)
A person who has come from abroad to work.
Specified Skilled Worker status (tokutei ginō)
One of the statuses that allow foreign nationals to work in Japan.

How houses are built, and building work 66 terms

Simple acceptance of inheritance (tanjun shōnin)
Accepting the inheritance as it is.
Roof framing
The framework that holds up the roof.
Attic space (koyaura)
The space between the roof and the ceiling.
Foundation stone (soseki)
A stone set under a post.
Post base repair (netsugi)
Work that replaces only the rotten foot of a post with new wood.
Ishibadate (posts set on stones)
An old way of building in which posts simply stand on stones.
Cobblestone foundation (tamaishi kiso)
An old base made of rounded stones laid in a row.
Strip foundation (nuno kiso)
A concrete base running in a strip under the walls.
Roof sheathing board (nojiita)
The boards beneath the roof covering.
Rafter (taruki)
The thin timbers that hold up the roof boards.
Post base (chūkyaku)
The foot of a post.
Structural timber (kōzōzai)
The posts, beams and other timber that hold up a house.
Structure
The posts, beams and other parts that hold up a house.
Interior
Interior finishes such as wallpaper and tatami.
Insulation
Making it harder for outside cold and heat to get into the house.
Seismic reinforcement
Work that makes a house stronger against earthquakes.
Seismic assessment (taishin shindan)
Checking how well a house can withstand earthquakes.
Seismic resistance (taishin)
Making a house strong against earthquakes.
Old seismic standard (kyū taishin kijun)
The old earthquake standard from before 1981.
Wall quantity (kabe-ryō)
The amount of wall that resists earthquakes.
Metal connectors (kanamono)
Metal fittings that join posts and beams to strengthen them.
Roof replacement (fukikae)
Replacing the whole roof.
Inner window (uchimado)
A second window fitted inside the existing one.
Solid timber (muku)
Natural wood, left as it is.
Exposed timber finish (arawashi)
A finish that leaves posts and beams in view.
LDK
One room that joins the living room, dining area and kitchen.
Traffic flow (dōsen)
The paths people take around inside a house.
Total floor area (nobeyuka)
The total floor area of all floors.
Total floor area (nobe menseki)
The total floor area of all floors.
Downsizing a building (genchiku)
Making a house smaller by taking part of it down.
Building envelope (gaihi)
The whole outside of a house, such as the roof and outer walls.
Structural frame (kakō)
The frame of posts and beams.
Post-and-beam frame (jikugumi)
The frame of posts and beams.
Straightening the frame (tateokoshi)
Work that brings leaning posts back upright.
Uneven settlement (fudō chinka)
Only one part of a house sinking.
Termite tunnel (gidō)
The earthen paths that termites build.
Eave snow overhang (seppi)
A mass of snow that juts out from the eaves.
Lean-to roof (geya)
A low roof section attached to the main house.
Mud-bedded tile roof (tsuchibuki)
An old kind of roof with a bed of mud under the tiles.
Protective covering (yōjō)
Covering something to protect it from damage.
Retaining wall (yōheki)
A wall that holds back soil so it does not collapse.
Row house (rentō)
A building whose wall is joined to the neighbouring house.
Salt damage (engai)
Rust and damage caused by salt in the sea wind.
Frost damage (tōgai)
Damage in which walls and the like crack as water freezes.
Asbestos
An old building material that is harmful to health.
Asbestos (ishiwata)
An old building material that is harmful to health (asbestos).
Septic tank (jōkasō)
Equipment that treats wastewater where there is no public sewer.
Evacuation guidance signs (yūdō hyōji)
Signs that point to the emergency exits.
Dumbwaiter
A small lift that carries food between floors.
Underpinning
A method of driving steel pipes down to firm ground.
Renovation
Making major repairs to an old house to make it comfortable to live in.
Full renovation
Work that renews the whole house.
Refurbishment (reform)
Repairs and refurbishment of a house.
Hazard map
A map showing places at risk in a disaster.
Alluvial fan (senjōchi)
A fan-shaped plain formed by soil carried down by a river.
Sankyo village (scattered farmhouse village)
A village where houses stand apart from one another among the rice fields.
Yashikirin (windbreak woodland around a house)
A woodland around a house that shelters it from the wind.
Azumadachi farmhouse
A farmhouse style with a large roof, common in the Tonami area.
Waku-no-uchi (post-and-beam hall)
A hall built with thick posts and beams joined in a grid like the character 井.
Frontage width (maguchi)
The width of the front of a building.
Zaigōmachi (rural market town)
A trading town that grew up in the farming countryside.
Division by sale (kanka bunkatsu)
Selling the house for cash first, then sharing the money among the heirs.
Division with compensation payment (daishō bunkatsu)
One heir takes the house and pays the other heirs money to even things out.
Declaration of current owner (genshoyūsha shinkoku)
Telling the city who will pay the property tax after the owner has died.
Adult guardian (seinen kōkennin)
A person chosen by the family court to protect the property of someone whose judgment has weakened.
Family-court permission to sell the ward's residence (kyojūyō fudōsan shobun kyoka)
The family court's permission a guardian needs to sell the house the ward lived in.

Written by Kota Makimura, Hokuriku Homes Updated

These are general explanations. For specific procedures or tax treatment, please check with your municipality, the tax office or a judicial scrivener. You are welcome to send us your question even if you do not know the terms. Free consultation / FAQ

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