Early data shows Japan condo regulation reform helps projects move forward
New September 2026 data from Asahi Kasei Homes provide an early indication that Japan's April 1 condominium-law reforms are being used to move some aging buildings toward formal regeneration decisions.
At a September media briefing, the company said it expects 13 condominium regeneration resolutions in FY2026, roughly four times its average over the previous decade. Eight are expected to be rebuilding resolutions and five building-and-land sale resolutions.
AI generated image of voting at a condo HOA meeting. All rights reserved.
The figure reflects Asahi Kasei Homes' own pipeline, not a nationwide quadrupling in rebuilding.
Ten of the thirteen cases reportedly use the new 75% threshold, and one completed case passed with 77.0% support - evidence that the lower hurdle can matter for buildings already close to consensus.
Why condominium rebuilding has been so difficult
Japanese condominiums are collectively owned by individual unit owners, so rebuilding or disposal requires high levels of agreement.
Before the reform, rebuilding generally required approval from at least 80% of both unit owners and voting rights. A project could therefore have broad support and still fail.
Consensus can also be complicated by uncontactable owners, inheritance, relocation, costs and disagreements over whether repair or rebuilding is preferable.
What changed on April 1st
The April 1, 2026 reforms did not reduce every rebuilding vote from 80% to 75%.
Instead, qualifying buildings can use a 75% threshold when they meet defined conditions, including:
Inadequate seismic resistance
Inadequate fire safety
Risk of external walls or similar components falling
Serious sanitary risk from deteriorated water or drainage pipes that are particularly difficult to replace
Failure to meet specified accessibility standards
Eligibility is not based simply on age. The relevant condition must be established under the legal framework.
The reforms also allow certain owners whose identity or whereabouts cannot be established to be excluded from the voting denominator after the required legal procedure.
Why five percentage points can matter
The reform matters most for buildings already close to consensus.
In a simple example with 100 owners and equal voting rights, support from 77 owners would fail an 80% threshold but clear a 75% threshold if the building qualifies.
Actual voting rules are more complex because both unit owners and voting rights are counted.
The change therefore does not make a divided condominium easy to redevelop. It helps buildings where support is already strong.
Rebuilding is not the only regeneration path
Of Asahi Kasei's expected 13 resolutions, eight involve rebuilding and five involve building-and-land sale.
Rebuilding means demolishing the existing condominium and proceeding with replacement development. Building-and-land sale allows owners to collectively sell the condominium and underlying land instead.
For some buildings, a collective sale may be more workable than reconstruction, especially where construction costs or redevelopment economics are unfavorable.
What the reform means for owners of aging condominiums
For owners, the main change is that a building with strong but previously insufficient support may now have another legal route forward.
That can matter for condominiums that have spent years discussing regeneration but repeatedly fallen short of the old threshold.
But a successful vote is only one hurdle. Owners still need to consider construction costs, financing, relocation, compensation, development restrictions and the allocation of replacement units or sale proceeds.
A project can be legally feasible and still be economically unworkable.
The broader aging-condominium challenge
The reforms come as Japan faces a growing need to decide how aging condominium stock should be repaired, upgraded, sold or rebuilt.
Tokyo is also increasing outreach to around 3,700 older condominium buildings that have not undergone seismic diagnosis. That does not mean those buildings are unsafe, or that they have failed a diagnosis. It reflects the broader need for clearer decisions about aging stock.
Smaller buildings may be particularly difficult to regenerate. Six of Asahi Kasei's 13 expected resolutions involve condominiums with fewer than 50 units, where costs are spread among fewer owners and a small number of dissenters can account for a relatively large share of the vote.
The sample is too small to establish a wider trend, but it highlights the kinds of buildings where a lower consent threshold may prove especially relevant.
Japan's condominium problem cannot be solved simply by lowering a voting threshold. But early evidence suggests the change can impact buildings that were already close to consensus.
Further Reading:
Asahi Kasei Homes briefing: Condominium regeneration resolutions rise fourfold after legal reform (Japanese only)
