Tenant Rights and Landlord Responibility

Hello all, I’m not sure of the basic laws regarding the title. I currently rent an apartment that’s old af. There are parts of the floor that are sagging down more and more, leading to the top fake wood layer sag to the point of cracking. It’s obvious the subfloor has rotted to the point of failure.

I have already contacted the real estate company that got me in here and someone came to verify and confirmed it is from normal wear. Unfortunately, they told me something like this cannot be fixed it until I move out.

In the case the floor does finally break and cave in on itself, what is the landlord’s legal responsibility in regards to my rights as a tenant? I’m happy to make clarifications if need be, thanks for your time

8 comments
  1. No idea about the law but we got the exact same problem. They fixed the floor right away because they were afraid that we would get badly insured and sue them, I guess. They didn’t re-do the whole flooring but just took out the top plastic and put some strong wood plates over the existing structure, covered up with a new layer of this cheap fake wood, done in two days. Practically the whole floor is 5cm higher now than before.

  2. Are you on the ground floor? Are there storeys above you?

    You should probably move somewhere else before the next earthquake, man.

    The landlord isn’t going to do shit until it collapses. Probably not even then.

  3. > Unfortunately, they told me something like this cannot be fixed it until I move out.

    This is utter bullshit. It just means they don’t *want* to fix it until you move out (and tbh they’ll probably leave it as is for the next tenant too).

    You can see an example of a landlord figuring out how to deal with a similar situation here: https://question.realestate.yahoo.co.jp/knowledge/chiebukuro/detail/14129233839/

    I know you spoke with the real estate agent, but unless they’re also the building maintenance firm they have very little to do with the actual decision. Do you have a maintenance firm or landlord contact as well?

  4. Lots of articles about similar issues in Japanese (e.g. https://sp.chintai.net/news/2018/10/26/47708/)

    – The owner has a duty to repair anything that is affecting its use (Civil code article 606 for reference)

    – The floor in your place is sagging but might not necessarily be considered unusable; might be a gray area where you could discuss with an expert or lawyer

    – Since you’re on the ground floor, it might not be an easy fix and require significant foundational repairs; the article I found mentions some case law that suggests significant repairs compared to cost of rent can be excluded from the owner’s responsibility. Again, would probably require discussion with an expert or lawyer to see what is feasible if they are denying your repair requests.

  5. City hall have a housing department you can report your landlord/ menagement company to. That should light a fire under someone’s butt.

  6. > In the case the floor does finally break and cave in on itself, what is the landlord’s legal responsibility in regards to my rights as a tenant? I’m happy to make clarifications if need be, thanks for your time

    The landlord normally would have the duty to effect the repairs ASAP, and put you up in temporary housing if necessary. The top floor cracking creates a potential hazard with splinters and pinches.

    Your best bet is to contact [consumer affairs](http://www.kokusen.go.jp/e-hello/map/index.html).

  7. If parts of the support structure of the floor are rotting, there’s nothing at all to say parts of the structure that holds the second floor up are not also… I’d insist on an independent building safety inspection if I were you. Earthquakes are no joke here.

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