Borders

Property Borders

Due to the lack of resources that accurately indicate property borders, they are not determined or controlled by the government, and thus determined by agreement between adjacent property owners. Borders are drawn or indication plates are put in place on roads that have recently gone through road improvement or line adjustment; however, most traditional residential areas where Kyo-machiya are found tend to have complex property borders or no records of boarders at all. Depending on the property, official acreage survey maps based on re-measurements done by certified surveyors are available at the Legal Affairs Bureau. Land registry maps are usually kept on file with the certificate of registration; however, these maps are mostly used to indicate the location of the property and does not accurately reflect the property’s dimensions or its borders. Whenever possible, we place indication plates at each corner of the property boarder upon agreement and in the presence of adjacent neighbors; however, please note that they are not legally binding. Please note that in some cases (ex. if the property owner lives out of town), we may not be able to come to an agreement on property borders.

Objects Cross Over

Due to the architectural design of Kyo-machiya, it is natural and quite common for parts such as the edge of roofs and rain gutters to cross over into neighboring properties (Kyo-machiya use flashings to weatherproof the area and gaps between houses). The current Building Standards Act stipulates that every part of a building must stay within their designated property border; however, the weatherproofing structures mentioned of Kyo-machiya (mentioned above) were legal prior to 1950 when the law went into effect. Owners are not required to take action to remove these cross over objects. We just ask for your understanding, and if this causes problems or conflicts, we ask the owners to talk to the neighbors and settle the matter on their own.

Regarding the Land Size

Sales and purchase of property in Japan is conducted based on the registered land size indicated on the certificate of registration kept by the Legal Affairs Bureau and NOT the actual land size. Most of these measurements were recorded many years ago and tend to be inaccurate, and this is especially the case for Kyo-machiya. However, the land size is rarely re-measured at the time of transaction, and having two different land sizes indicated on the contract is quite common. For details or questions regarding individual properties, please contact us through the “inquiry form” on the property page.