Regulation in Japan (Tokyo) What's Going On?

Regulation in Japan (Tokyo) What's Going On?

Hey wanted to reach out here. There's a lack of info in regards to the New Housing Law (Residential accommodation business law).

I went to one of the workshops put on by the Home Sharing Lab.

Reading over some of the specifics outlined it seems like “ Housing as a notified housing by the New Housing Law (Residential accommodation business law) We made it possible to carry out a private night by on-line notification.”

The online registration is concerning in regards to San Francisco and overnight 50% of listings were taken off around 5,000 apartments delisted due to regulation.  The fact that Airbnb lost a lawsuit to the city of San Francisco who they were trying to sue unsuccessfully, lesson learned by Airbnb do not bring any city, local, or national governments to court.

Also concerning was the email sent by Airbnb (Let's get ready to notify!" that looks like it was sent by an intern who struggles with English . There could be some thing's lost in translation..

The law is, in my opinion, a non-issue.. it's just how Airbnb chooses to enforce it.

So to that end, I was hoping I could get some information together, a group, something where we can share more information

Steve

8 Replies 8

On the contrary, the law is an issue, so after the lawsuit was settled, Airbnb was forced to eliminate all hosts who had not registered for the law that was 2 years old. They made a great effort to get hosts registered, but many people decided to leave hosting because of the added expense of getting a license, insurance, and in some cases the written permission of their landlords to use their property in this way. Most leases in San Francisco denyed tenants the ability to sublet. In the interim, while the lawsuit was ongoing, the city made even more restrictions, hosts were only allowed to use the property they lived in and only for 90 days per year if the host was not in residence. Many of the former hosts left because they could no longer rent out multiple properties. For those of us who registered, it's business as usual and the extra expense is not great enough that a single booking couldn't pay for it. There's an appeal to being part of an underground economy, but they never last long, especially when confronted by heavy advertising.

Point taken, well let's see how this affects the company's bottom line.  In effect, the 90 days per cal year destroy the economics of getting your home on the platform.  Once those listings are scrubbed away that leaves travelers coming to SF with few options.  True Airbnb was built on the premises of people staying in other peoples rooms i.e. shared space or private room, but most business travelers and use cases thus far been booking entire homes and apartments.

 

Looking at the homepage now they are certainly hedging their bets on "experiences" as the regulation hurdles for "homes" is tough and widely varied across countries, states, and cities.

@Sam283, the platform was meant to help create "added" income for renters and home owners, so it wouldn't work as a vehicle for creating a career in real estate, however, depending on your price, it could easily be worth your while to test it out to see how much interest there would be for your property. I can pay my costs of getting licensed and insured for the year with a 1 week stay. Having a smaller pool of homes to choose from makes getting rentals easier for hosts, especially if you have a comfortable place and don't try to gouge prices. If you have looked at hotel prices in San Francisco, most hosts charge well under what hotels cost, so even with fewer choices, guests still get the advantage when renting on home sharing sites.

Karimsyah0
Level 2
South Jakarta, Indonesia

AirBnB from my point of view are torn apart with following regulations of each state/country thus expanding business model and hence they choose to implement a new business model that is called AirBnB experiences to compensate the eliminated host due to state regulations. 

 

Its all the same in many country such as mine, Indonesia. AirBnB has been under the radar of hotels who is disturbed by the precenses of AirBnB host.

Kevin-s0
Level 10
Minamiashigara, Japan

Hi Sam,

 

Im in Kanagawa, Japan.

 

I’m having my Japanese Staff look into it, and what we need to do to comply. I pay taxes through my company, Kevin’s English Schools.

 

But I am hoping to host for 15 years or more if possible.

 

i will post this separately as well: 

 

What is the future of hosting in Japan? Do you see it as a long term opportunity? Or a short term option until the 2020 Olympics?

 

Im hoping for the former!

 

As far as I know we will be permitted 180 days here. But no one at city hall seems to know much. As well, we’ve been referred to a board in Kanagawa to ask ( I think).

 

My advice: get a Japanese staff member to find out for you.

Clarence-And-Komori0
Level 1
Utsunomiya, Japan

My grandfather is the registered owner and don't like pcz can he walk into the city office to get a number.

I've written about my experience in Shibuya registering for airbnb, it was not easy but I just received the number this morning

 

http://lundman.net/wiki/index.php/Minpaku_AirBnB

 

 

Shibuya only allows minpaku on school holidays, how will they check you on other day? Or did they mention about that? I just wonder because in our ward, they only allow in weekend.