Japan's amended Housing Safety Net Act (住宅セーフティネット法, 令和6年法律第43号 / Act No. 43 of 2024) took effect on October 1, 2025 — creating accreditation systems for 'residence support housing' and for rent debt guarantee providers, and adding disposal of belongings left behind to the duties of housing support corporations
Source material is a Japanese government announcement (in Japanese); this page is a summary.
The amended Housing Safety Net Act (令和6年法律第43号 / Act No. 43 of 2024) was promulgated on June 5, 2024 and took effect on October 1, 2025. According to the summary material, an accreditation system for residence support housing (居住サポート住宅, 「居住安定援助賃貸住宅」 in the act) and an accreditation system for rent debt guarantee providers were created, the disposal of belongings left behind based on entrustment from the tenant was added to the duties of housing support corporations, and the approval procedure for lifetime building leases was simplified. Residence support housing is accredited by mayors of municipalities (those with a welfare office) and others, while rent debt guarantee providers are accredited by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Under the system, persons requiring special consideration in securing housing are defined in the act as low-income persons, disaster victims, older persons, persons with disabilities and child-rearing households, with foreign nationals and others specified by ministerial ordinance, and the ministry explains the specific scope and the method of confirming whether a person falls within it in separate materials.
Key facts
| Legal basis, promulgation and entry into force | 「住宅確保要配慮者に対する賃貸住宅の供給の促進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律」 (令和6年法律第43号 / Act No. 43 of 2024). Promulgated on June 5, 2024; in force from October 1, 2025 |
|---|---|
| The three pillars of the amended act | The summary material of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism organizes the amended act as ① preparing a market environment in which landlords can more easily offer rental housing and persons requiring special consideration can move in smoothly, ② promoting the supply of rental housing in which housing support corporations and others provide support during the tenancy, and ③ strengthening the regional housing support framework in which housing policy and welfare policy work together |
| Residence support housing — creation and accrediting authority | The summary material lists the creation of an accreditation system for residence support housing (居住サポート住宅, 「居住安定援助賃貸住宅」 in the act) as part of the amendment. It is housing in which housing support corporations and others confirm safety, watch over residents and connect them to appropriate welfare services according to the needs of persons requiring special consideration, and it is accredited by mayors of municipalities (those with a welfare office) and others. The ministry's guidance on the system states that, besides housing support corporations, social welfare corporations, NPO corporations, management companies and others may provide the support. Where a recipient of public assistance moves in, payment of the housing assistance benefit (rent) by proxy is made the rule, and for persons requiring special consideration who move in, an accredited guarantee provider undertakes the rent debt guarantee as a rule. For applications for accreditation and for searching and browsing, the guidance directs users to the 'residence support housing information provision system' |
| Rent debt guarantees — registration and accreditation | The registered rent debt guarantee provider system is one under which the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism registers providers meeting certain requirements as being able to conduct their business appropriately. The summary material lists as part of the amendment the creation of an accreditation system under which the Minister accredits rent debt guarantee providers that are easy for persons requiring special consideration to use (accredited guarantee providers), and the ministry's guidance on the system describes those eligible for accreditation as providers meeting certain requirements from among registered rent debt guarantee providers and others. A structure in which the rent debt guarantee insurance of the Japan Housing Finance Agency (住宅金融支援機構) lowers the risk of guaranteeing persons requiring special consideration is also described |
| Lifetime building lease | The summary material lists as part of the amendment the simplification of the approval procedure for lifetime building leases (leases with no renewal until the tenant's death, which terminate on death and are not inherited by heirs) from approval for each dwelling to approval of the operator |
| Disposal of belongings left behind (added October 1, 2025) | To make the disposal of belongings left behind when a tenant dies go smoothly, 'disposal of belongings left behind based on entrustment from the tenant' was added to the duties of housing support corporations from October 1, 2025. In carrying this out, the 「残置物の処理等に関するモデル契約条項」 jointly formulated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Justice in June 2021 is to be used |
| Scope of persons requiring special consideration in securing housing | The act defines them as low-income persons, disaster victims, older persons, persons with disabilities and child-rearing households, and ministerial ordinance specifies foreign nationals and others. In addition, local governments may add categories of persons requiring special consideration by formulating a rental housing supply promotion plan (for example, newly married households). The specific requirements for the foreign nationals and others specified by ministerial ordinance are not stated in the main text of this guidance; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism explains the specific scope in a separate material 「住宅確保要配慮者の範囲について」, and the method of confirming whether a person falls within it in 「住宅確保要配慮者の確認方法」 attached to Appendix 1 of the notice of enforcement and in 「住宅確保要配慮者であることの確認方法について（事務連絡）」 |
| Safety net registered housing | A system under which rental housing whose landlord does not refuse occupancy by persons requiring special consideration in securing housing can be registered with prefectures, government-designated cities and core cities. The prefectures and others provide information on registered housing widely to persons requiring special consideration and others, and those persons look at that information and apply to the landlord to move in |
| Financial support | There is a subsidy system for the renovation costs of safety net dedicated housing or residence support housing, and housing that has received a renovation cost subsidy must be managed for 10 years as safety net dedicated housing or residence support housing whose residents are limited to persons requiring special consideration in securing housing. For details of the renovation cost subsidy system, the guidance directs readers to check with local governments or on the recruitment website of the national renovation cost subsidy project. As support easing the burden on residents, there is support for lowering rent, rent debt guarantee fees and the like, and support for moving into such housing; in both cases local governments and the national government provide the support in cooperation where a low-income person moves in, and for details the guidance directs readers to check with local governments. Whether this support is provided differs by local government, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism separately publishes 「補助を実施している自治体一覧（令和７年８月時点）」 (a list of local governments providing the support, as of August 2025). Amounts are not stated in the guidance |
| Targets (KPI) | The summary material states as targets and effects ① a supply of 100,000 units of residence support housing within 10 years of entry into force, and ② a population coverage rate of municipalities that have established a housing support council of 90% (9割) within 10 years of entry into force |
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At the 2024 ordinary session of the Diet, the 「住宅確保要配慮者に対する賃貸住宅の供給の促進に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律」 (令和6年法律第43号 / Act No. 43 of 2024) was enacted, amending the Housing Safety Net Act; it was promulgated on June 5, 2024 and took effect on October 1, 2025. The summary material of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism organizes the amended act into three pillars. ① Preparing a market environment in which landlords can more easily offer rental housing and persons requiring special consideration in securing housing (住宅確保要配慮者) can move in smoothly — simplifying the approval procedure for lifetime building leases (from approval for each dwelling to approval of the operator), and adding to the duties of housing support corporations the disposal of belongings left behind, based on entrustment from the tenant. ② Promoting the supply of rental housing in which housing support corporations and others provide support during the tenancy — creating an accreditation system for residence support housing (居住サポート住宅, 「居住安定援助賃貸住宅」 in the act) and an accreditation system for rent debt guarantee providers (家賃債務保証業者). ③ Strengthening the regional housing support framework in which housing policy and welfare policy work together — the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare jointly formulating a basic policy, and making it a duty of effort for municipalities to establish housing support councils. Residence support housing is housing in which housing support corporations and others confirm residents' safety, watch over them and connect them to appropriate welfare services according to the needs of persons requiring special consideration, and it is accredited by mayors of municipalities (those with a welfare office) and others. Rent debt guarantee providers are accredited by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Under the system, persons requiring special consideration in securing housing are defined in the act as low-income persons, disaster victims, older persons, persons with disabilities and child-rearing households, and foreign nationals and others are specified by ministerial ordinance; however, the specific requirements for the foreign nationals and others specified by ministerial ordinance are not stated in the main text of the ministry's guidance, and the scope and the method of confirming whether a person falls within it are explained in separate materials.
Summaries below are factual notes based on government announcements and primary sources — not evaluations or opinions.
Summaries reflect national-level programs. Municipal (city/ward/town) programs may differ — confirm with the official desk before applying.
FAQ
Do foreign nationals also count as 'persons requiring special consideration in securing housing'?
The guidance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism states that persons requiring special consideration in securing housing are defined in the act as low-income persons, disaster victims, older persons, persons with disabilities and child-rearing households, and that foreign nationals and others are specified by ministerial ordinance. However, this guidance does not state the specific requirements for the foreign nationals and others specified by ministerial ordinance; it explains that the specific scope is set out in a separate material 「住宅確保要配慮者の範囲について」, and the method of confirming whether a person falls within it in 「住宅確保要配慮者の確認方法」 attached to Appendix 1 of the notice of enforcement and in 「住宅確保要配慮者であることの確認方法について（事務連絡）」. These materials are linked from the ministry's system guidance page above. Apart from this, if a local government formulates a rental housing supply promotion plan it may add categories of persons requiring special consideration.
Where can residence support housing be found?
The guidance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism directs users to the 'residence support housing information provision system' when applying for accreditation or searching and browsing residence support housing, and to the 'safety net housing information provision system' for searching and browsing safety net registered housing.
How much is the support that lowers rent or guarantee fees?
The guidance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism states only that there is support for lowering rent, rent debt guarantee fees and the like and support for moving, and that where a low-income person moves into safety net dedicated housing or residence support housing, local governments and the national government provide the support in cooperation; amounts are not stated. The guidance directs readers to check the details of this support system with local governments. Whether this support is provided also differs by local government, and the ministry separately publishes 「補助を実施している自治体一覧（令和７年８月時点）」 (a list of local governments providing the support, as of August 2025). Separately, support for renovating housing (the renovation cost subsidy) is a different system with a different target, and the guidance directs readers to check its details with local governments or on the recruitment website of the national renovation cost subsidy project.
Who accredits residence support housing?
The summary material of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism states that residence support housing (居住サポート住宅, 「居住安定援助賃貸住宅」 in the act) is accredited by mayors of municipalities (those with a welfare office) and others. The accrediting authority for rent debt guarantee providers is the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, so the two accreditation systems have different authorities.