Is Your Rental Ready for a Typhoon? Disaster-Prep Checkpoints Before You Sign a Lease in Japan
As of 3am on August 9, Typhoon No.13 was tracking roughly 290km north-northwest of Miyako Island. On August 7, all flights at Naha Airport in Okinawa were cancelled and the passenger terminal was closed for the day. Power outages peaked at 18,410 households, with 7,710 households still without power as of 11pm on August 8 as recovery work continues. Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and we hope for a swift recovery.
Events like this typhoon — and the recent earthquakes in the Kumamoto region — are a reminder that Japan is a disaster-prone country. If you're renting from overseas, rent and location aren't the only things worth checking before you sign: how well the building and the neighborhood are prepared for disasters matters too. This article walks through what you can check before moving in.
Why Check a Rental's Disaster Preparedness Before You Sign?
Unlike buying a home, renters generally can't renovate or reinforce a building themselves, so gathering information before signing is effectively your only line of defense. In a disaster on the scale of Typhoon No.13, where power and transport were disrupted across a wide area, both the building's own strength and how livable the area is during an outage matter directly.
How Can You Check a Building's Earthquake Resistance?
Buildings that received their building confirmation on or after June 1, 1981 are generally said to follow the "new earthquake resistance standard," which differs from the "old standard" that applied before then. Checking the building confirmation date or construction year in the listing or the key facts explanation gives you a general reference point for which standard applies.
That said, meeting the new standard doesn't guarantee a specific building's actual seismic performance. In practice, it's also worth asking whether a seismic diagnosis has been carried out and whether the management company has any record of reinforcement work.
How Do You Check Flood Risk Before Signing?
Flood, storm-surge, and landslide hazard maps published by municipalities are the basic way to check the risk level for a property's location. With wide-area power and water outages from typhoons and heavy rain becoming less rare, it's reassuring to know the distance to your nearest evacuation site and whether the property falls within a projected flood zone before you move in.
Following a 2020 revision to the enforcement regulations of the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act, explaining a property's location on flood hazard maps has, in practice, become part of the key facts explanation required for lease contracts. When you receive this explanation, it's worth checking the relevant part of the hazard map yourself rather than relying on the verbal explanation alone.
What Counts as "Disaster-Related Key Facts" in a Lease Explanation?
Along with the flood hazard map explanation, the key facts explanation may cover the building's structure, evacuation routes, and firefighting equipment. It's also worth asking the management company how elevator outages are handled during a typhoon or earthquake, and whether emergency lighting or supplies are kept on site.
What Should Renters Do When a Typhoon or Earthquake Hits?
Typhoon No.13 caused disruptions lasting several days — the Naha Airport closure and widespread power outages among them. As a renter, the basics are: keeping a few days' worth of water and a portable toilet on hand for power and water outages, confirming emergency contact details for the management company or landlord, and knowing your nearest designated evacuation site.
Key figures behind this article
- Start of the "new earthquake resistance standard"
- 1981June
- Peak power outage in Okinawa from Typhoon No.13 (Aug 7)
- 18,410households
- Estimated industry damage across 5 prefectures
- approx. 107billion yen
- 48-hour rainfall in Naze, Amami City
- 435.0mm
General reference point for buildings confirmed after this date
Per news reporting
Single-source estimate, for reference only
About 1.5x the average for all of August
Laws Worth Knowing
- Act on Land and Building Transactions Business, Article 35
- Requires certain key facts to be explained before a lease is signed; since a 2020 enforcement regulation revision, this has in practice come to include a property's location on flood hazard maps.
- Flood Control Act, Article 15
- Requires municipalities to prepare and publish flood hazard maps, which is the basis for the hazard maps referenced in a lease explanation.
- Building Standards Act, Article 20
- Sets out the structural safety requirements buildings must meet; the "new earthquake resistance standard" commonly referenced dates to building confirmations from June 1, 1981 onward.
Comparing new vs. old earthquake standard properties
| What to check | New standard (June 1, 1981 onward) | Old standard (before then) |
|---|---|---|
| General expected seismic performance | Designed with the aim of resisting collapse in a quake of roughly upper-6 to 7 on the Japanese intensity scale | May not have been designed to the same expected performance level |
| What to verify | Building confirmation date, completion inspection certificate | Whether a seismic diagnosis was done, any reinforcement history |
| Effect on rent/terms | Often in line with market rate | Can sometimes be below market rate depending on location and condition |
Common Oversights and Fixes
✕The viewing happened on a clear day, so it wasn't obvious the property actually sits in a projected flood zone.
→Check the municipality's hazard map yourself before signing, and cross-check it against the key facts explanation.
✕Assumed a newer-looking building meant it was earthquake-safe, without checking when it actually received its building confirmation.
→Ask the management company for the building confirmation date and use June 1, 1981 as one reference point.
✕Had no supplies ready for a power or water outage, and couldn't get to a convenience store or supermarket in time as the typhoon approached.
→Keep a few days' worth of water, a portable toilet, and a portable charger on hand from the moment you move in.
✕Didn't know the management company's emergency contact, which delayed getting help when the elevator stopped or water leaked during a disaster.
→Confirm the management company's and landlord's emergency contacts at signing and save them on your phone.
Pre-Move-In Checklist
- Checked which hazard map zone (flood, storm surge, landslide) the property falls into
- Confirmed the building confirmation date and which earthquake standard applies
- Identified the nearest designated evacuation site and the route there
- Reviewed the flood risk explanation in the key facts document in writing
- Saved the management company's and landlord's emergency contacts
- Prepared water, a portable toilet, and a portable charger for power/water outages
- Checked the stairwell route and emergency lighting in case the elevator stops
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q. Is it okay to rent a property built to the old earthquake standard?
- A. It's not something to rule out automatically — in practice it's worth checking whether a seismic diagnosis or reinforcement has been done, and weighing that against rent and location.
- Q. Should I avoid a property that falls within a projected flood zone?
- A. Being within the zone doesn't automatically make a property unsuitable — it's generally judged together with the projected flood depth, evacuation routes, and which floor you'd be on.
- Q. Does rent change if power or water is cut off during a typhoon or earthquake?
- A. This depends on the extent of the damage and the terms of your specific lease, so it needs to be confirmed individually with the management company or landlord.
- Q. What if the hazard map wasn't explained during the key facts explanation?
- A. That may mean a required item was missed — it's worth confirming with the real estate agent before signing, and checking the municipality's hazard map yourself if needed.
The SUMIMOTO Hub app uses AI to organize a property's hazard map information and its earthquake-standard reference point in multiple languages, and a 24-hour AI advisor can walk you through what to check before signing. For an actual seismic diagnosis or the details of a key facts explanation, we recommend confirming individually with a licensed professional such as a real estate transaction specialist.
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