As the number of elderly people living alone increases, there are many cases where people are refused to move into rental housing, and the national study committee, which is discussing how to provide support, presented a draft plan to promote the development of an environment that makes it easier for landlords to rent their homes, such as popularizing housing that also monitors after moving in.
table of contents
Increase in elderly people living alone "Anxiety about fatal accidents"
Study Meeting: Promoting Efforts to Eliminate Landlords' Anxiety
A man who continued to live in a car
Housing Support Corporation "Financial support for landlords is necessary"
Expert "It is necessary to create a system that does not cause refusal of occupancy"
Open Table of Contents
table of contents
table of contents
Increase in elderly people living alone "Anxiety about fatal accidents"
Study Meeting: Promoting Efforts to Eliminate Landlords' Anxiety
A man who continued to live in a car
Housing Support Corporation "Financial support for landlords is necessary"
Expert "It is necessary to create a system that does not cause refusal of occupancy"
Increase in elderly people living alone "Anxiety about fatal accidents"
One of the reasons behind the government's debate on securing housing is the increase in the number of elderly people.
According to the latest White Paper on Aging Society in Reiwa 5 compiled by the Cabinet Office, the number of elderly people aged 65 and over increased from about 2010 million in 2900 to about 2020 million in 3600, and it is estimated that the proportion of elderly people will increase in the future as the total population decreases. In addition, the number of elderly people aged 1 and over living alone has increased from 65.2010 million in 479 to 2020.671 million in 2030, and it is estimated that the number will increase to 795.<> million by <>.
On the other hand, according to an awareness survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in FY Reiwa 3 to 187 landlords and other landlords, about 7% of them expressed a sense of rejection of elderly people moving in. In addition, some landlords have restricted the elderly from moving in, and when asked why, 90.9% of respondents said they were worried about deaths indoors, followed by 3.9% who said they were worried about how to use their housing.
While the number of consultations with housing support corporations that work to secure housing for the elderly and others is on the rise, there are many cases where people are refused to move into rental housing due to the burden of disposing of belongings associated with isolated deaths, and support for housing so that people can live with peace of mind has become an issue.
In addition to the elderly, there are cases where people with disabilities and people who have been released from prison are refused to move in, and this time, the three ministries of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Justice have been discussing countermeasures.
Study Meeting: Promoting Efforts to Eliminate Landlords' Anxiety
An expert panel of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Justice presented a draft of the report on the 21st. As a result, since people who need support face complex issues such as isolation not only from housing but also from their families and communities, the company will provide consistent support from securing housing to living after moving in, and will promote initiatives to alleviate landlords' concerns about isolated deaths.
Specifically, in addition to establishing a consultation system in which municipal housing and welfare departments and support groups collaborate, and creating a system for housing management including support such as watching over housing by housing support corporations, consideration should be given to methods of financial support for housing support corporations and the construction of business continuity models.
The committee members expressed opinions such as "It may be important to appoint a coordinator in the community to provide various types of support according to the needs of the client" and "Some housing support corporations are unable to handle housing management, so services such as monitoring and sorting out belongings should be expanded."
Based on the opinions expressed on the 21st, the study committee will compile a draft report by the end of this year.
A man who continued to live in a car
Last year, a 74-year-old man living in the Kanto region was refused a rental house because he did not have a guarantor. The man originally lived in a house he owned, but he gave up his home last summer because he was struggling to repay his loan after being widowed by a family he had taken out a mortgage with. Then, he started looking for a rental apartment where he could live alone, but the real estate agent refused to introduce him, saying that it would be difficult without a guarantor, and he could not find a property. Eventually, the man became disgusted with looking for a room, and there was a time when he continued to live in the car he owned for more than half a year.
Male
: "At one point, I felt that I didn't care what was going on, and I felt that I couldn't rent a room on my own, that I couldn't do anything about it."
As such a life was approaching its limit, in June, the man was introduced by the local government and was able to move into an apartment on the condition that the housing support corporation would watch over the man. Recently, he started cleaning twice a week and was able to afford to enjoy his hobby of fishing.
Male
: "Just having a place to live gives you more comfort and makes your life completely different, and I think that elderly people with even lower incomes will have an even harder time moving into rental housing, so I hope that even older people will be able to rent a room a little easier."
Housing Support Corporation "Financial support for landlords is necessary"
Housing support corporations are designated by each prefecture and provide support such as housing information and consultation to elderly people who cannot find a place to live.
Among them, a housing support corporation in Tokyo that introduced rooms to men is working to increase the number of landlords who understand the elderly moving in, on the condition that they provide a monitoring support service for the elderly who rent a room. Specifically, in cooperation with local NPOs, we visit the apartments of elderly people who have contracts once a month to confirm their safety and provide consultation on their daily lives, and on that day, corporate staff visited the man's home to hear about changes in his physical condition.
Under the condition of such monitoring support, the corporation searched for landlords who would understand the elderly to move in, and now they have secured about a dozen properties that can be used by single elderly people. However, many landlords still feel the risk of elderly people moving in, such as in the event of dementia or isolated death, and he points out the need for drastic measures.
Akira Matsuda, head of the housing support corporation "Elderly Housing Counseling Office Kotatsu," said:
Mr. Akira Matsuda, Chief of the Office, said, "In the case of an isolated death, there is a risk that it will cost a considerable amount of money to clean up the belongings and restore them to their original state, and that they will be treated as accident properties,
but there is very little support and subsidies for landlords, and I think it is unavoidable that the elderly are reluctant to move in. I think that creating a system to support society is also effective in eliminating the anxiety of landlords."
Expert "It is necessary to create a system that does not cause refusal of occupancy"
Katsuhiko Fujimori, Chief Researcher at Mizuho Research & Technologies and Professor at Japan Welfare University, who is an expert on elderly issues, said:
Katsuhiko Fujimori
: "There is a problem that landlords refuse to move in due to concerns about solitary deaths and disposal of leftovers after death. I have heard of many cases where elderly people whose income has decreased due to retirement move to lower rent, and elderly people who lived on the third or fourth floor can no longer climb the stairs and move to the first floor. It is important to alleviate the anxiety of landlords by creating a system for watching over the elderly and holding funerals for the elderly as they used to be done by families in the community and housing support corporations as a whole society, and it is necessary to cooperate with support for securing housing and welfare. It is also important to analyze what kind of people, not only in the national but also in local areas, such as the elderly, people with disabilities and foreigners, are having trouble securing housing, and consider countermeasures."