"What are you doing, don't you know" What is in the condominium in the tourist area November 11 4:11
"I haven't seen you in 20-odd years, so what are you doing?" he said,
and hung up the phone.
A condominium built 33 years ago in a town popular with tourists. An elderly man who lived there died, and the chairman of the management association made a call to the man's daughter to find an heir.
"There are a number of people like this," he said, "
and there are now a series of such situations in rural areas over the "belongings room" left in the condominium after the death of a resident.
Last month, at a condominium in Yokohama
In early October, a lawyer selected as a liquidator visited a room in a condominium on the outskirts of Yokohama City with a contractor.
And.
The "cueen"
contractor used a special tool to break the lock on the front door and open the door.
Since there were no relatives with the key, a lawyer asked for it.
When you go inside, you will find documents and computer equipment scattered around.
The owner was a woman in her 60s.
He died in the fall, but no heirs appeared, and the room was abandoned for almost two years.
In the meantime, the management fee of the condominium continued to be in arrears, and the management association filed a petition with the family court for the appointment of a liquidator.
And it was the first visit of the selected lawyer that day.
If you are a liquidator's lawyer
who is single, has no children, and has no siblings, there is a high possibility that there will be no heirs when you die, and I feel that the number of elderly people who do not have such relatives is increasing.
How many "relic rooms" are there?
As in this case, after the person who lived there dies, the room and belongings are left uninherited and the "relic room" is the "relic room".
We have reported on the reality of this problem, which condominium management associations have no choice but to spend time and money to solve it.
(For more information, please read the following article)
Why am I the "heir"? Can I pay for the disposal of the "relic room"?
In order to get a glimpse of how many such "relic rooms" there are nationwide, I examined the data in the "Official Gazette" published daily by the government.
The data investigated was "liquidator"
What I looked up was information about the "inheritance liquidator" who was in charge of the lawyer who opened the front door and entered the Yokohama apartment at the beginning of the article.
After a person dies, the court appoints a person to arrange the property of a person who has no heirs, such as when the inheritance is abandoned or there are no relatives.
The subject of the survey is information on 2013,2022 cases of appointment of "inheritance liquidators" published in the 10 years from 45820 to <>. In cases where the "last address" of the deceased was an apartment building or other apartment building, it was tabulated as a "relic room" where there was a high possibility that the room and belongings were left unattended.
Here are the results.
10,1 "Relic Rooms" in the past <> years
There have been more than 10,1 "relic rooms" in the past 1 years.
By prefecture, Tokyo ranked first and Osaka ranked second, with the number of cases higher in urban areas with large populations.
On the other hand, in terms of population ratio, different municipalities came out on top.
The highest number per 1,<> population was in Yuzawa Town in Niigata Prefecture, followed by Atami City in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Speaking of Yuzawa Town, skiing and hot springs. Why are there so many "relic rooms" in such places?
We decided to go there to cover the event.
What is in an apartment in a tourist area
It takes about 1 hour by bullet train from Tokyo. After passing through the tunnel, you will reach Echigo Yuzawa Station.
As I took a taxi from the station, I saw through the window a group of high-rise buildings that looked like hotels towering along the mountain. There were about 5 buildings.
Driver:
It's all condominiums. The so-called resort condominiums. Most of the large buildings in the town, including the buildings we have passed so far, are condominiums
The chairman of a condominium management association in the town agreed to an interview.
Five years ago, a 5-year-old man who lived in this apartment died and left his room and belongings behind. At that time, the chairman of the board of directors was involved in the search for heirs.
After divorcing his wife and retiring as a taxi driver, the man moved from Tokyo to an apartment in Yuzawacho alone. Living alone in an apartment while receiving a pension.
However, he had diabetes and was talking about his final days as if he were a habit.
Mr. President
: I used to say, "When I die, I don't want to bother anyone." There was a part of me that felt like I was preparing for death.
I called my daughter and got back ...
In the summer, three years after moving in, the man died. He was found collapsed in the hallway.
What to do with the room and belongings left behind.
The director hired a lawyer to search for an heir, but he could not find it immediately, and six months later, he finally found a woman who appeared to be his daughter.
I immediately called him, but I was speechless by the words that came back.
"I haven't seen you in 20-odd years, so what are you doing now?
The phone hung up vigorously.
In the end, the woman refused to inherit.
And the room was neglected
The chairman of the board of directors muttered after he had finished talking about the man.
"There are a lot of people like this, actually."
After that, the men's room was left unattended for a year and a half without an heir, during which time the management fee continued to be in arrears.
As a result, 1.150 million yen, including legal fees required for the disposal of the belongings, was covered by the management fees paid by the residents. Other residents were to pay for the "memorial room" where the deceased owner lived.
Why is there a series of "relic rooms"?
According to the town, there are 57 condominiums in the town.
Many of them were built during the bubble economy, when condominiums for villas were being built one after another in conjunction with the ski boom.
Currently, there are about 4000,1 households in Yuzawa Town, but the number of condominium rooms in the town has reached more than 4000,<>.
Why are there so many "relic rooms" in these apartments?
In search of clues, we visited a local property management company. When I told them the purpose of the interview, I was shown to a room in the company.
"Abandoned", "Abandoned", "Abandoned"
On the shelves along the walls of the room, there were many files about the "relic room" that the company had been dealing with.
If you look inside, you will see the name of the deceased owner of the room, and next to it you can see the word "abandoned" in red letters.
1つではなく何件も、「放棄」「放棄」「放棄」。
同じ文字が並んでいるのです。
「「放棄」ってこれは何ですか」そう尋ねてみると。
エンゼル不動産 大野元 取締役
相続放棄を確認した、ということですね。法定相続人の方に通知書を送ったものの、最終的には相続放棄しましたよというケースです。いとも簡単に相続放棄してしまう。そういう例が増えていますね。
この会社でもやはり、相続人を探しても相続放棄され“遺品部屋”となるケースが相次いでいたのです。
相続してもメリットが…
背景にあるのが、不動産価値の下落だと言います。
バブル景気のころ、1部屋1億円以上の値が付く物件もありましたが、今では100万円を切る物件もあります。
エンゼル不動産 大野元 取締役
たとえば1000万円、2000万円で売れるのであれば、財産として相続してもメリットがあるかもしれませんが、中には100万円にもならない物件もあり、毎月数万円の管理費と修繕積立金、毎年の固定資産税がかかるのにどうするの、さっさと放棄しちゃいなさいよ、という感じが多いんです。
マンションの価値をなんとか上げていかなければ、今後、立ちゆかなくなるおそれがあると危惧しています。
流通価格が上がっていかないと、どんどん、相続放棄が進み、住民はいなくなっていきます。そうすると、マンションは管理費が徴収できなくなり、立ちゆかなくなる。何もしなければ、そういう最悪のパターンもありえると思います。
マンション価格下落で以前とは別の動きも
一方、マンション価格が大幅に下落したことで、高価格だったころとは別の動きが出ていることも見えてきました。
今回の取材では、湯沢町に移住してきた人に多く出会いました。
移住の理由を聞くと「物件が安いから」と話す人がほとんどで、中には身寄りがないと話す高齢者もいました。
この記事の前のほうでお伝えした73歳の男性が亡くなった“遺品部屋”に対応したマンションの管理組合理事長の男性に、このあたりのことも聞いてみました。
理事長は「マンションの中の様子をよく見て欲しい」と案内してくれました。
マンション1階にあるのは、ホテルのようなロビーです。
カウンターには管理人がいて、警備員と交代で24時間体制で常駐しています。
厳重なオートロックの自動ドアをくぐり、エレベーターで上がった最上階には天然温泉の大浴場も。
浴場の大きな窓からは湯沢のスキー場が一望でき、サウナまであります。スキー場までも徒歩10分ほどだと言います。
理事長
冬はスキー、夏は登山。帰ってきて温泉につかってお酒を飲む。もう、最高ですよ。
移住してくる高齢者も 高齢化進むマンション
こんな環境で暮らせるマンションが、管理費や固定資産税などの負担はあるものの、物件の価格自体は以前より大幅に安く購入できる。
理事長は、こうしたことも背景に、移住してくる高齢者も増えていると話しています。
一方でマンション住民の高齢化は進み、今では定住している人のうち約9割が65歳以上の高齢者で、このマンションで“遺品部屋”となったケースはこれまでに3件あったということです。
町全体で見ても、マンションに暮らす人の高齢化率はことし9月時点で47％あまりと、半数近くが高齢者となっています。
こうしたことも“遺品部屋”が相次ぐ背景のひとつだと言えそうです。
マンションは町の「財産」であり「宝」
マンションをめぐる現状を、どうしていけばいいのか。
町のトップの考えを聞こうと、役場の町長室を訪ねました。
湯沢町の田村正幸町長は、今後は若い世代を中心に移住の受け入れをさらに進めることで、マンションの価値も高めていきたいとしています。
湯沢町 田村正幸町長
マンションは、湯沢町にとっての「財産」であり「宝」だと思っています。行政と民間が一緒に取り組みを進めることで、少しずつ若い世代の移住や定住が進んでいます。こうしたことが続けば町に活気が出て、結果的にマンションの価値も上がっていき、相続したいと思える町に近づくという好循環につながると思っています。
販売価格「10倍以上」になった物件も
取り組みは、町内各地ですでに始まっています。
築34年のマンションでは、複数の部屋を民泊として貸し出せるように改装しました。
さらに、共用部分はオフィススペースにリノベーションし、現役世代がリモートワークにも使えるコワーキングスペースとして整備しました。
取り組みを始めて5年がたちましたが、以前は1Kで10万円だった販売価格は10倍以上に上がったということです。
「住む場所が豊富」＝むしろプラス要素
さらに、マンションをとりまく地域の魅力を高めようという動きもあります。
この日は、湯沢町で移住支援を行う会社が、新たに出店を考える飲食店経営者を候補の場所に案内しました。
移住支援行う会社の社長
この場所は、タクシーやバスを待つ人が集まる場所なのでお勧めですよ。
町に豊富にある物件をうまく活用してもらおうと紹介すると、いい反応が得られました。
飲食経営者
観光需要がある地域というところでとても可能性を感じているので、いろんなチャレンジが出来るのではないかと期待しています。
また、活性化に欠かせないのは、移住を支える「住む場所」ですが、この会社では、町にマンションが多くあることは若い人に移住先に選んでもらう上でむしろプラスの要素だとしています。
President Aya ItoYuzawa
Town has many resort condominiums. I feel that the abundance of places to live is a unique attraction as a place to move. In addition, I think it is necessary to increase the variety of experiences that can be done in Yuzawa, such as eating, drinking, and activities, in order to revitalize the city.
What can a person living alone in an apartment do?
So far, we have seen efforts from a broad perspective on how to increase the value of condominiums in the town and the region as a whole and prevent the abandonment of inheritance.
So, is there anything that the people living in the condominium can do or think about in the face of this "relic room" problem?
With that in mind, as I continued my interviews in Yuzawa Town, I met a man in his 70s.
I chose Yuzawa because it was cheap. The management fee is high, but it is very cheap when you think about living in Tokyo. If you live in it, it's a city
Thirteen years ago, the man moved from the Tokyo metropolitan area to an apartment in Yuzawa with his parents.
I lost my parents a few years ago and now I live alone.
The documents I presented were:
When we talked about the "relic room" and told him all about the interviews so far, he showed me a handwritten document.
If you look at the contents, it is a "will".
He said that he had also consulted with a judicial scrivener and confirmed the effectiveness. It is written that the room and the property inside will be inherited by a close friend.
Men have no relatives to rely on. Therefore, they prepare themselves so that the room will not be left unattended after their death.
In fact, when he was a director of a condominium management association, he experienced the hardship of finding an heir after the death of a resident.
If I die, I'm sure someone will do it for me, but that would be a nuisance. In fact, it's a nuisance to the management association. It's hard to solve the "relic room", and it's dangerous for me to be alone, so I thought I'd make it myself.
"Relic Room" We need to do something about it now
The problem surrounding the "relic room" is expected to continue to grow in the "multi-death society" where the number of people who are reaching the end of their lives continues to increase.
Because of the large size of the problem, there is a wide range of things to consider and countermeasures, from the level of the national system to the position of the condominium management association and the residents living alone.
Even so, if we don't think about it now and take action, it is certain that in 1, 5, or 10 years, there will be more cases of "relic rooms" than now, and many more people will be in trouble.
We have no choice but to take an interest in each of them, talk to the people around them, and start doing what we can.
I strongly believe this from my interviews so far.
And we will continue to communicate developments on this issue in the future.
Finally, here are the previous articles related to the "Relic Room".
What to do with the "relic room" next door, the neighbor will bear the cost! ??
Why am I the "heir"? Can I pay for the disposal of the "relic room"?
The neighbor of the apartment dies Can you pay for the disposal of the room?
I can't dispose of it without permission... Even in apartments, it affects the occupancy of the "relic room"
In a corner of the housing complex, there is a "relic room" and "20 years of storage" without a taker
Ryosuke Naoi, a reporter
at the Network News Department, joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau
in 2010, and has now been interviewed
on the theme of management associations of elderly condominiums,
repairs, and disaster prevention issues.
After working as Director of Good Morning Japan and
Shiro Imai at
the Hiroshima Bureau, he covered a wide range of themes such as
regional issues, wars, and disasters
Kota Iida, a reporter
in the Social Affairs Department, joined the bureau
in 2009, worked in the Chiba Bureau, Akita Bureau, and Network News Department,
and continued
to cover the issues of the elderly who do not have relatives.
Reporter Hiroki
Uchiyama, Network News DepartmentJoined
the Social
Affairs Department in 2011, is in charge of disaster reporting, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, etc., and continues to cover issues such as aging infrastructure and
condominiums.
Good Morning Japan Director
Hiroyuki MaruokaAfter
working at the Hiroshima Bureau, the Social Programs Department, and the Large-Scale Planning and Development Center, he is currently working on
"When did Japan become a world where inheritance became a "burden"?
(Analysis)
Satoshi Watanabe, an engineer at
the Media Innovation Center, in
charge of data processing