Note
Why this matters for the exam
RETIO applies the law in force on April 1 of the exam year. This article uses April 1, 2026, when these amendments took effect. For the 2027 exam, confirm the law as of April 1, 2027, including subsequent amendments and transitional rules.
Why the law was changed
- condominium units in Japan (end of 2024)
- 7.131M
- MLIT stock estimate: 7.131 million units × 2.2 people per household ≈ 16 million residents.
- units were 40 years old or older (end-2023)
- ~1 in 5
- MLIT reform overview: 1.37 million units 40 years old or older at end-2023, approximately one-fifth of stock.
- kinds of aging: buildings and residents (“two aging”)
- Two
- MOJ's own description of the background.
Timeline
- 2025-05-23
Act No. 47 of Reiwa 7 enactedCompleted
- 2025-05-30
PromulgatedCompleted
- 2025-11-28
Local-government measures take effectCompleted
For example, recommendations and guidance for condominiums at risk of falling exterior walls.
- 2026-04-01
Condominium Act and Disaster-Damaged Condominium Act changes take effectCompleted
Inside the 2026 exam's April 1 baseline.
- 2027-04-01
Related Mansion Management Act provisions and implementing instruments take effectUpcoming
Later than this article’s baseline. Verify these and any subsequent changes for the April 1, 2027 exam baseline.
The main changes
| Topic | What changed | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary resolutions | Decided by a majority of attending owners and of their voting rights; voting in writing, by proxy, or electronically counts as attending. Special resolutions not involving disposal of unit ownership (such as Art. 17(1)) also use attendees and their voting rights as the base, with an attendance quorum (a majority of owners and voting rights). Before, all owners and voting rights were the base. Article 39 permits different statutory or bylaw rules; electronic voting requires authorization under Article 39(3). | Arts. 17(1), 39(1) |
| Untraceable owners | Owners whom a court recognizes as untraceable are excluded from the base of every resolution. | Art. 38-2 |
| Meeting notice | Every notice must state the purpose and an outline of the proposals. The bylaws cannot shorten the notice period below one week. Longer periods apply where required by special provisions; unanimous consent permits omission of convocation procedures under Article 36. | Art. 35 |
| Common-area changes | With a majority attendance quorum, 3/4 of attending owners and voting rights stays the rule; 2/3 applies where a defect threatens others' rights or legally protected interests (shortfall in earthquake or fire safety, falling exterior walls, corroded pipes) or for barrier-free works. After partial loss exceeding 1/2 of building value, restoration of the lost common parts requires 2/3 of attending voting owners and their voting rights, with a quorum of over half of all voting owners and votes (bylaws may raise the quorum). Article 17(1) permits bylaws to raise the quorum or lower the 3/4 voting threshold to a specified fraction exceeding 1/2. Special effects on a unit’s use also require its owner’s consent (Art. 17(2)). | Arts. 17(1), 17(5), 61(5) |
| Rebuilding | 4/5 of all voting owners and voting rights stays the rule; 3/4 where an objective ground exists (earthquake or fire shortfall, falling exterior walls, pipe deterioration meeting the prescribed serious health-hazard criteria where repair or replacement is significantly difficult, non-compliance with barrier-free standards). Technical criteria are set by MOJ ordinance and notice. | Art. 62(1)–(2) |
| Sale, demolition, renovation | Building-and-site sale, building-demolition-and-site sale, demolition alone, and whole-building renovation (建物の更新) can be resolved by the rebuilding majority (4/5, or 3/4 with an objective ground; for the two site-sale resolutions, also of the site-use right share value) instead of unanimity. The two site-sale routes require the site-use right to be ownership or another right held jointly by multiple persons. | Arts. 64-5 to 64-8 |
| Leases after such a resolution | After a qualifying resolution, the statutorily authorized party may demand termination. The lease ends six months after the demand. The tenant may refuse to surrender the premises until compensation for losses ordinarily caused by termination is offered; termination is not immediate eviction. | Arts. 64-2 to 64-4 |
| Court-appointed administrators | New systems for neglected units and common parts, and for units of untraceable owners. With court permission, an administrator may sell an untraceable owner's unit and deposit the proceeds. | Arts. 46-2 to 46-14 |
| Owners abroad | An owner who has neither a domicile nor a residence in Japan, or will cease to have either, may appoint a domestic administrator (国内管理人) with a domicile or residence in Japan; for corporations, the test concerns the head office or principal office. Bylaws may require appointment. The administrator can receive meeting notices, vote, pay fees and carry out preservation acts and acts of use or improvement that do not change the unit’s nature. | Art. 6-2 |
| Pipes and leaks | Bylaws can allow in-unit pipes to be renewed together with shared pipes by the same majority as the common-area work. An owner can ask to repair another unit's pipes to stop leaks that affect their own. | Arts. 17(3), 18(4), 6(2) |
| Damages for common areas | The manager (or management association corporation) can claim on behalf of current and former owners; former owners may opt out. Litigation on their behalf requires bylaw or meeting authorization. A bylaw provision may restrict a former owner’s opt-out. That restriction does not bind a former owner who had already transferred ownership before the bylaw was adopted. | Arts. 26(2), 26(4), 47(6), 47(8) |
| Complexes (団地) | Lower thresholds for joint rebuilding and a new route for joint sale of buildings and site in a complex. | Arts. 69, 70, 71 |
| Other | Owners’ duty to cooperate; electronic access to bylaws; where necessary to manage the building, its site and appurtenances, a management association corporation may acquire a unit in the building or land for integrated management/use with it, with over half of voting owners and votes attending and at least 3/4 of attending owners and votes approving (bylaws may raise the quorum); a site co-owners’ meeting after total loss. | Arts. 5-2, 33(3), 52-2(1), 72–77 |
Ministry of Justice, Civil Affairs Bureau, April 2026 overview; the statute text on e-Gov governs.
Thresholds at a glance
| Decision | Default | With an objective ground or special case |
|---|---|---|
| Common-area change (significant) | 3/4 of attendees and their votes (majority quorum) | 2/3 of attendees and their votes (safety defects, barrier-free works) |
| Rebuilding | 4/5 of all owners and votes | 3/4 (objective grounds) |
| Sale of building and site, demolition, renovation | 4/5 of all owners and votes (plus site-right share value for sales) | 3/4 (objective grounds) |
| Rebuilding, sale, demolition, or renovation (designated disaster) | 4/5 (normal rule) | 2/3 (large-scale partial destruction, etc. from a designated disaster) |
| Ordinary resolution | Majority of attending owners and their votes (no statutory quorum) | — |
The designated-disaster 2/3 rule is under the Disaster-Damaged Condominium Act (Arts. 2, 5); check the statute for the exact scope. The table gives defaults: Article 39 allows different bylaw rules, and Article 17 allows a higher quorum or a voting fraction below 3/4 but above 1/2. Statutory consent requirements remain applicable.
Exam-day habits for this topic
These amendments are numbers-heavy, so exam statements often turn on a single fraction or a single word.
- Say the baseline out loud: the rule you apply is the one in force on April 1 of the exam year.
- Separate the default from the exception: 4/5 is the rule for rebuilding, 3/4 needs an objective ground.
- Watch the denominator: ordinary resolutions and management special resolutions (such as common-area changes and bylaw changes) are now measured against attending owners and their votes (with a majority attendance quorum for special resolutions), whereas rebuilding, sale, demolition, and renovation resolutions are measured against all voting owners and votes.
- Remember what is new, not only what moved: administrators for neglected units, domestic administrators, and sale or renovation resolutions did not exist before.
The technical criteria for the objective grounds (such as difficult-to-renew piping and safety or barrier-free standards) are set by Ministry of Justice ordinance and notice, while lease-termination compensation is defined by statute as compensation for losses ordinarily arising from termination (Art. 64-2(3)). Confirm the wording against the statute and instruments when a question depends on it.
Transition: meetings for which convocation procedures began before April 1, 2026 follow the former rules even if the meeting itself takes place later.
Frequently asked questions
Were these amendments within the 2026 exam’s law baseline?
Yes. They took effect on April 1, 2026, the exam’s law baseline. This establishes their applicability, not which questions were actually asked. Check RETIO’s official question paper and answer key for actual coverage.
Do owners living abroad now have to appoint a domestic administrator?
Not by the statute alone. The Act creates a system for appointing one, and the bylaws may make it mandatory, according to the MOJ overview.
Does the 2027 exam include these changes?
Use the law in force on April 1, 2027. These amendments were already effective on April 1, 2026; check subsequent changes and transitional rules. MLIT also lists related Mansion Management Act provisions and implementing instruments for April 1, 2027.
Sources
- Ministry of Justice — Act No. 47 of Reiwa 7 (Condominium Act amendments): overview page (opens in a new tab)moj.go.jpEnactment May 23, 2025; promulgation May 30, 2025; April 1, 2026 effectAccessed October 22, 2026
- Ministry of Justice, Civil Affairs Bureau — Reform of the Condominium Act and the Disaster-Damaged Condominium Act (April 2026) (opens in a new tab)moj.go.jpProvision numbers and thresholdsAccessed October 22, 2026
- MLIT — Condominium-related laws, Reiwa 7 amendments (effective dates and implementing instruments) (opens in a new tab)mlit.go.jpLists the April 1, 2027 instrumentsAccessed October 22, 2026
- e-Gov Law Search — Act on Building Unit Ownership (Condominium Act) (opens in a new tab)laws.e-gov.go.jpRevision history shows the April 1, 2026 enforcementAccessed October 22, 2026
- RETIO — Reiwa 8 exam guide (law baseline: April 1) (opens in a new tab)retio.or.jpAccessed October 22, 2026
- MLIT — Condominium Act comparison text (opens in a new tab)mlit.go.jpAccessed October 25, 2026
- MLIT — Lease termination provisions (opens in a new tab)mlit.go.jpAccessed October 25, 2026