Part 1: What is a Guideline Investigation?

In principle, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of confirmation and an inspection certificate when constructing a building. However, 30 years ago, only 35% of buildings had obtained an inspection certificate. While there are many reasons for this, such as the fact that Japanese society was more tolerant of such incompliances, the main cause of this can be attributed to the fact that financial institutions provided loans for buildings that did not have an inspection certificate.

In recent years, Japanese society has become increasingly concerned about compliance with laws and regulations. Due to this reason, financial institutions no longer provide financing for buildings that have not obtained an inspection certificate. As a result, the acquisition rate of inspection certificates is dramatically increasing.

While this social trend is moving in the right direction, the problem remains that buildings built more than 30 years ago have not yet obtained an inspection certificate. These buildings were built based on old structural standards, and therefore are unable to withstand strong earthquakes, have poor usability, and have outdated facilities. The time has come to expand, remodel, or change the use of these buildings. In most cases, it is necessary for these outdated buildings to obtain a new confirmation certificate. However, because these existing buildings didn’t obtain an inspection certificate, it is not possible to proceed with the new confirmation application procedure.

In order to effectively utilize existing buildings, in July 2014 the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced The Guideline for Building Standard Law Compliance Status Investigations Utilizing Designated Verification Inspection Bodies for Buildings without Inspection Certificates*. The purpose of this guideline is to help applicants apply for a new building permit after passing an inspection based on the described guideline, which is conducted by a designated confirmation and inspection institution. If any violations are found, they must be corrected before final inspection can be performed.

The investigation based on these guidelines is called The Investigation Services for Those Without a Building Certificate (commonly known as The Guideline Investigation). In the next issues, I will address cases in which this guideline investigation can prove to be useful.

*  The Investigation Services for Those Without a Building Certificate was nullified on March 31st, 2025. From March 1st, 2025, a new guideline known as The Current Status Survey Guidelines for Existing Buildings has been put into effect.

Trivia: Buildings without Inspection Certificates

Buildings without an inspection certificate face a variety of problems such as those detailed below.

・      Additions and Rebuilding: In most cases, an application for a building permit is required for additions and rebuilding, but without an inspection certificate, a new application for a permit cannot be filed.

・      Change of Use: When changing the use of a building with a floor area of more than 200 m2 to that of a special building (apartment, hotel, store, etc.), an application for change of use must be filed. However, without an inspection certificate, a new application for a permit cannot be filed.

・      Real Estate Transactions: When taking out a loan for a real estate transaction, banks will not finance a property without an inspection certificate. Also, in real estate securitization and renovation/resale projects, properties without an inspection certificate are not even considered viable candidates.

・      Increased Compliance Awareness: With the rise in social awareness of the importance of compliance with laws and regulations, companies are now more keen on strictly following set conditions when operating their business. If you own or operate a property that does not have an inspection certificate, you may have a legal compliance problem.