Part 2: Buildings from the Era of Absolute Height Restrictions

Currently, building volume is regulated by floor-area ratio, but until the Building Standard Law was revised in 1970, the restriction was based on absolute height. Therefore, in some cases, when a building built before 1970 is to be reconstructed, it can only be built with a smaller floor area than the existing building.

One example such is when a 10-story building was built in the center of the city in an area where an absolute height limit of 31 meters was originally imposed. However, the floor-area ratio was designated at 600%. Therefore, if the building was rebuilt, it would be a 6-story building. In the case of a tenant building, the floor space for rent would be reduced to 60% of the original floor space, directly affecting profits, which is quite troublesome, isn’t it?

Since the building was built before 1970, it is more than 50 years old, and it has many problems such as inadequate seismic resistance of the building, a dated floor plan, aged equipment, etc. Moreover, due to these reasons, it is subjected to a lower unit rent than the latest buildings in the area. Wouldn’t it be nice if the building could be renovated and rented at a higher unit price without having to reduce the floor space of the structure?

However, what can make matters worse is when the existing building does not have an inspection certificate. In this case, major repair or major remodeling, which require a new confirmation application procedure, cannot be performed. In addition, even if the use of the building is changed to meet the current tenant demand, it is not possible to change the use of the building to a scale that requires a new application for confirmation.

This is where our guideline investigation comes into play (for more information on this guideline investigation, please read our previous article, “What is a Guideline Investigation?”). By conducting a guideline investigation to confirm the legal compliance of an existing building and correcting any items that need to be fixed, it is possible to proceed to a new application for confirmation and final inspection. Upon further renovation work, it is possible to transform the building into one with the level of usability and facilities required by the market.

In the following areas listed below, there are many older buildings, many of which were built in the era of absolute height restrictions. As a result, under the current regulations, and renovating the buildings to meet current standards often results in a reduction in floor area, which is often a problem. If you check city planning information and are able to find buildings completed before 1970 in commercial areas where the floor-area ratio is set at 600% or less, you might as well have hit the jackpot!

Opportunistic Building Areas

Nihonbashi area (Tokyo)

Kanda area (Tokyo)

Naka-ku area (Yokohama)

Sakae area (Nagoya)

Shinsaibashi area (Osaka)

Hakata area (Fukuoka City)

Trivia: Absolute Height Restrictions

It is said that the height restrictions were established to ensure lighting and ventilation in urban areas, prevent overcrowding, fires, earthquakes, and other disasters, control traffic capacity on roads, etc.

With the 1970 revision of the Building Standards Law, restrictions based on floor-area ratio were fully introduced, and building volume is now mainly controlled by floor-area ratio.

Absolute height restrictions were established in the Urban Building Law (predecessor to the Building Standards Law) enacted in 1919, which limited height to approximately 20m in residential districts and approximately 31m in zoning districts other than residential districts.