Part 4: Cases Requiring a Guideline Investigation for a Change of Use that Does Not Require an Application for Confirmation 

Under the Building Standard Law, an application for confirmation must be filed when changing a floor area of more than 200 m2 to a use called a “special building” such as a theater, hospital, hotel, apartment house, department store, etc. Conversely, if the floor area is less than 200 m2, there is no need to apply for confirmation of the change of use, and the change of use is done at your own risk without checking by a third party such as a confirmation and inspection institution.

There have been cases of people taking advantage of this to change the use of a building that does not have an inspection certificate. Buildings without an inspection certificate cannot be used in the first place, except for small detached houses. However, by limiting total floor of change of the building to 200 m2 or less, the application for confirmation can be avoided, and taking advantage of the limited ability of the government to detect illegal construction, the use of the building is changed and the building is used illegally.

However, in some cases, the lack of an inspection certificate can eventually become a problem. With the recent shortage of childcare facilities and increase in the number of inbound visitors, many people are planning to change the use of existing buildings to childcare facilities or lodging facilities. Some of them may be considering changing the use of a building that does not have an inspection certificate due to its location or price. As mentioned above, even if the floor area for a change of use is limited to 200 m2 or less and the change of use is made without applying for confirmation, it is still necessary to obtain an establishment permit for a daycare facility or an inn business permit for an accommodation facility (*Please read Trivia about private lodging). In fact, these permits cannot be obtained for buildings that do not have an inspection certificate.

So how can you get a permit for a building that does not have an inspection certificate?

This is where the “guideline investigation” comes in (for more information on guideline investigations, please read our previous article, “What is a Guideline Investigation?”) By conducting a guideline survey to confirm the legal compliance of the existing building and correcting any items that need to be corrected, it is possible to obtain a permit for the establishment of a childcare facility or an inn business permit for an overnight stay facility.

Trivia: Private Lodging

In order to change a residence into a private accommodation facility under the new law for private accommodations (the Residential Accommodation Business Law), you do not need to apply for confirmation of the change of use and can start a private accommodation business by notifying the prefectural governor, etc. However, if the building does not have an inspection certificate, the notification will not be accepted.

A solution to this problem is to conduct a guideline investigation and make corrections as necessary to ensure that the building is legally compliant before completing the notification.

We have a number of cases where we have consulted with people who were in the process of changing the use of their buildings to private accommodations, but the process had been halted due to the lack of an inspection certificate, and conducted a investigation to complete the notification.