What to do if you inherit land in an urbanization control area? [Survey Results Announcement]

Survey on how to deal with inherited land in urbanization control areas

Land in urbanization control areas has low taxes, but in principle, building construction is not allowed, making it extremely difficult to sell or utilize. Therefore, many people who suddenly inherit such land are at a loss, lacking information on 'how to dispose of land where a house cannot be built' or 'who to consult.'

In response, Fudosan Kaitori Center, a real estate problem-solving site operated by Dream Planning Co., Ltd. (Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Mikito Takahashi), conducted a survey targeting people interested in real estate (353 valid responses) on 'What to do if you inherit land in an urbanization control area?'

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When using the survey results and images from this press release, please include a link to the Fudosan Kaitori Center URL (https://dream-plan.com/fudosan/chosei-inheritance-survey/) where the survey results are published.

No permission from our company is required for publication.

Urbanization Control Area Survey: Respondent Attributes (353 valid responses)

■ Gender Composition

Male: 199 people (approx. 56%) Female: 154 people (approx. 44%)

■ Age Group Composition

20s: 35 people (9.9%) 30s: 100 people (28.3%) 40s: 124 people (35.1%) 50s: 71 people (20.1%) 60s: 20 people (5.7%) 70s and older: 3 people (0.8%)

■ Survey Period

2026.2.21-3.16

What to do if you inherit land in an urbanization control area?

What to do if you inherit land in an urbanization control area?

An urbanization control area is a place designated as an 'area where urbanization should be suppressed' under the City Planning Act. In principle, it is difficult to build residential buildings, and construction is not allowed except for some exceptions such as farmers. Furthermore, it is a special type of real estate characterized by undeveloped infrastructure and poor transportation access.

When asked, 'What would you do if you suddenly inherited land in such an urbanization control area?', 47.9% (169 responses), nearly half, answered 'want to let go/sell,' making it the most common response.

On the other hand, 100 respondents (28.3%) answered 'want to use it myself,' and 84 respondents (23.8%) answered 'want to rent it out to a third party.' Together, these two responses accounted for more than half (52.1%).

From these results, it is clear that while the prevailing sentiment is 'I want to prioritize selling/disposing rather than utilizing it myself' due to the high hurdles of strict building restrictions and infrastructure problems, more than half of the remaining respondents show a desire to 'utilize it in some form, such as farmland or a material storage area.' This indicates a very distinctive distribution of needs, where judgment is sharply divided depending on location conditions and the presence of specialized knowledge.

1st: Want to let go/sell 169 responses 47.9%

2nd: Want to use 100 responses 28.3%

3rd: Want to rent 84 responses 23.8%

Number of responses: 353 (single answer)

Tell me specifically what to do if you inherit land in an urbanization control area

Next, we asked in more detail about what specific actions respondents would consider if they suddenly inherited land in an urbanization control area.

1st: Want to sell if it can make money. 155/353 43.9%

2nd: Want to use it as farmland or a home garden. 52/353 14.7%

3rd: Want to rent it out as farmland. 46/353 13.0%

4th: Want to use it for other purposes. 21/353 6.0%

5th: Want to build a house if possible. 16/353 4.5%

6th: Want to build and rent out apartments, etc. 14/353 4.0%

6th: Don't need it because it has no value. 14/353 4.0%

8th: Want to rent it out as a material storage area. 12/353 3.4%

8th: Want to rent it out for other purposes. 12/353 3.4%

10th: Want to use it as a material storage area. 11/353 3.1%

Number of responses: 353 (single answer)

The survey results show that many people have strong anxieties about continuing to own land in urbanization control areas, which are difficult to utilize.

'Want to let go/sell if it can make money' was ranked 1st with 43.9%, significantly surpassing 'Want to use it as farmland or a home garden' (14.7%) which ranked 2nd.

This is thought to reflect respondents' high concerns about future burden risks, such as maintenance costs like fixed asset taxes and the effort of weeding, under the restrictions where building construction is not possible.

Also, from the 2nd ranked response, it is difficult to sell.