Tokyo to roll out affordable housing for families

VTV.vn - The Tokyo city government is implementing a plan to provide low-cost housing for families who cannot afford to pay rent in the Japanese capital.

As rents soar, Tokyo to develop affordable housing for families

According to the plan, from the next fiscal year starting in April 2026, public-private funds totaling more than 20 billion yen ($130 million) will provide affordable housing with rents about 20 percent lower than market prices.

About 300 facilities will be provided in stages. The Tokyo government will invest a total of 10 billion yen, while the private sector will mobilize the remaining 10 billion yen.

The city has selected four candidates to lead housing fund management groups: Nomura Real Estate Development, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Resona Real Estate Asset Management and SMBC Trust Bank. Each group will include financial and real estate companies.

Each housing fund will invest in new and existing apartment buildings, as well as individual homes. Priority will be given to families with children and single-parent households.

The public-private partnership is the first funding program of its kind to provide affordable housing for local governments in Japan.

The move comes as rents continue to rise in Tokyo. According to real estate research firm Tokyo Kantei, in the city's 23 central wards, the average apartment rent reached 4,809 yen per square meter in September, up 12% from the same period last year.

The supply of new apartments in Tokyo is also shrinking, with just 11,226 units offered for sale in the first three quarters of the year. That is up from 10,621 units in the same period last year, but new supply remains at levels not seen since the early 1990s.

The Tokyo government will provide social housing to households that are financially beyond their means, while expanding the supply of social housing risks putting pressure on private businesses.

With low- and middle-income earners facing an increasingly difficult rental market, the city has called on the private sector to assist families unable to rent public housing.

The companies chosen to implement the scheme all have expertise in affordable housing. Nomura Real Estate Development announced in April that it would offer part of the rental apartment complexes it is developing in London as affordable housing, in partnership with UK financial group Legal & General.

Source: https://vtv.vn/tokyo-se-trien-khai-nha-o-gia-re-cho-cac-ho-gia-dinh-10025110709255016.htm