Municipal Temporary Housing in Japan
When your home is gone and the shelter cannot hold you for months, the municipality houses you. The 応急仮設住宅 (ōkyū-kasetsu-jūtaku, "emergency temporary housing") system supplies free or near-free roofs under the Disaster Relief Act until permanent housing returns.1
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at your municipal housing counter and the prefectural disaster-housing pages.
Overview
Prefectures supply the housing under the 1947 Disaster Relief Act, commonly delegating intake to municipalities.1 Eligibility keys off the certificate damage grade, and foreign legal residents enter on the same terms as Japanese households.2
The two formats
Built prefab units rise fast on school grounds and parks for mass intake, then come down when tenure ends.21 Deemed rentals (みなし仮設住宅, minashi-kasetsu-jūtaku, "deemed temporary housing") put you in an ordinary private apartment that the prefecture leases for you.34
| Built prefab | Deemed rental | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Cleared public land near the affected area | Ordinary private apartments |
| Speed | Months to construct | Move-in as fast as a lease signs |
| Lease | Prefecture builds and assigns | Prefecture is the tenant; you hold use permission |
| Standard since | Mass-supply default before 2011 | Post-2016 standard in many disasters |
The deemed model carried over half of all temporary placements across the three 2011 prefectures, near 80 percent in Sendai where rental stock ran deep.1 Recent Noto practice adds townscape and homecoming wooden variants convertible to municipal housing afterward (as of 2026-09).2
The prefecture must be the tenant under a fixed-term lease of two years or less.5 A contract you sign yourself may fall outside the scheme, leaving full rent on you.
Who qualifies
The core test is a destroyed, burned, or washed-away home with no dwelling plus inability to secure housing with your own resources.1 Current practice also admits half-loss demolishers, lifeline-cutoff and landslide-risk households the mayor certifies, and repair-period cases expected to exceed one month.23
Screening still applies. Meeting the apparent criteria does not guarantee placement when stock runs short.2
Rent, tenure, and extensions
Rent is free to the resident for the eligible duration, with some schemes charging symbolic amounts (as of 2026-09; confirm current terms with your prefecture).21 Base tenure runs two years from completion; pre-disaster renters in some schemes start at one year, extendable to two by agreement.23
Major events extend repeatedly. Kobe and Tohoku placements ran five years or more through serial extensions while permanent housing caught up.1 Leave promptly once permanent housing or lifelines recover, since the next household waits on your unit.2
Applying through the municipality
File with the municipality after the disaster with the certificate and household documents.2 In the deemed flow, you find a qualifying unit, the prefecture signs the lease, and you move in under use permission.5
Counters run in Japanese in most cities. Bring a bilingual helper, and confirm whether your pre-disaster renter status changes the base term before choosing between formats.23
Good to know
Find a rental first where stock exists; built units take time
Construction lags need by months. Where apartments stand empty, the deemed path houses you while prefab frames go up.1
Renters face shorter base tenure in some schemes
Pre-disaster renters can start at one year instead of two. Confirm the term in writing before declining a deemed offer to wait for prefab.23
Leaving on time protects the next household in line
Extensions exist for genuine need, not convenience. Documented rebuilding progress keeps an extension request credible.2
See also
- Yakusho: Japan's Ward Office as Universal Interface
- How Renting Works in Japan
- Moving Day Logistics: Movers and the Hikkoshi Industry
- Requesting Juminhyo and Other Documents
- The Disaster Certificate (Risai Shomeisho)
- Disaster Cash Aid (Hisaisha Shienkin)