Buyin a House: Finding a Home 6

Buying a House: Finding a Home 6

What is a house with a Housing Performance Evaluation Certificate?

A "house with a housing performance evaluation certificate" is a house for which a third-party evaluation certificate on housing performance has been issued based on the "Housing Performance Indication System" stipulated in the Law Concerning the Promotion of Housing Quality Assurance, etc. It is important to know what kind of system it is and what kind of advantages it has.

Point 1: ​What is the Housing Performance Indication System?

The Housing Performance Indication System for newly built houses was launched in 2000. Under this system, a registered housing performance evaluation agency, a third-party organization registered by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, evaluates housing performance in 33 items in 10 fields* (for newly built houses), including structural stability, mitigation of deterioration, consideration for maintenance and renewal, thermal environment, and energy consumption, on a scale of 1 to 5. This provides an objective performance evaluation of the house.　​

​This program is voluntary, and not all homes undergo performance evaluation. Note that anyone can request a housing performance evaluation, including the building company that built the house, the buyer of the house, or the seller of the house.

Two types of residential performance evaluations for new homes
There are two types of performance evaluations: Design Housing Performance Evaluation, which summarizes the evaluation results of the design documents, and Construction Housing Performance Evaluation, which is based on the results of on-site inspections and verification of construction record documents at the time of construction and completion for houses that have undergone Design Housing Performance Evaluation.​

Existing houses are also subject to the evaluation system
In August 2002, the Performance Indication System for Existing (pre-owned) Houses was also launched. In the evaluation of existing houses, among the performance indication items for new houses, there are 28 items in 9 fields that can be evaluated with a certain level of reliability even for existing houses, and 2 items that are only for existing houses. While the evaluation of the deterioration status of the existing house is mandatory, the evaluation of the individual performance of the house is optional.

Point 2: Features of Housing with Housing Performance Evaluation Certificate

A house with a Housing Performance Evaluation Certificate has many advantages.

1. You can find an objective evaluation of a house's performance by a third-party organization registered by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
2. In the case of a newly built house, when the seller, the housing supplier, attaches a housing performance evaluation report or its copy to the sales contract or delivers a housing performance evaluation report or its copy to the buyer, it is considered that the contract has been concluded to deliver a house with the performance indicated in the evaluation report. Therefore, if the performance indicated on the evaluation report is not met, the buyer can demand repair work, compensation for damages, etc. from the real estate company that is the seller.
3. If you obtain a Construction Housing Performance Evaluation Certificate, you can receive a discount on the earthquake insurance premium rate according to the grade of earthquake resistance.
   
4. You may be eligible for preferential mortgage interest rates.
   

Point 3: Housing dispute resolution through the Housing Performance Indication System

In the event of a housing dispute or a dispute between parties concerning a contract or sales agreement on a house for which a Construction Housing Performance Evaluation Certificate has been issued, you may apply for dispute resolution at a designated housing dispute resolution organization (local unit bar association) designated by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The fee for dispute resolution is 10,000 yen per case.
​*A designated housing dispute resolution organization is an organization that facilitates and speeds up the resolution of housing disputes.

Housing dispute resolution mechanism under the Housing Performance Indication System