Disclosure items and psychological defects ― for how long, and how far, must you disclose that \"someone died in the house\"?

A parent died in the family home. When you sell or rent out that house, do you have to tell the buyer or tenant that \"someone died here\"? The \"Guidelines on Disclosure of Deaths\" issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in October 2021 gave a benchmark for the first time. Natural deaths and accidental deaths in daily life need not in principle be disclosed; if there was special cleaning, disclose; for rentals, roughly three years; for sales, no time limit. This article sets out how this works in practice and the points to keep in mind as a seller.

About this translation ― This page is an English translation of an article originally written in Japanese by KuraLab's operator, a licensed real-estate transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) and administrative scrivener (行政書士) in Japan. The Japanese original is the authoritative text; where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. The article explains Japanese law and procedure in general terms as of the date shown. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation ― please confirm with a licensed professional in Japan. Japanese terms are kept in parentheses so you can search for them. Read the Japanese original

At the "disclosure items" box on the brokerage contract papers, the woman's hand stopped. "My mother died in the bedroom of this house. Of old age. She was found the next morning; I found her." Having said that much, she asked, "Do I have to write this?" There is no need to write it as a disclosure. But I told her to tell the agent the facts in this box. Telling the agent and disclosing to the buyer are two different things. This article is about how to fill in that box, and about the sale that followed.

In consultations about selling an inherited family home, people sometimes ask, hesitantly, "My father died in this house; do I have to say so?" For a long time there was no clear answer to this question. Judgements differed from one estate agent to another and from one court case to another, and "disclose everything just in case" coexisted with "say nothing unless asked." In October 2021, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued the "Guidelines on Disclosure of Deaths by Licensed Real Estate Businesses" (宅地建物取引業者による人の死の告知に関するガイドライン), and for the first time there was a benchmark.

The framework of the guidelines is this. First, natural deaths (old age, illness) and accidental deaths in the course of daily life (falls, accidents in the bath, choking and so on) need not in principle be disclosed. The reasoning is that people dying at home is natural, and in itself does not significantly affect the decision of a buyer or tenant. However, even with a natural death, if discovery was delayed and special cleaning (特殊清掃) or large-scale renovation was carried out, it becomes subject to disclosure.

Next, suicide, homicide and accidental death (other than accidental death in daily life) are subject to disclosure. For rentals, it was stated that once roughly three years have passed since the incident, in principle it need not be disclosed. For sales there is no such time benchmark. In a sale, the buyer lives there for a long time and holds it as an asset too, so rather than drawing a line by time, the judgement is made case by case in the light of the nature of the incident and what has happened since. In practice, for a property sold where there was a suicide or homicide, the safe course is to disclose no matter how many years have passed.

Location is also addressed. What is covered is the inside of the unit itself and common areas used in daily life (entrance, corridors, lifts). Incidents in a neighbouring unit or in common areas not used daily (the roof, stairs not normally used) are in principle outside disclosure. And in every case, if the buyer or tenant asks "has anyone died here?", you must answer, even for an incident that need not be disclosed. The guidelines show "the range you need not mention of your own accord"; they do not say "you may hide it even when asked."

Benchmarks for disclosing a death (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism guidelines, October 2021). Natural death or accidental death in daily life: rental, no disclosure in principle; sale, no disclosure in principle. Even so, where special cleaning or large-scale renovation took place: rental, disclose (in principle not needed after roughly three years); sale, disclose (no time benchmark). Suicide, homicide or other accidental death: rental, disclose (in principle not needed after roughly three years); sale, disclose (no time benchmark). A neighbouring unit or common areas not used daily: no disclosure in principle for either. When asked by the buyer or tenant: answer, for both.

In practice as a seller, it goes like this. For a family home where a parent died of illness or old age, disclosure is in principle not needed. But you will be asked in the "disclosure items" box when signing the estate agent's brokerage contract, so tell them the facts as they are. Having been told, the company decides whether to disclose in line with the guidelines. If discovery was delayed and special cleaning was done, or if there was a suicide, it is entered as a disclosure item in the explanation of important matters described in another article, and it also affects the price. Selling while hiding it leads, when it comes to light later, to issues of liability for non-conformity and damages, and costs more than selling with disclosure.

On the effect on price. Where it is a natural death needing no disclosure, there is basically no effect on price. Properties with disclosure items vary by area and incident, but often go for about 10 to 30% below the market, and with rentals the usual practice is to let at a lower rent, or to wait for time to pass before letting. If this factor comes into the "sell quickly" decision described in the article on vacant houses, ask several companies for valuations and compare both how they would handle disclosure and the price.

What was sorted out in the case. The mother's death was a natural death from old age. She was found the next morning, and there was neither special cleaning nor renovation. Under the guidelines' benchmark, it was outside disclosure. The estate agent recorded in the disclosure items box of the brokerage contract "natural death (old age), found the next day, no special cleaning," and decided not to include it in the explanation of important matters. The woman asked, "Isn't that hiding it?" and the person in charge at the company answered, "If the buyer asks 'has anyone died here?', we will answer. It is simply not something to raise of our own accord." In fact, this house's buyer asked at the viewing, "Are your parents well?", and the woman answered, "My mother died in this house." The buyer just said, "I see," and it had no effect on the price negotiation. Against a valuation of 26,000,000 yen, it sold for 25,800,000 yen.

I will also give the opposite example. The same year, there was a consultation about selling a house where an elder brother had taken his own life in the bathroom at home. This was subject to disclosure, with no time benchmark. It was entered in the explanation of important matters, and against a valuation of 31,000,000 yen, several companies' view was that it would "drop by around 20%." The actual sale was at 24,500,000 yen, about 21% lower. The buyer was an investor who bought knowing the facts, on the assumption of renovating. The heirs asked once, "Couldn't we sell without saying?", but selling while hiding it would, when it came to light, cost more than a 20% reduction through cancellation of the contract or damages. With the decision to state the facts and factor them into the price, it sold in three months.

One borderline example as well. A house where, though the death was natural, discovery was delayed and special cleaning was done. In one consultation, a father living alone had died and was found three weeks later; special cleaning and replacement of the floor were carried out. The cause of death was illness, but because there had been special cleaning, it was subject to disclosure. The explanation of important matters stated "death from illness, about three weeks until found, special cleaning and floor replacement carried out," and it sold for about 10% below the valuation. The exception to "natural deaths need not be disclosed" is this "delay in discovery," and in the homes of parents living alone, this pattern is increasing.

Finally, the guidelines are "a benchmark for the judgement of licensed real estate businesses," not law. If it goes to court, it is decided on the individual circumstances. But now that there is a benchmark, fewer sellers agonise over "may I not say?", and estate agents' practice is becoming more uniform. There is no need to feel guilty that a parent died at home. Tell the facts, and let the judgement follow the system. That is all.

The house of the woman who had sat with her mother at the end in the bedroom: she wrote the facts in the disclosure items box, it was not included in the explanation of important matters, and it sold at the valuation. When the buyer asked, she answered, and still the price did not change. At the end of the main text I wrote, "there is no need to feel guilty that a parent died at home." The guidelines are what turned that guilt into the language of a system. Tell the facts, and let the judgement follow the system. The box where the woman's hand stopped is there for that.

Written by: 長澤湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-24

This article is a general explanation of Japanese rules and procedures, not advice on an individual case. Figures and rules are as of the date shown. For your own situation, consult a lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant or administrative scrivener in Japan.

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Disclosure items and psychological defects ― for how long, and how far, must you disclose that \"someone died in the house\"?

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