What would be the general steps to build a structure on sanrin land? Would there be any exceptions if it were a trailer house or other impermanent structures?
That would depend on the city and whether the land was inside a city's 市街化調整区域 or not and also on the individual city. If it is outside an urbanization adjustment area you have a fairly wide latitude with what you do to the land but it would be prudent to check with the local city to make sure there are no other restrictions on the land. Unfortunately cities can be quite variable on how they interpret planning permission.
Just to give you an example my own land is not included within a 市街化調整区域 and we were able to start building without any prior permission, just informing them we were starting building and when we finished so they could pop around for tax assessment.
That would depend on the city and whether the land was inside a city's 市街化調整区域
市街化調整区域 is the bane of my existence. Most of the land I am interested in in this particular city was 市街化調整区域, even if they were being advertised as for residential purposes. I heared thera are ways to build around the restrictions, but its hard to predict pre-purchase.
市街化調整区域 is the bane of my existence. Most of the land I am interested in in this particular city was 市街化調整区域, even if they were being advertised as for residential purposes.
There are obviously other factors involved but I think it might boil down to how much a city wants to encourage newcomers.
In my case, they want to protect the agriculture industry of the town and slow down urbanization. Not sure if its unique to the area but they won't allow you to buy agricultural land unless you can show that you will be a full time farmer, no weekend farmers allowed.
That's fairly standard practice for purchasing farmland, you have to be a full time farmer. Whilst some cities keen to encourage newcomers will make exceptions or sign you up as a full time farmer, many won't.
Getting permission to build on agricultural land can be done but it isn't easy and a lot will depend on the local Nogyou Inkai.
Same happened to us. We almost didn't buy our house because of this. When we were looking at the house, the seller showed us all the land associated with the property but didn't mention anything about the classifications. Then, when we started getting serious, we were told that two fields behind our house were classified as 'agricultural' land and we couldn't buy them. The seller and real estate agent kept pushing that we could use the land for free, but I was adamant that we own the land. Why would I purchase a country house and not own the land that went with it?! So as the paperwork went through the bank for the loan, we had to petition the nogyou inkai to reclassify the land so we could own it. And of course they only meet twice a year, so it was a bit touch and go until we got the reclassification. Had to state that one field would be a garage and one a play area for the kids. We were also told the rice fields were strictly controlled, so we didn't even apply for them as they were scattered around the area. But I did want the one in front of the house and got a strict 'no' on that one. Still a bit salty about that.
So yeah, for any of you out there thinking about taking the plunge, make sure you know the classifications of all the pieces of land associated with the sale. If you can, get a real estate agent who knows the area or at least talk to some of the neighbors and get a feel for the nogyou inkai, because those farmers can be some stubborn old shits. If they don't want to work with you, they won't. That said, we love our area, the people are great, the nogyou inkai was flexible and we're extremely happy with everything. It was just kinda stressful as we went through the process!
Oh yeah, for sure. It was hard trying to research what the real estate agent was telling us, but we learned a lot. And in the end we got the ownership certificates. Due dilligence is a must.
So yeah, for any of you out there thinking about taking the plunge, make sure you know the classifications of all the pieces of land associated with the sale. If you can, get a real estate agent who knows the area or at least talk to some of the neighbors and get a feel for the nogyou inkai, because those farmers can be some stubborn old shits. If they don't want to work with you, they won't. That said, we love our area, the people are great, the nogyou inkai was flexible and we're extremely happy with everything. It was just kinda stressful as we went through the process!
Can't stress how important this is, some nogyou inkai can be incredibly helpful and bend over backwards to encourage and help folk moving into their community whilst others will just plain refuse and give the impression they'd rather see the community die off.