Opening a home-visit nursing station — what conditions must the premises meet?

In short: for a home-visit nursing station, the law first asks two things of the premises — (1) a dedicated office, and (2) the equipment and supplies needed to provide home-visit nursing (Standards for Designated In-Home Services, Ministry of Health and Welfare Ordinance No. 37 of 1999, Art. 62). Because the service goes to the client's own home, you do not need resident rooms as an elderly-care facility or serviced housing would. Zoning, too, is relatively easy: home-visit care and nursing offices are treated by a technical notice (Kokujūgai No. 107, 13 November 2015) as "senior welfare centres and the like," so there is room to set one up even in residential-only zones. Whether a designation is granted is judged by the designating authority (the prefecture / the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare); we only provide property information.

When you set out to open a home-visit nursing station, the first thing you puzzle over is "what premises should I rent?" Articles on elderly-care facilities and serviced housing for the elderly list detailed standards for room size, barrier-free design and floor area — but home-visit nursing goes to the client's home, so the way to think about premises is fundamentally different. This article is for nurses and medical-corporation staff considering a new home-visit nursing station, and for real-estate practitioners searching for business premises. Property investigation, brokerage and lease intermediation are undertaken by us (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.) as information provision; whether the designation is granted is judged by the designating authority.

What does a home-visit nursing station first need in its premises?

A home-visit nursing station is an office from which nurses visit clients' homes to provide nursing care and assist with treatment. Because clients are not lodged or housed on the premises, no resident rooms, baths, or dining areas are needed. What the law asks of the premises comes down to three points.

Point	What is required	Basis
Office	A dedicated office of sufficient size to run the business	Standards, Art. 62
Equipment / supplies	The equipment and supplies needed to provide home-visit nursing	Same, Art. 62
Zoning	Home-visit care/nursing offices are treated as "senior welfare centres and the like"	Building Standards Act, Appended Table 2 · Kokujūgai No. 107

What matters first is whether you can secure a dedicated office. Rather than a floor-area figure, what is asked is whether you can set aside, separately from other businesses, space to store records, manage client information, and let staff stand by and hand over. On thinking about business premises, see business and investment property and premises and offices for your base. For how the view of premises differs from "facility-type" care operations, see an elderly-care office is decided by zoning.

How large an office, and what infection-control partition, do you really need?

Article 62 of the Standards provides that a designated home-visit nursing station "shall establish a dedicated office of a size sufficient to run the business, and shall provide the equipment and supplies necessary to provide designated home-visit nursing." No nationwide uniform floor-area figure is written in the text. In practice, each prefecture's or designated-city's designation-application guide shows a benchmark for "sufficient size" (consultation space, an infection-control perspective, and so on), so you check the guide for your planned location when you start.

It is often misunderstood that "an independent infection-control partition is required," but what the law uniformly mandates as a structural feature of the premises is not a stand-alone infection zone. Prevention of the spread of infection is framed on the operational side (a committee, guidelines, training and drills for measures against infectious disease) and as a hygiene-management requirement to keep equipment and supplies sanitary. So at the premises stage, what you look at is whether the "groundwork for a partition" can be taken.

What to check at the premises	Why it matters
Hand-hygiene fixtures	Can a hand-washing basin / sink be secured near the office?
Cleaning / disinfection space	Is there a work surface to handle visit equipment, separating clean and unclean?
Clean storage area	Can shelving / a partition be taken to keep supplies and records clean?
Privacy	Can the office handling client information be separated from visitors and shared areas?

The figures and the handling of required partitions vary by municipality. When you start, check the designation-application guide published by the prefecture / designated city of your planned location directly (these guides are revised from time to time).

Is zoning a problem (Building Standards Act, Appended Table 2)?

With business premises, zoning is often the first hurdle, but for a home-visit nursing station it is comparatively lenient. Home-visit care/nursing offices were once read as "offices" under Article 48 and Appended Table 2 of the Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950), and there was a time when they were treated as unbuildable in residential-only zones.

However, following the Regulatory Reform Implementation Plan, a technical notice from the Urban Building Division, Housing Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Kokujūgai No. 107, 13 November 2015) provided that offices for providing home-visit care/nursing and similar services to residents (excluding hospitals, clinics, shops and the like) are to be treated as "senior welfare centres and the like," widening the room to set one up even in residential-only zones including Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones.

Zone	Rough treatment of a home-visit care/nursing office
Category 1 / 2 low-rise exclusive residential	Room to build as "senior welfare centres and the like" (mind size limits)
Mid/high-rise, residential, quasi-residential	Easy to build
Neighbourhood commercial, commercial, quasi-industrial	Easy to build
Exclusive industrial	Mind the use restriction (confirm by the zoning designation)

That said, size (floor-area) limits and whether a change-of-use confirmation (Art. 87(1)) is needed when converting an existing building vary by property and zone. Whether the zoning allows it, and whether a change-of-use confirmation is required, can be confirmed at the specified administrative agency before signing.

Can you open in a detached house or one room of a rental apartment?

Sometimes yes. Because a home-visit nursing station needs no resident rooms, part of a detached house or one room of a rental apartment or office building can be a candidate, so long as you can secure a dedicated office and the necessary equipment and supplies. At the premises-selection stage, check the following.

Point	Why it matters
Lease's purpose of use	Can it be used as "office / business"? A residential-only lease may not allow it
Condominium management rules	Is business use barred by a use restriction (residential only) on the exclusive area?
Securing a dedicated area	Can a dedicated office be taken, separated from other businesses (if co-located)?
Groundwork for hygiene	Can you take a partition for hand-washing, cleaning/disinfection, and clean storage?
Barrier-free / access	Staff flow lines and ease of carrying records and equipment in and out

"Using a room rented as a residence directly as an office" is where leases and management rules trip you up. Check the lease's purpose of use and the management rules' use restriction before deciding. On what to read in a lease, see what to read in a lease agreement.

Whom do you consult about the designation application, staffing and registration (separate engagement)?

Opening a home-visit nursing station is not completed by premises alone. Because it spans business entities, keep the roles separate.

What to do	Who handles it
Property investigation, brokerage, lease intermediation	Licensed real estate agent (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.)
Designation-application documents (showing staffing, equipment, operational standards)	Administrative scrivener (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office)
Staffing, full-time-equivalent conversion, on-call wage design	Certified social insurance labour consultant (Yotsuba Labour and Social Security Attorney Office)
Ownership-transfer registration if you buy the property	Judicial scrivener
Tax (opening, corporate tax)	Tax accountant

The designation window for a designated in-home service provider (home-visit nursing) under long-term care insurance is the prefectural governor (the mayor for designated / core cities) (Long-Term Care Insurance Act, Art. 41). Once granted, there is a mechanism by which you are also treated as a designated home-visit nursing provider under health insurance (Health Insurance Act, Arts. 88 and 89 — designation by the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare). Whether the designation itself is granted is judged by the designating authority (the prefecture / the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare); we only provide property information. The staffing standard (nurses etc. of 2.5 or more on a full-time-equivalent basis, at least one full-time; the manager a full-time, dedicated public-health nurse or nurse) is set by Arts. 60 and 61, but the arrangement to meet it, the full-time-equivalent conversion and the on-call (standby) wage design are the field of a certified social insurance labour consultant.

Who should you consult?

Property investigation, brokerage and sale/lease contracts are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). Preparation of documents submitted to public offices, such as the designation application, is handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Staffing, full-time-equivalent conversion and standby-allowance design are handled by Yotsuba Labour and Social Security Attorney Office; ownership-transfer registration on purchase by a judicial scrivener; tax by a tax accountant — each in its field.

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Whether the designation is granted is judged by the designating authority (the prefecture / the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare). Consultation is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is there a set minimum floor area for a home-visit nursing station's premises?
A. Article 62 of the Standards requires "a dedicated office of a size sufficient to run the business," but no nationwide uniform figure is written in the text. In practice each prefecture's / designated city's designation-application guide shows a benchmark, so check the guide for your planned location when you start. Guides are revised from time to time.

Q. Is an independent room (partition) for infection control always required?
A. The law does not uniformly mandate an "independent infection zone" as a structural feature of the premises. Prevention of the spread of infection is an operational-standard requirement (committee, guidelines, training, etc.) and a hygiene-management matter; at the premises stage you look at whether a partition for hand hygiene, cleaning/disinfection and clean storage can be taken within the office. Confirm the details in the guide for your planned location.

Q. Can you open a home-visit nursing station in a residential-only zone?
A. There is room to. Home-visit care/nursing offices are treated by the technical notice (Kokujūgai No. 107, 13 November 2015) as "senior welfare centres and the like," and are said to be establishable even in residential-only zones including Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones. Since size limits and whether a change of use is needed vary by property and zone, confirm with the specified administrative agency.

Q. Can you open in one room of a rental apartment?
A. If you can secure a dedicated office and the necessary equipment and supplies, and the lease's purpose of use and the management rules allow business use, it is a candidate. Because a residential-only lease or a use restriction in the management rules can trip you up, check the contract and rules before deciding. The final decision on the designation is made by the designating authority.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Standards for Personnel, Equipment and Operation of Designated In-Home Service Businesses" — Ministry of Health and Welfare Ordinance No. 37 of 1999. Art. 60 (number of nurses etc. for home-visit nursing — 2.5 or more on a full-time-equivalent basis, at least one full-time); Art. 61 (manager — a full-time, dedicated public-health nurse or nurse); Art. 62 (equipment and supplies — a dedicated office and the equipment and supplies necessary to provide home-visit nursing). In force from 1 April 2000. Accessed 3 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Building Standards Act" — Act No. 201 of 1950. Art. 48 (use-zone restrictions); Appended Table 2 (buildings within use zones); Art. 87(1) (change-of-use confirmation). Accessed 3 September 2026.
• MLIT technical notice "Treatment of 'senior welfare centres and the like' under the Building Standards Act" (Kokujūgai No. 107, 13 November 2015) — offices for providing home-visit care/nursing and similar services to residents (excluding hospitals, clinics, shops and the like) are treated as "senior welfare centres and the like." Accessed 3 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Long-Term Care Insurance Act" — Act No. 123 of 1997. Art. 41 (designation of designated in-home service providers — prefectural governor). Accessed 3 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Health Insurance Act" — Act No. 70 of 1922. Art. 88 (home-visit nursing treatment expenses — designated home-visit nursing from a designated provider); Art. 89 (designation of designated home-visit nursing providers — Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare). Accessed 3 September 2026.

The benchmark for the "sufficient size" of a dedicated office, the infection-control and hygiene-management requirements, and any size limits under zoning vary by the prefecture / designated city / specified administrative agency of the planned location. This article does not assess any individual property. When you start, confirm at the relevant designation-application guide and the specified administrative agency.

This article is general information. It does not judge or guarantee the feasibility of any particular property or the granting of a home-visit nursing station's designation. Whether the designation is granted is judged by the designating authority (the prefecture / the Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare). Property investigation and brokerage and sale/lease contracts are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); preparation of designation-application and other documents submitted to public offices by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office; labour design by Yotsuba Labour and Social Security Attorney Office — independent business entities, engaged separately and directly. Ownership-transfer registration goes to a judicial scrivener and tax to a tax accountant, engaged directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees.

About the author

Joji Uramatsu — licensed real estate transaction specialist (Tokyo Governor registration No. 293544) and administrative scrivener (registration No. 25087022). Representative Director, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304); principal, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Kohinata, Bunkyo, Tokyo, about five minutes' walk from Myogadani station. Property and permits are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.