An old mortgage still sits on the property you inherited — how do you clear it and sell?

In short: even if an old mortgage remains on real estate you inherited, you can sell it. But since buyers and banks normally want delivery free of security, clearing it is set up as a premise of the sale. A mortgage that survives despite full repayment does so because cancellation is not automatic on repayment — you must apply for it yourself with the documents the bank handed over, and that was left undone. The application for the cancellation registration is by a judicial scrivener (registration is the judicial scrivener's exclusive work); we do not act on registration. When the creditor company has vanished or gone missing so an ordinary cancellation is impossible, there is the "dormant security" cancellation (Real Property Registration Act Art. 70 and 70-2, in force 1 April 2023), which uses a deposit or a 30-year lapse. The inheritance registration from the decedent's name to the heir's name is also by a judicial scrivener; if a dispute arises, a lawyer. Appraisal of the property and the sale plan are by our company (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.); the cancellation and inheritance registrations by a judicial scrivener — each engaged as an independent business entity, separately and directly.

You look at the register of the land or house you inherited from a parent and find a mortgage that should have been repaid, or an unfamiliar old security right, still on it — and you want to clear it before selling. That is the setting of this article. Drawing on the Real Property Registration Act and the Civil Code, plus materials from the Legal Affairs Bureau and the National Tax Agency, it sets out in order how to handle a security right left on inherited real estate together with the sale plan. Acting on the registration is the judicial scrivener's role; our company handles appraisal, sale preparation and schedule coordination as information.

With a mortgage still on inherited real estate, can you sell it as is?

You can sell it. Ownership transfers and a sale contract is valid even with a mortgage attached. In practice, though, if the buyer takes out a mortgage loan, the bank makes delivery "free of prior security" a condition. Even a cash buyer avoids a property with prior security, fearing foreclosure risk. So the usual flow is to cancel the mortgage at settlement (receipt of the balance) and deliver clean ownership free of security.

Situation	Cancellation plan
A repaid mortgage remains	Cancellation registration before or at settlement (filed by a judicial scrivener)
A loan balance remains	Repay the loan with the sale proceeds, receive the cancellation documents from the bank, and cancel simultaneously
The creditor company has vanished/gone missing	Consider the dormant-security methods of Real Property Registration Act Art. 70 and 70-2

Start by obtaining the register (certificate of registered matters) and listing the mortgages and revolving mortgages in the "Ku B" section. The overall picture of selling inherited real estate is at selling inherited real estate. See also title registration and sale of an inherited unregistered building and, for co-owned inheritance, consent when selling inherited co-owned real estate.

Why does a mortgage survive despite full repayment?

A mortgage is extinguished in substance once the secured debt (a housing loan, etc.) is fully repaid (Civil Code). But the mortgage on the register does not disappear automatically; the cancellation registration removes it from the record only when a party applies.

At repayment, the bank hands over the documents needed to cancel — the registration identification information or registration certificate, a document evidencing repayment, a power of attorney to cancel. You then apply for the cancellation (yourself or through a judicial scrivener). Forgetting or postponing this, letting the years pass, and then reaching inheritance is a common course of events.

Reason it remains	Situation at inheritance
Forgot to apply for cancellation after repayment	Ordinary cancellation possible if the documents are still at hand
Lost the documents received from the bank	Reissue/certification must be requested from the bank
The creditor is old and the company has vanished	Ordinary joint application impossible; consider dormant-security cancellation

If the documents are complete, cancellation is not difficult. The problem is when the documents are lost, or the creditor no longer exists. The next section covers this.

Who applies to cancel the mortgage? (the judicial scrivener's registration, documents, cost)

Acting on a real-property registration application is the judicial scrivener's exclusive work. Our company (real estate) does not act on registration. A mortgage-cancellation registration is in principle applied for jointly by the registration holder (the owner) and the registration obligor (the mortgagee, i.e. the bank); in practice a judicial scrivener acts under a commission from both.

Item	Content
Who applies	Joint application by the registration holder (owner) and obligor (mortgagee); the judicial scrivener acts
Main documents	Registration identification information or registration certificate, release/repayment certificate, mortgagee's power of attorney, corporate number, etc.
Registration license tax	1,000 yen per parcel of real estate (Registration License Tax Act, Appended Table 1); land and building counted separately; cap 20,000 yen per application
Judicial scrivener's fee	Separate; depends on the matter

Where inheritance is involved, the cancellation may require, as a premise, an inheritance registration from the decedent's name to the heir's name. Inheritance registration became mandatory from 1 April 2024 (Real Property Registration Act Art. 76-2), requiring application within three years of learning of the inheritance. Inheritance registration is also by a judicial scrivener.

When the creditor company has vanished or gone missing, how is a dormant security cancelled?

For an old mortgage set in the Meiji, Taisho or Showa era, where the creditor company or individual no longer exists or the whereabouts are unknown, an ordinary joint application is impossible. Here you use the "dormant security" cancellation. The Real Property Registration Act reorganised Article 70 and added Article 70-2 in the amendment in force on 1 April 2023 (amending Act No. 24 of 2021).

Method	Outline of requirements	Basis
Public notice and exclusion ruling	Where the obligor's whereabouts are unknown, apply for a public notice, obtain an exclusion ruling, and apply to cancel alone	Real Property Registration Act Art. 70(1)–(3)
20 years from maturity + deposit	For a statutory lien, pledge or mortgage, where 20 years have passed since the secured debt's maturity and money equal to the full principal, interest and damages has since been deposited, apply to cancel alone	Real Property Registration Act Art. 70(4)
Corporate dissolution + 30 years	Where the obligor is a corporation that has dissolved and the liquidator's whereabouts remain unknown after the prescribed investigation, cancel alone where 30 years have passed from maturity and 30 years from dissolution	Real Property Registration Act Art. 70-2

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The judgment on and application for a deposit or public notice, and these cancellation registrations, are by a judicial scrivener; the deposit is made at the Legal Affairs Bureau / deposit office. Which method is available depends on whether the mortgagee is an individual or a corporation, the years since maturity, and the result of the whereabouts investigation. If a dispute arises (an objection from the creditor's side, etc.), it is the lawyer's territory. Our company does not act on registration or deposit.

In what order and on what schedule do cancellation and sale/delivery proceed?

How cancellation and sale proceed varies with the state of the security right.

Case	Rough approach
A repaid mortgage with documents complete	Prepare the cancellation in parallel with the sale activity and cancel at settlement; deliver with clean ownership
A loan balance remains	Repay in full with the sale proceeds, receive the bank's cancellation documents, and cancel simultaneously (simultaneous settlement)
A dormant security remains	The deposit/public notice takes time, so start before the sale; set the sale schedule watching the completion timing

The point is that a dormant-security cancellation can take time. The public-notice or deposit procedure can take several months or more, and it may not keep pace with the listing. Confirm the register first, grasp the state of the security right early, and set the sale schedule after forming a prospect for the cancellation. Appraisal, listing and buyer coordination are by our company; cancellation and inheritance registrations by a judicial scrivener.

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Cancellation and inheritance registrations go to a judicial scrivener, the deposit to the Legal Affairs Bureau / deposit office, and a dispute with the creditor to a lawyer — each engaged by you directly. Consultation is free of charge.

Who should you consult?

Appraisal, sale preparation, listing, buyer coordination and the sale contract of inherited real estate are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). Acting on registration applications — mortgage-cancellation registration, inheritance registration — is by a judicial scrivener; the deposit of a dormant security by the Legal Affairs Bureau / deposit office; and a dispute with the creditor by a lawyer. We do not act on registration; we put the sale of the property and the plan for clearing the security right on the same table.

Frequently asked questions

Q. A mortgage remains on the register though I repaid in full. Is it fine to leave it?
A. Even if the mortgage is extinguished in substance by repayment, the register record does not disappear unless applied for. On a sale, the buyer and bank want a security-free state, so cancellation is needed. If the documents received from the bank at repayment (registration identification information, repayment certificate, power of attorney, etc.) are complete, a judicial scrivener can cancel it. If they are lost, request reissue from the bank.

Q. Can a real estate company handle the mortgage cancellation?
A. No. Acting on a registration application is the judicial scrivener's exclusive work. Our company (real estate) does not act on registration. We handle appraisal, sale preparation and schedule coordination; cancellation and inheritance registrations go to a judicial scrivener and the deposit to the Legal Affairs Bureau / deposit office — each engaged as an independent business entity, separately.

Q. How much does cancellation cost?
A. The registration license tax is 1,000 yen per parcel of real estate (Registration License Tax Act, Appended Table 1). Land and building are counted separately, so for a house, land plus building is 2,000 yen as a guide. The cap is 20,000 yen per application. A judicial scrivener's fee applies on top; the amount depends on the matter.

Q. The lender company no longer exists. Can it still be cleared?
A. It may be. Where the creditor has vanished or gone missing so an ordinary joint application is impossible, there are dormant-security methods: public notice and exclusion ruling (Real Property Registration Act Art. 70), 20 years from maturity plus deposit (same Art., para. 4), and 30 years from corporate dissolution (Art. 70-2, in force 1 April 2023). Which applies depends on whether the mortgagee is an individual or a corporation, the years, and the whereabouts investigation; the judgment and application are by a judicial scrivener and the deposit by the Legal Affairs Bureau / deposit office.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Real Property Registration Act" — Act No. 123 of 2004. Art. 70 (cancellation where the obligor's whereabouts are unknown, etc.: public notice/exclusion ruling; 20 years from maturity + deposit); Art. 70-2 (cancellation of a security right where the obligor corporation has dissolved: 30 years from maturity and from dissolution); both in force 1 April 2023. Accessed 23 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Real Property Registration Act" Art. 76-2 — duty to apply for inheritance registration; in force 1 April 2024; within three years of learning of the inheritance. Accessed 23 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Civil Code" — Act No. 89 of 1896. Extinction of a debt by repayment and the consequent extinction of the mortgage by its accessory nature. Accessed 23 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Registration License Tax Act" — Act No. 35 of 1967. Appended Table 1: the license tax for a cancellation registration is 1,000 yen per parcel of real estate. Accessed 23 September 2026.
• Ministry of Justice "Key points of the 2021 amendments to the Civil Code and the Real Property Registration Act, and the Act on National Reversion of Inherited Land" — amendments to Art. 70 and 70-2 and the effective dates of the inheritance-registration duty. Accessed 23 September 2026.

Whether cancellation is possible and the method (ordinary joint application, or public notice/deposit/Art. 70-2), the documents and the cost vary with whether the mortgagee is an individual or a corporation, the years since maturity, the whereabouts investigation, and the register entries. This article does not judge any individual registration. This article is general information; it does not judge or guarantee the suitability or outcome of any particular property or registration. The final judgment on whether a registration is possible and on the specific method is by a qualified professional such as a judicial scrivener. Appraisal and brokerage, and the sale contract, are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); acting on registration applications by a judicial scrivener — independent business entities, engaged separately and 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. After assigning registration to a judicial scrivener and disputes to a lawyer, the sale of the property and the plan for clearing the security right are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.