Inherited land inside a land-readjustment project area: can you sell it on a provisional plot, with the settlement money unresolved?

The key point: Even if land you inherited is inside a land-readjustment project area and has a provisional replacement plot (仮換地) assigned, you can sell it without waiting for the replacement-land disposition (換地処分). Ownership in the register still attaches to the original plot (従前の宅地), and it is that original plot's ownership you sell. A provisional plot is an allocation of the place where you may use and profit: from the effective date of its designation until the day of the public notice of the disposition, the person who could use the original plot may use and profit from the provisional plot as they would the original, and may not use the original (Land Readjustment Act art. 98(1), art. 99). You sell the buyer the original plot (ownership) and hand over the provisional plot for use; the ownership-transfer registration is made against the original plot, and from the day after the public notice the replacement plot is treated as the original plot (art. 103, art. 104(1)). Settlement money (清算金)—collected or paid to even out inequalities between plots—is fixed after the public notice of the disposition (art. 104(8), art. 110). Who bears or receives it is set in the sale contract in practice, and the estimated amount and whether use has begun are confirmed with the implementer (the municipality or the readjustment association). What a real-estate company (we) handle is the survey that puts the provisional-plot, settlement-money and works status into the important-matters explanation (Real Estate Brokerage Act art. 35), and the brokerage. Inheritance / post-disposition registration goes to a judicial scrivener; settlement-money and capital-gains tax to a tax accountant; the estate-division agreement to an administrative scrivener; disputes over division or settlement money to a lawyer; boundaries and lot area to a land/house surveyor—each an independent business contracted with separately (no referral fees are exchanged). The final judgment on who the settlement money belongs to and on whether division is possible rests with the implementer and the licensed professionals.

For heirs who inherited land inside an ongoing readjustment area and wish to sell before the disposition, this article organises what you can confirm before signing, in the order of the law and the implementer's materials. This is general information; the final judgment on who the settlement money belongs to, or whether division is possible, rests with the implementer and the licensed professionals.

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社), based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, provides surveys and brokerage of inherited real estate. You can consult us from the stage of "can I sell while it's still a provisional plot".

Can an inherited plot on a provisional replacement plot be sold without waiting for the disposition?

In short, yes, selling itself is possible. In a land-readjustment project, before carrying out the disposition the implementer may designate a provisional replacement plot for land in the project area when necessary for the works or for the disposition (Land Readjustment Act art. 98(1)). Ownership itself does not move to the provisional plot. Ownership in the register still attaches to the original plot, and it is that original plot's ownership that you sell.

What a provisional plot means is "an allocation of the place where you may use and profit." Art. 99 provides that, from the effective date of the provisional-plot designation until the public notice of the disposition (art. 103(4)), the person who could use and profit from the original plot by title may use and profit from the provisional plot as they would the original, and during that time may not use the original. The implementer may separately set the date on which use may begin (art. 99(2)), so there can be a period, during the works, when the provisional plot cannot yet be used.

Term	Substance	Effect on the sale
Original plot	The pre-readjustment land recorded in the register	Object of ownership and registration; the thing sold
Provisional plot	The place usable until the disposition	What the buyer actually uses; watch the use-start date
Disposition	The act fixing the replacement plot in place of the original (art. 103)	From the day after the public notice, the replacement plot is treated as the original
Settlement money	The amount settling inequalities between plots (art. 110)	Collection or payment; set the bearer in the contract

Even if inheritance registration is not yet done right after the death, survey and valuation can proceed in parallel. Inheritance registration (including the duty in force on 1 April 2024) and estate division belong to a judicial scrivener / administrative scrivener; we advance the survey of the property condition and of the provisional-plot and settlement-money status.

Do you sell the buyer the original plot or the provisional plot, and how do registration and handover work?

The object of sale is the original plot's ownership, and the ownership-transfer registration is also made against the original plot. Because what the buyer actually uses is the provisional plot, the contract must not confuse the two layers: "sell the original plot (ownership), hand over the provisional plot for use."

When the disposition is carried out, from the day after its public notice the replacement plot fixed in the replacement plan is treated as the original plot (art. 104(1)). The implementer then makes the registration for the replacement plot collectively, so even if you register in the original plot's description at the time of sale, after the disposition the description moves to the replacement plot. That is exactly why, at the time of sale, you prepare registration and the important-matters explanation on the original plot's lot number and area, and confirm the provisional-plot designation (position, area, use-start date) with the implementer to explain to the buyer.

Check item	Why it matters	Where to confirm
Provisional-plot designation	Position, area and use-start date change what is handed over	The implementer's provisional-plot designation notice
Whether use has begun	During the works, the provisional plot may not yet be usable (art. 99(2))	The implementer
Expected timing of the disposition	From the day after the public notice, the replacement plot is treated as the original (art. 104(1))	The implementer's project / replacement plan
Reserved land / reduction (減歩)	Reserved land for project costs and reduction change the plot	The implementer's project plan

In the important-matters explanation under Real Estate Brokerage Act art. 35, you explain to the buyer the provisional-plot designation and the restrictions under the Land Readjustment Act. These must be verified by inquiry to the implementer, and that is within our survey and brokerage. The registration work is a judicial scrivener's; confirming boundaries (筆界) and lot area is a land/house surveyor's.

Does the seller or the buyer bear the settlement money (collection / payment), and how to think about capital gains?

Settlement money evens out the inequalities that arise when fixing replacement plots (differences in value between the original plot and the replacement plot, etc.). Under Land Readjustment Act art. 104(8) it is fixed at the time of the public notice of the disposition, and the implementer must collect, or pay, the fixed settlement money (art. 110(1)). Collection is the owner's side paying; payment is receiving.

When selling at the provisional-plot stage, the issue is "to whom—seller or buyer—does the not-yet-fixed settlement money belong." Because the law does not decide the allocation between the parties, in practice the sale contract clearly sets who bears / receives the settlement money (collection / payment). The estimated amount and whether settlement money will arise are confirmed with the implementer, and the unknown parts are written into the contract as "unresolved." Not writing an unfixed amount as though it were fixed prevents later trouble.

Issue	How it is organised	Who
Whether / how much settlement money	Inquire with the implementer; if unresolved, state so in the contract	Implementer / us (inquiry and reflecting it in the contract)
Bearer of collection / payment	The law does not set allocation; set it in the sale contract	Us (contract terms) / lawyer (if disputed)
Tax on the settlement money	Income classification and acquisition-cost treatment of payment / collection	Tax accountant
Capital gains	Acquisition cost, transfer expenses and the applicability of special provisions for the original plot	Tax accountant

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Calculating capital gains, the tax treatment of settlement money and whether any special provisions apply belong to a tax accountant; we handle the sale process and brokerage. On the process of selling inherited real estate, see the consultation desk for inherited real estate. For how urban-planning restrictions bear on price, the articles on selling land within a planned urban-planning road and on selling inherited real estate after a boundary-fixing survey are also useful references.

To whom do you split the inquiry to the implementer, registration, tax and the division agreement?

Selling inherited land inside a readjustment area, starting from the inquiry to the implementer, piles up registration, tax and division. The roles split as below. These cannot be bundled into one contract; each is an independent business contracted with separately.

Who	Role
Real estate (we)	Inquiry to the implementer on provisional-plot, settlement-money and works status; brokerage incl. important-matters explanation
Implementer (municipality / readjustment association)	The point of inquiry for the provisional-plot notice, settlement money and disposition timing
Judicial scrivener	Inheritance registration; post-disposition registration
Tax accountant	Tax on settlement money; capital gains; applicability of special provisions
Administrative scrivener	Drafting the estate-division agreement
Lawyer	Negotiation / mediation / litigation if estate division or the settlement-money burden is disputed
Land/house surveyor	Confirming / correcting boundaries (筆界) and lot area of the original / replacement plot

The inquiry to the implementer is ours, registration the judicial scrivener's, tax the tax accountant's—with the windows separated, connected smoothly from one and the same window. No referral fees are exchanged. The final judgment on who the settlement money belongs to, or whether division is possible, rests with the implementer and the licensed professionals.

Bring the sale of your inherited land in a readjustment area to Yotsuba Real Estate—initial consultation is free

In your message, write "land readjustment," the location (the municipality, and the implementer's name if you know it), whether a provisional plot is designated, and the heirs' situation. We talk through everything from inquiring about the provisional plot, settlement money and disposition timing to organising who to refer registration, tax and division to.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I sell on a provisional plot, without waiting for the disposition?
A. Selling itself is possible. A provisional-plot designation is an allocation of the place where you may use and profit; ownership itself stays with the original plot, and ownership in the register also stays on the original plot (art. 98(1)). The object of sale is the original plot's ownership, and you hand the buyer the provisional plot for use. But if the implementer has separately set a use-start date, there can be a period during the works when the provisional plot cannot yet be used (art. 99(2)), so confirm the designation and the start date with the implementer and explain them to the buyer.

Q. Do I sell the buyer the original plot or the provisional plot? What happens to registration?
A. The object of sale is the original plot's ownership, and the ownership-transfer registration is also made against the original plot. From the day after the public notice of the disposition, the replacement plot fixed in the replacement plan is treated as the original plot (art. 104(1)), and the implementer then makes the registration for the replacement plot collectively. So you prepare registration and the important-matters explanation on the original plot's lot number and area at the time of sale, and the description moves to the replacement plot after the disposition. The registration work is a judicial scrivener's; confirming boundaries and lot area is a land/house surveyor's.

Q. Does the seller or the buyer bear the settlement money?
A. Settlement money evens out inequalities between plots; it is fixed at the time of the public notice of the disposition, and the implementer collects or pays it (art. 104(8), art. 110(1)). Collection is paying; payment is receiving. When selling at the provisional-plot stage, because the law does not set the seller/buyer allocation, in practice the sale contract clearly sets the bearer / receiver. The estimated amount and whether settlement money will arise are confirmed with the implementer, and the unknown parts are written in as "unresolved." The tax treatment is a tax accountant's field.

Q. Can I prepare for a sale even if inheritance registration and estate division are not yet done?
A. The survey and valuation can proceed in parallel. However, before the sale contract and settlement, inheritance registration (including the duty to apply in force on 1 April 2024) and, if there are several heirs, estate division, are premises. Inheritance registration is a judicial scrivener's field, drafting the estate-division agreement an administrative scrivener's, and a dispute over division a lawyer's. We advance the inquiry on provisional-plot, settlement-money and works status and the brokerage, and connect you to each professional as an independent business contracted with separately.

Sources

The following public materials are starting points. Laws are amended, so check the current article, paragraph, item, enforcement date and latest amendment on e-Gov Law Search. The provisional-plot designation, settlement money and disposition timing are managed by the implementer (municipality / readjustment association) and differ by project, so confirm them with the implementer's published materials and notices, noting the date consulted. Whether the settlement money belongs to a party, or division is possible, is judged by the implementer and the licensed professionals. Public materials were all consulted on 6 November 2026. The sources below are in Japanese.

• e-Gov Law Search: Land Readjustment Act (Act No. 119 of 1954; art. 98(1) = designation of a provisional replacement plot, art. 99 = effect of the designation (from its effective date until the public notice of the disposition, use and profit the provisional plot as the original, and not the original) and (2) = separately setting the date use may begin, art. 103 = replacement-land disposition, art. 104(1) = from the day after the public notice the replacement plot is treated as the original and (8) = fixing of the settlement money, art. 110(1) = collection and payment of the settlement money)
• e-Gov Law Search: Real Estate Brokerage Act (Act No. 176 of 1952; art. 35 = explanation of important matters, including the provisional-plot designation and restrictions under the Land Readjustment Act)
• The project plan, replacement plan and provisional-plot designation notice published by the implementer (municipality / readjustment association) (confirm with the implementer at the location; consulted 6 November 2026)
• Materials on land-readjustment projects published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (the thinking on settlement money and replacement plots; consulted 6 November 2026)

This article provides general information and does not guarantee who the settlement money belongs to or whether division is possible in a particular case. The survey of provisional-plot, settlement-money and works status and the brokerage are real estate's (ours); inheritance / post-disposition registration a judicial scrivener's; settlement-money tax and capital gains a tax accountant's; drafting the estate-division agreement an administrative scrivener's; disputes over division or settlement money a lawyer's; confirming boundaries and lot area a land/house surveyor's—each judged and handled by them.

Joji Uramatsu (浦松 丈二), Representative Director and licensed real estate transaction specialist, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社). As a licensed real estate transaction specialist in Bunkyo, Tokyo, we provide surveys and brokerage of inherited real estate. Author profile

Updated: 6 November 2026