What to check first when selling or leasing farmland you have inherited

In short: inherited farmland splits, before any sale or lease, according to whether you keep it as farmland or convert it to residential or other use. Selling or leasing it as farmland for cultivation requires the permission of the agriculture committee (Agricultural Land Act, Article 3, paragraph 1); converting it and selling requires the permission of the prefectural governor and the like (Articles 4 and 5), and within an urbanization promotion area a notification suffices. Before all of that comes the notification that you have acquired it at all (Article 3-3).

When you inherit farmland from a parent and think "I'll just sell it" or "I'll lease it to someone," proceeding as if it were residential land will stall every time. Farmland has a gate that a house sale does not: the nōgyō iinkai, the agriculture committee. This article is for the non-farming heir with farmland left at a distant family home, and sets out the order in which to check things, from the text of the Agricultural Land Act and public materials. We handle finding a counterparty and the brokerage; the application to the agriculture committee, the registration, the tax and any dispute are each routed to a different qualified professional.

What makes inherited farmland decisively different from residential land?

A gate called the agriculture committee's permission enters the sale or lease.

For residential land, once seller and buyer agree, the contract is formed. For farmland, Article 3, paragraph 1 of the 農地法 (Agricultural Land Act, Act No. 229 of 1952) provides that where ownership of farmland is transferred, or a leasehold or similar right is created or transferred, the parties must obtain the permission of the agriculture committee. A transfer of rights without permission has no effect (Article 3, paragraph 6). So selling or leasing it as farmland for cultivation requires the committee's permission as a precondition of the contract.

A second difference is that acquiring it by inheritance itself requires a notification. Article 3-3 provides that a person who acquires rights to farmland by inheritance or other general succession must, without delay, notify the agriculture committee of the municipality where the farmland is located. This is a procedure specific to farmland, separate from inheritance registration and inheritance tax. Preparing and filing this notification is the work of an administrative scrivener. On the order of registration and sale, see also Can I sell the family home before completing inheritance registration?

How do the procedures change between selling or leasing it as farmland and converting it to sell?

The governing article and the permitting authority change.

What you do	Article	Permitting authority	Who is involved
Sell or lease as farmland for cultivation	Agricultural Land Act Art. 3 (1)	Agriculture committee	Buyer/lessee on the farming side
Convert your own farmland to residential etc.	Art. 4 (1)	Prefectural governor and the like	You convert
Sell or lease to a third party for conversion	Art. 5 (1)	Prefectural governor and the like	Buyer uses it as non-farmland

On the Article 3 route (keeping it as farmland), the buyer or lessee's ability to use the farmland properly is examined. There used to be a "minimum area" requirement, but this lower-area requirement was abolished on 1 April 2023 by amendment to the Agricultural Land Act (per the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; accessed date at the end). The examination itself — the regional plan, the effect on surrounding farmland — remains.

On the Article 4 / Article 5 route (converting to sell), whether the farmland is in an area where conversion is allowed (the farmland classification) is examined head-on. The permission application to the agriculture committee and the prefecture is itself the work of an administrative scrivener. We cannot make the application on your behalf. Finding a counterparty and brokerage are ours; the permission application is the administrative scrivener's — two independent business entities.

In an urbanization promotion area versus an urbanization control area, is it a notification or a permission?

An urbanization promotion area is a notification; an urbanization control area and the like require permission. This is the first fork in farmland conversion.

Area	Treatment of conversion (Arts. 4 and 5)	Where to go
Urbanization promotion area	No permission. Advance notification	Agriculture committee (Art. 4 (1) item 7 / Art. 5 (1) item 6)
Urbanization control area, non-designated area, etc.	Permission required	Prefectural governor and the like

An urbanization promotion area is an area already being urbanized, so conversion needs only an advance notification to the agriculture committee (Agricultural Land Act Art. 4 (1) item 7, Art. 5 (1) item 6; the item numbers moved up in the amendment in force 1 April 2023). An urbanization control area, by contrast, suppresses urbanization, so conversion needs permission, and depending on the farmland classification, permission may not be granted.

Which area your farmland is in can be checked with the municipality's city planning information. Some municipalities have no area classification, and treatment varies by locality. Check the intake guidelines and forms of the agriculture committee for your specific site on that municipality's official page. Changing the use of a property in an urbanization control area is also touched on in What to check before signing on a clinic property.

What costs and risks arise from leaving uncultivated farmland alone?

Taxation and upkeep continue even when you are not using it.

Farmland is subject to fixed asset tax even unused. In addition, for idle farmland left uncultivated, the Agricultural Land Act provides for the agriculture committee to survey usage intentions and to approach the owner (Article 32 onward). Idle farmland that has received the committee's recommendation may be treated differently in its fixed-asset-tax valuation, raising the burden (under the Local Tax Act; confirm the specific multiplier and requirements with your municipality).

Beyond tax, weeds and pests, illegal dumping, and vague boundaries with neighbouring land pile up while it sits. The further away the heir lives, the harder the condition is to grasp and the more reactive the response becomes. The longer the sell-or-lease decision is deferred, the narrower the available exits — that is the structure. On whether to sell or keep, see Should you sell or keep the family home you inherited?; where a rented building is involved, see also When you inherit a rental apartment.

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Who should you ask — for the committee application, the registration, the tax, the dispute?

Divide the windows. Farmland involves many qualifications, so mapping them out at the start avoids confusion.

Task	Who
Finding a counterparty, thinking about price, brokerage, sale contract	Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent)
Permission application to committee/prefecture; the Article 3-3 notification	Administrative scrivener
Name change by inheritance (inheritance registration)	Judicial scrivener
Capital gains / inheritance tax calculation and filing	Licensed tax accountant
Negotiation or mediation where the estate division is in dispute	Attorney

Finding a counterparty, thinking about price, adjusting terms with a buyer or lessee, brokerage and the contract are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). The permission application to the committee and prefecture, and preparing the Article 3-3 notification, are handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. These two are independent business entities, engaged separately and directly by you. Inheritance registration is for a judicial scrivener; capital gains and inheritance tax for a licensed tax accountant; a dispute over estate division for an attorney — each engaged directly by you. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. The whole picture of inherited property is gathered at inherited property consultation. Consultation is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do I need permission just to lease farmland, as farmland, to an acquaintance?
A. Yes. Where you create a leasehold or a right of use for cultivation, Article 3, paragraph 1 requires the agriculture committee's permission. Starting a lease on a verbal promise has no effect without permission (Article 3, paragraph 6). Because the examination turns on to whom and how you lease, consult the agriculture committee before leasing, and an administrative scrivener about the application.

Q. If the farmland is in an urbanization promotion area, can I convert it to residential and sell with just a notification?
A. The conversion itself needs only an advance notification, not permission, in an urbanization promotion area (Art. 4 (1) item 7, Art. 5 (1) item 6). But as a precondition for the notification to be accepted, the area and forms must be confirmed, and grading and construction bring separate procedures. Consult the agriculture committee and an administrative scrivener on the notification, and us on the sale after preparation.

Q. I have not changed the name on the inherited farmland. Can I sell it?
A. As a precondition of the sale, the name change by inheritance (inheritance registration) is needed first. Inheritance registration has been mandatory since 1 April 2024, with application required within the deadline. The application itself is the work of a judicial scrivener. While the name remains the deceased's, you cannot show title to the counterparty, so registration comes first.

Q. What about tax when I sell farmland?
A. Selling farmland is, in principle, taxed as capital gains. Acquisition cost and the availability of special provisions vary with the farmland classification, the state of use, and the purpose of sale. We set out the general flow and issues, but do not judge the specific tax or the availability of special provisions. Confirm the capital gains and inheritance tax with a licensed tax accountant.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "農地法" (Agricultural Land Act) — Act No. 229 of 1952. Art. 3 (1) (restriction on transfer of farmland rights; agriculture committee's permission); Art. 3 (6) (invalidity of a transfer without permission); Art. 3-3 (notification of acquisition by inheritance or other general succession, without delay); Art. 4 (1) (restriction on conversion; permission of the prefectural governor and the like), item 7 (notification for farmland in an urbanization promotion area); Art. 5 (1) (restriction on transfer for conversion), item 6 (notification for such farmland). The item numbers for the urbanization-promotion-area notification were moved up by the amendment in force 1 April 2023. Accessed 23 August 2026.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "On the farmland conversion permission system" — that conversion of farmland in an urbanization promotion area needs only a notification; farmland classification. Accessed 23 August 2026.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "System for sale, lease and inheritance of farmland" — that the minimum-area requirement was abolished on 1 April 2023; the notification on acquisition by inheritance. Accessed 23 August 2026.
• National Tax Agency, "When you sell land or a building (capital gains)" — the basic framework for calculating capital gains. Accessed 23 August 2026.

Whether a conversion needs permission or a notification, the farmland classification, and the specific multiplier and requirements for taxing idle farmland are to be confirmed, just before you write, with the official information of the agriculture committee and the municipality for your specific site; this article does not fix locality-specific figures uniformly. The item numbers for the urbanization-promotion-area notification move with amendments; this article follows the current numbers after the 1 April 2023 amendment (Art. 4 (1) item 7, Art. 5 (1) item 6), but confirm the latest text on e-Gov when applying it. This article is general information and does not offer an individual legal or tax determination. The permission application and the Article 3-3 notification are carried out by an administrative scrivener, inheritance registration by a judicial scrivener, capital gains and inheritance tax by a licensed tax accountant, and estate-division disputes by an attorney. Investigation, brokerage and sale/lease contracts are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent), and the preparation of applications and notifications by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office — two independent business entities engaged separately. There are no referral or introduction 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. For inherited farmland, area classification, the Agricultural Land Act's permissions and notifications, and the registration and tax deadlines all go on the same table. Full profile: author page.