Selling an inherited building on leased land — how far does the landowner's consent go?

In short: to sell an inherited building on leased land to a third party you need, as a rule, the consent of the landowner (the lessor of the leasehold) — Civil Code Article 612, paragraph 1. There is no uniform statutory figure for the "assignment consent fee" paid in return. If the landowner will not consent, there is a route — the shakuchi hishō — to ask the court for permission in place of consent (Act on Land and Building Leases, Article 19, paragraph 1). Complete the building's inheritance registration first, before selling.

You inherited a house on leased land from a parent, have no plans to live there, and want to sell — but the land beneath (the freehold) belongs to the landowner, and you cannot move because you do not know whether you may sell it freely, or how much a consent fee would be. This article is for you. It is not about the landowner who holds the land; it concerns the leaseholder who inherited the building and the leasehold, selling the building together with the right — setting out the need for consent, the assignment consent fee, the court route, and the difference in how easily each type sells.

Can an inherited building on leased land be sold without the landowner's consent?

Inheriting it needs no consent, but selling it to a third party does.

Under Article 896 of the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896), an heir succeeds to all rights and obligations of the decedent's property. A leasehold (a land lease right) is among them, so the inheritance itself needs no consent from the landowner. This causes no problem so long as you keep living there without rebuilding.

A sale is different. Selling the building on leased land to a third party moves the land lease right with it, because the buyer needs that right to use the building. Article 612, paragraph 1 provides that "a lessee may not assign the lessee's rights or sublease the leased thing without the lessor's approval," and paragraph 2 allows the lessor to terminate on a breach. Because a sale of the building carries an assignment of the leasehold, the landowner's consent becomes necessary here.

Situation	Landowner's consent	Basis
Succeeding by inheritance	Not required	Civil Code Art. 896 (universal succession)
Selling to a third party (building + leasehold)	Required	Civil Code Art. 612 (1)
Selling and letting use without consent	May be a ground for termination	Civil Code Art. 612 (2)

On thinking through selling versus keeping, see Should you sell or keep the inherited family home; on the wider handling of inherited property, inherited property.

How much is an assignment consent fee, and who bears it?

No uniform going rate can be shown from a primary source. The assignment consent fee (also called a name-change fee) is not fixed in amount by statute; it is set either by agreement between landowner and leaseholder, or as the "payment of property" that a court may set in the shakuchi hishō proceeding described below.

Practitioners speak of a proportion of the leasehold value as a benchmark, but as no public, uniform basis for that proportion can be confirmed, this article does not assert an amount or a ratio. The leasehold value itself varies with the level of ground rent, the remaining term, the renewal and rebuilding conditions, the state of the building, and the area — and is not uniform even within one neighbourhood.

The bearer is, as a rule, the seller (the leaseholder), but the effective form of the burden can shift within the pricing and the negotiation with the buyer. We do not put a valuation or a consent fee down first; we read the land lease contract and the ground-rent record and then structure the terms. On comparing net proceeds, see Broker or buy-out — how much do net proceeds differ. For the tax on the capital gain and the acquisition cost, check with a licensed tax accountant, drawing on the National Tax Agency's materials.

If the landowner will not consent, is there the shakuchi hishō route?

There is — a court procedure to seek permission in place of consent.

Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Act on Land and Building Leases (Act No. 90 of 1991) provides that where a leaseholder intends to transfer the building on the leased land to a third party, and there is no risk of disadvantage to the lessor from that third party acquiring the leasehold, yet the lessor withholds consent, "the court may, on the petition of the leaseholder, grant permission in place of the lessor's consent." The same paragraph also allows the court, where necessary to balance the parties' interests, to make the permission contingent on a payment of property — the consent fee, where a court sets one.

Stage	Content	Who
Negotiate with the landowner	Aim for agreement on consent and the fee	Leaseholder (may engage an attorney)
Petition for shakuchi hishō	Ask the court for permission in place of consent	Attorney
Buyer's protection	Where consent is not obtained, demand the building be bought at market value	Act on Land and Building Leases Art. 14

The shakuchi hishō petition (under Article 19) is a court proceeding, and both whether permission is granted and the amount of any payment are decided by the court case by case. We judge neither. A dispute with the landowner, and the petition, go to an attorney, engaged by you directly.

How does the old-law leasehold differ from a fixed-term leasehold in ease of sale?

Whether there is renewal, or the term simply ends, is the great divide in ease of sale.

The Act on Land and Building Leases was enacted by repealing the old Land Lease Act (Act No. 49 of 1921) and others; under Supplementary Provisions Article 4 it applies as a rule to matters arising before its entry into force, but there are special provisions. Supplementary Provisions Article 6 provides that, for a leasehold created before entry into force, renewal is governed by the prior law (the old Land Lease Act). A leasehold where renewal can be expected tends to hold its value better from the buyer's view.

There are also types with no renewal. The fixed-term land leasehold under Article 22 (term of 50 years or more, with the special provision in writing etc.) and the fixed-term land leasehold for business use under Article 23 (buildings used exclusively for business, term of 30 to under 50 years) end when the term expires; there is no renewal. Inherit one of these, and the shorter the remaining term, the harder a buyer is to find and the more it weighs on price.

Type of leasehold	Renewal	Point affecting ease of sale
Old-law leasehold (created before entry)	Governed by prior law (Suppl. Prov. Art. 6)	Renewal expected, so value tends to hold
Ordinary leasehold (new law)	Yes (Act Art. 5)	Renewal request possible if a building stands
Fixed-term leasehold (Art. 22)	No	Shorter remaining term weighs on price
Fixed-term for business use (Art. 23)	No	Use limited to business; fewer buyers

Which type applies turns on the date the leasehold was created and the contract's wording. Before considering a sale, check whether the contract says "fixed-term leasehold" or "no renewal." The entry into force of the Act (commonly given as 1 August 1992) could not be confirmed on e-Gov, so this article treats it as unverified and does not assert the date.

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Before selling, what name and registration should be put in order (the referrals)

The building's inheritance registration comes first. A leasehold is often unregistered, but under Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Act, a leaseholder who owns a registered building on the land can assert the leasehold against third parties. The foundation of that enforceability is the registration of the building, not the land lease right — so if the building is still registered in the deceased's name, the foundation is shaky.

Inheritance registration is also an obligation. Article 76-2, paragraph 1 of the Real Property Registration Act (Act No. 123 of 2004) requires a person who acquires ownership by inheritance to apply within three years of becoming aware of the commencement of the inheritance and of the acquisition of that ownership (in force 1 April 2024). The order versus a sale is covered here, and what to do when the title deed cannot be found here.

Role	Who
Brokerage of the building's sale; survey of the lease contract and terms	Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304)
Preparation of documents — estate division agreement, gathering of family registers	Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office
Inheritance registration of the building; registration of the leasehold	Judicial scrivener
Shakuchi hishō and disputes where the landowner refuses	Attorney
Capital gains tax; acquisition cost	Licensed tax accountant

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. and Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office are two independent business entities, engaged separately and directly by you. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. The judicial scrivener, attorney, and tax accountant are each engaged by you directly as well. Consultation is free.

Frequently asked questions

Q. When I told the landowner I had inherited, a consent fee was demanded. Am I obliged to pay?
A. Inheritance is universal succession under Civil Code Article 896, not an "assignment" under Article 612, paragraph 1. There is no statutory basis for a consent fee charged for the inheritance itself. A specific clause in the contract would change the picture. Check the contract, then take the question of liability to an attorney.

Q. What is the going rate for an assignment consent fee?
A. It is not fixed in amount by statute, and no public primary source confirms a uniform rate. It is set by agreement with the landowner, or as the payment of property a court sets in shakuchi hishō. A proportion of the leasehold value is spoken of as a benchmark, but this article does not assert a proportion. Any estimate is considered individually after reading the contract and the ground-rent record.

Q. The landowner absolutely will not consent. Is there a way to sell?
A. Under Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Act, there is the shakuchi hishō procedure to seek court permission in place of consent. It applies where a transfer to a third party would not disadvantage the landowner yet consent is not obtained; the court decides whether to grant permission and the amount of any payment of property. As it is a court proceeding, the petition goes to an attorney, engaged by you directly.

Q. Can a building on a fixed-term leasehold be sold?
A. It can. But a fixed-term leasehold (Article 22) or a fixed-term leasehold for business use (Article 23) has no renewal and ends when the term expires. The shorter the remaining term, the harder a buyer is to find and the more it weighs on price, so check the term and the date created in the contract first. The premises of ease of sale differ from an old-law or ordinary leasehold.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "民法" (Civil Code) — Act No. 89 of 1896. Art. 612 (1) and (2) (restriction on assignment and sublease); Art. 896 (general effect of inheritance). Current text as amended by Act No. 45 of 2026, in force 24 June 2026. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• e-Gov "借地借家法" (Act on Land and Building Leases) — Act No. 90 of 1991. Art. 5 (renewal request); Art. 10 (1) (enforceability of the leasehold); Art. 14 (third party's building purchase demand); Art. 19 (1) (permission for assignment or sublease of the land lease right); Art. 22 (fixed-term land leasehold); Art. 23 (fixed-term land leasehold for business use); Supplementary Provisions Arts. 4 and 6. Promulgated 4 October 1991. Current text as amended by Act No. 48 of 2022, in force 21 May 2026. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• e-Gov "不動産登記法" (Real Property Registration Act) — Act No. 123 of 2004. Art. 76-2 (1), three-year deadline. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• Ministry of Justice, amendments to the Civil Code and Real Property Registration Act — inheritance registration obligation in force 1 April 2024. Accessed 18 September 2026.
• National Tax Agency, tax answer No. 3272 and related on leaseholds and acquisition cost — approach to leaseholds and the acquisition cost of a capital gain. Specific tax and acquisition-cost figures are for a licensed tax accountant. Accessed 18 September 2026.

No uniform, primary-source figure exists for assignment consent fees, renewal fees, or the split between leasehold and freehold value, so no amounts are given here. The entry into force of the Act (commonly given as 1 August 1992) could not be confirmed on e-Gov and is treated as unverified; which regime applies is to be checked against the date recorded in the land lease contract. The petition under Article 19 is a court proceeding, and both permission and any payment are for the court to decide; this article makes no assessment of any individual case.

This article is general information and does not offer a legal determination. Inheritance registration is carried out by a judicial scrivener, inheritance and capital gains filings by a licensed tax accountant, and disputes with the landowner and the shakuchi hishō by an attorney. Property investigation, brokerage, and sale contracts are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); the preparation of estate division agreements and similar documents by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office — two 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. For inherited property, contracts, registrations and deadlines go on the same table. Full profile: author page.