Apartment buildings require maintenance and repairs to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for residents. To cover these costs, apartment owners pay a monthly fee that is saved up in the building’s repair fund. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the average monthly repair fee should be approximately 200 Yen per square meter (based on the interior floor area of an apartment). For a typical family sized apartment of 70 sqm, this would amount to around 14,000 Yen a month.
The amount to be collected as repair fees is decided by the building’s owners association (although they are initially decided by the developer). Ideally the fees should be set at a level that ensures enough money is accumulated for the scheduled repairs.
For example, if exterior repainting needs to be done every 12 years and water pipes replaced every 30 years, enough money needs to be put aside each month for these essential repairs.
Unfortunately there are a number of cases where the amount in the reserve fund is insufficient. This can happen when the repairs required have exceeded initial estimates, or when costs have risen to unexpected levels (which is currently evident with a steep rise in material and labour costs). Developers may also be to blame by intentionally setting repair fees at low levels in order to attract buyers.
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