One in 10 people with disabilities in Japan have been refused rental housing, some turned away without discussion

From Nishinippon Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan

October 8 2026

FUKUOKA – A survey by the Fukuoka City Association for the Elimination of Disability Discrimination, a group comprising disability organisations and individuals in Fukuoka, has found that 10% of respondents with disabilities or their family members had been refused when looking for privately rented housing.

Some reported being turned away outright because of their disabilities. Experts say such cases may constitute “unjust discriminatory treatment” prohibited under Japan’s Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities.

The survey was conducted from December last year to March this year through 20 member organisations and other channels, receiving responses from 400 people. The results have recently been compiled. Surveys of this scale targeting people with disabilities themselves are said to be rare. Of the 311 respondents who answered whether they had ever been refused rental housing, 33 said they had.

Reported incidents included landlords or estate agents suddenly lowering their tone of voice and saying a property could not be rented out after being informed of the applicant’s disability; being told that people with intellectual disabilities would be refused because they would inconvenience other residents; and being turned down with comments such as, “You have a mental illness, don’t you? Even if I explain it to the landlord, they won’t understand.”

Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism cite as examples of unjust discriminatory treatment refusing to arrange a property viewing or provide brokerage services because of a person’s disability without making necessary adjustments, and turning applicants away without hearing them out by saying, “We don’t handle properties for people with disabilities.”

The association considers that the cases reported in the survey were likely to involve unjust discriminatory treatment without legitimate grounds.

Other incidents included refusals to enter into rental agreements with people who are deaf because alternative means of communication to telephone calls were not offered. The association also received reports of various difficulties arising from different disabilities, including refusals to renovate properties to make them barrier-free.

Kota Mukai, 78, the association’s representative coordinator, said some responses suggested that people had given up because they found it difficult to speak out.

“I want more people to understand these issues so that we can create a society in which everyone can live comfortably,” he said.