Overview
- Tokyo District Court ruled on Nov. 27 that a real estate company must return ¥11,000 and pay about ¥120,000 in damages to a tenant.
- Judge Nobuyuki Funahashi concluded that a notice to change the garage exit PIN to block the vehicle was an unlawful attempt at exclusion without legal procedures.
- The company had announced a ¥5,500 monthly increase from April 2025 and withdrew two months of extra fees from the tenant’s bank account without permission.
- The court found the tenant had not consented to the hike and deemed the ¥11,000 an unjust enrichment by the company.
- The company’s claim that local market rates justified a combined rent near ¥240,000 was rejected for lack of evidence, with reports noting parking contracts often fall outside Lease and House Lease Law protections.