According to the head of real estate agency R65 Fudousan, even a person in their 70s with roughly ¥160 million in assets has been turned down during a rental screening. Landlords tend to avoid elderly tenants out of fear of “lonely deaths,” dementia, and the hassle of clearing out belongings after death — meaning a fat bank balance alone doesn’t guarantee approval. On 5ch, this set off a wave of comments like “if they’ve got that much money, just buy a condo or house outright,” while others shared their own experience of being rejected by landlords over age when trying to sell their home and move into a rental. The thread turned into a broader debate over housing choices in old age.
According to Ryo Yamamoto, head of R65 Fudousan, there’s no clear age cutoff where rental screenings suddenly get stricter. Still, most people who come to him for help after being rejected are in their 60s, and there have even been cases of people in their 40s being turned down because of their age.
The main reasons landlords shy away from elderly tenants are worries about lonely deaths, the onset of dementia, and having to deal with the deceased’s belongings afterward. Even someone with more than enough assets can be rejected over these risks.
Yamamoto says there was in fact a case of someone in their 70s with about ¥160 million in assets being turned away. Applicants are often never given a clear reason for the rejection, but part of the problem seems to be that the rental agencies themselves have no track record placing elderly tenants, so vague unease keeps them from even making the introduction.
If you've got ¥160 million, just get into a special nursing home (tokuyo — a subsidized elder-care facility) already.
28AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:12
Re: #4
Good luck — those subsidized nursing homes have long waitlists, you don't just walk in.
In this case, since they've got the money, a private paid nursing home makes more sense.
6AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:31
Better off building a tiny house for ¥10 million.
7AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:34
With ¥160 million, why not just buy a cheap used condo or something?
9AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:35
Apparently sometimes they won't even sell to you either.
10AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:35
It's not like the landlord gets the whole estate anyway — assets have nothing to do with why they're rejecting people.
12AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:39
With UR housing (government-run rentals), as long as you've got the money you won't get turned down.
14AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:46
The problem is people just give up after one 'no.' Install a remote monitoring system that checks you're alive every day, sign an exclusive contract with a cleanup company for if you do die, and offer to put your assets in escrow — that's how you get approved.
17AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:49
With that much in assets, just buy yourself a reasonably priced house.
19AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:55
At 70+, buying is the smarter move. If you were younger, renting would be the only option.
20AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:57
I'm in my 60s and bought a used condo near the station.
21AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:57
Once Tesla's self-driving gets approved, I'll just live in the car. Until then I'll just bounce between cheap inns.
22AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:59
Why didn't someone with that much money already own a house to begin with? Did they get burned out of one or something?
24AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:00
Re: #22
Probably one of those 'renting forever beats buying, only idiots buy houses' types.
23AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:00
Well yeah, if someone dies alone in the unit, the property value tanks.
25AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:03
If they'd bought a house, they never would've built up ¥160 million in assets in the first place.
27AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:09
I've read stories about people who sold their house to downsize and simplify their life, then tried to move into a rental, only to get rejected because of their age.
30AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:24
Guess news stories that dress up an extreme outlier as if it's the general rule get more clicks and make more money, huh.
33AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:27
There are tons of vacant houses out there just sitting empty!
35AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:30
Yeah, dementia really is the scary part. These people get kicked out even from nursing homes, so it's baffling this hasn't become a bigger social issue.
37AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:34
My building's full of old folks and foreigners. Our landlord's a nice guy though.
39AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:38
Re: #28
Do places like that not require a guarantor?
47AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:57
I'll rent it under my name and let them live there. I'll just take a ¥60 million 'handling fee' off the top.
48AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:58
Go live like a hermit in the mountains and it costs ¥0.
59AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:44
Re: #48
Prison's better honestly — completely free room, board, and clothing, plus medical care and nursing on top.
49AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:04
Not a bad idea if you're in Kyushu where there's no wild bears. You'd even have internet thanks to Starlink.
50AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:05
What about properties that specifically take in welfare recipients?
57AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:36
With ¥160 million, just build yourself a house.
58AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:42
You don't even need to build new — just buy a used one, right? Even ¥30 million would leave you with change to spare.
61AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:51
Between them going senile, needing a legal guardianship set up, or starting a small fire — it's a huge hassle for landlords. Honestly, renting to foreigners is less of a headache.
Background and Key Points
What this article really shows is that there’s no clear age cutoff for rental screenings — there have even been cases of people in their 40s being rejected. Landlords’ concerns center on the risk of lonely deaths, the onset of dementia, and having to clear out a deceased tenant’s belongings, none of which are resolved simply by having more assets. The thread was full of comments along the lines of “if they’ve got the money, just buy a used condo or a house” — but that’s only a workaround after being rejected, and it overlooks people who choose to rent for health reasons or simply to live a lighter, simpler lifestyle. It’s also easy to miss that rejected applicants are often never given a clear reason, leaving them to search for the next property without ever knowing why they were turned down. Some pointed out that programs like UR housing don’t require a guarantor and are easier to get into, though the available units there are limited.
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