There are two common legal routes for letting a home in Japan to paying overnight guests. One is home-sharing (minpaku) under the 2017 Private Lodging Business Act, which keeps the building a home and caps guest nights at 180 a year. The other is a licence under the Inns and Hotels Act, which treats the building as lodging. This guide sets the two side by side, from the laws themselves and the Japan Tourism Agency guide for hosts. It is general information, not legal advice; the licensing office and the town hold the answer for a given house.
The two routes at a glance
| Home-sharing (minpaku) | Inn licence (ryokan or simple lodging) | |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Private Lodging Business Act (2017) | Inns and Hotels Act (1948) |
| How it starts | Notification to the prefecture or city | Permission from the prefecture or the city with a public health centre |
| Nights per year | Up to 180, and a local ordinance can narrow this | No fixed cap |
| Exclusive residential zones | Allowed by the national law, though an ordinance may restrict it | Not allowed |
| What the building is | Stays a house in planning and building terms | Becomes lodging, a change of use |
| Host away during stays | Running handed to a registered management company | Run under the licence |
The 180-night cap, the notification and the management-company rule come from the home-sharing law (Articles 2, 3 and 11). The inn licence and its types come from the inns law (Articles 2 and 3). The zoning row follows the comparison table in the Japan Tourism Agency guide for hosts (in Japanese, information as of 31 March 2022).
Why zoning and planning matter more for a licence
Under home-sharing, the agency guide notes that the building keeps its use as a detached house, so the building rules for a change of use do not come into play. An inn licence is different in three ways that buyers tend to meet:
- Use zones. Japan's zoning table bars hotels and inns from some residential zones and limits them to 3,000 square metres in others.
- Urbanisation control areas. In a shigaika chosei kuiki (an area where towns are holding back new building), the City Planning Act (Article 43) requires the governor's permission to change a building's use. Turning a house into an inn can be that kind of change.
- Building rules. Under the Building Standards Act (Article 87), changing a building's use to lodging over 200 square metres needs a building confirmation, the same check as new work.
Fire rules apply on both routes. The agency guide asks home-sharing hosts to consult the local fire station before notifying.
How does Engawa show this on a listing?
The "Thinking of renting it out?" section on each listing page has a line for the zoning class for hotels and inns, and a line for whether the spot is in an urbanisation control area, each with its source and date. Where the map data is not loaded yet, those lines say unknown, and unknown never means permitted. The section also shows the local home-sharing ordinance and the bank's own rules, which apply whichever route is chosen.
Frequently asked questions
Which route has fewer nights?
Home-sharing, at up to 180 nights a year, and fewer where an ordinance limits periods. An inn licence has no fixed night cap.
Can an akiya bank home be run under either route?
The bank's own rules may set conditions on living in the home, on business use or on resale, separate from these laws. Engawa shows those rules where the bank publishes them; see what an akiya bank is.
Where is the official answer for a given house?
For home-sharing, the local home-sharing desk for the area. For an inn licence, the public health centre that issues it, with the town's planning and building desks for zoning and change of use.
Is there a third route?
Some national strategic special zones run their own home-sharing scheme with a minimum stay. It applies only in the areas that adopted it, and Engawa does not map those areas yet.
The honest bottom line
Home-sharing keeps the akiya a house and trades that for a 180-night ceiling and local ordinances. An inn licence lifts the night cap but brings zoning, planning permission and building rules into play. Engawa shows the published rules and maps for each listing; the licensing office, the town and the bank have the final word. For the wider picture, see can you run an akiya as a minpaku. This guide is general information, not legal advice.