specially designated vacant house
Legal term under Japan's Vacant Houses Special Measures Act. Refers to a vacant house that a local government has officially designated as dangerous, unsanitary, or severely dilapidated, and which may face higher property taxes, fines, or demolition orders.
If a house is designated as a specially designated vacant house, it loses eligibility for property tax reductions.
The city designated the dangerous vacant house as a specially designated vacant house and ordered the owner to make improvements.
General term for any vacant house. 特定空家 is a specific legal designation applied only to those deemed problematic by authorities.
A related legal category for poorly managed vacant houses that are at risk of becoming dangerous; less severe than 特定空家.
Compound of 特定 (tokutei, 'specific' or 'designated') and 空家 (akiya, 'vacant house'). The term was established under the 2015 Vacant Houses Special Measures Act.