Frustrated and angry, the remaining residents at an apartment building in Tokyo said they are determined to  continue fighting a new Chinese owner who has made their lives unbearable.

According to the tenants, the building owner has demanded exorbitant rent increases, halted the use of a workable elevator, and operated an illegal accommodation business.

An official of the Chinese company denied trying to evict the residents or running an illegal operation.

But many residents have already vacated the premises, and those still there are at their wit’s end.

RENT MORE THAN DOUBLES

The conflict started in late January, when all residents of the 40-plus-year-old, seven-story building in Itabashi Ward received a “notice of rent increase” in their mailboxes. They would have to pay more than double the current rates.

One resident in his 50s said his monthly rent will increase 2.6-fold from 72,500 yen ($500) to 190,000 yen starting in August, according to the notice.

The notice cited “the increase in various expenses caused by the rise in utility rates and other prices.”

The name of the company on the notice was not the one with which the man had signed the lease.

A few days later, the man received a letter informing him of a change in ownership of the apartment building. The new owner was the company named in the rent-hike notice.

“How could such an extreme rent increase be acceptable?” the man said he wondered at the time.

To find out, the man visited a consultation desk at a housing and building transaction business association.

He was told that under law, the landlord and tenant must agree on a rent increase, and if they do not, the current rent will be maintained.

The matter can then be decided in court or through other means.

But basically, a rent increase significantly higher than the market rate would not be approved in court, the man was told.

Taking into consideration the high cost of living and market prices of nearby properties, a rent increase of up to 1.2 times would be reasonable, he was told.

The man sent a letter to the new owner, rejecting the rent revision.

When the man made inquiries around the building, he learned that all residents had been informed that their rents would increase to 190,000 yen a month, double to triple their current rents.

The register of the owner company showed its head office was located in an apartment in Tokyo’s Koto Ward.

The company’s activities were listed as real estate transactions, as well as internet-related businesses, books, finance and food and beverage services.

A name that appeared to be Chinese was listed as the “representative employee of the company,” along with an address in Liaoning province, China.

100,000-YEN OFFER TO LEAVE

A female resident of the building received an unexpected knock on her door at around 8:30 p.m. in mid-February.

A man who claimed to be the owner of the apartment asked her, in broken Japanese, “Do you know about the rent increase?”

He continued: “We will raise it from next month. If you move out this month, we will pay you 100,000 yen. Do you want to leave?”

The woman was surprised at the sudden demand and repeatedly told the man, “I haven’t heard of anything about it.”

She asked for his business card, but the man said, “I don’t have it.”

Instead, he gave her a piece of paper with the company name and a phone number scribbled on it.

At around this time, some residents started to relocate, growing distrustful of the new owner.

HEAVY TRAFFIC IN ‘VACANT’ ROOM

In early March, a resident in his 40s noticed something unusual: two double beds had been delivered to a room across the hallway, which was supposed to be vacant.

From mid-March, other tenants saw what appeared to be tourists from around Asia with large suitcases entering and leaving the supposedly vacant apartment every day.

The resident across the hallway suspected the owner was operating a “minpaku” private lodging business there.

So, he entered the address of the apartment on an accommodation reservation website, searched, and found listings for two rooms in the building.

The photos posted as the exterior of the accommodations matched that of the apartment building.

The price was about 25,000 yen per night for two people.

Minpaku businesses must have external signage for such operations. There were no such signs on the apartment building.

The Itabashi Ward Office also said there were no reports of a minpaku business being run in the apartment.

A security camera recorded various people frequently entering and leaving one of the rooms. The resident across the hall provided the footage to the ward office.

In response, the ward, through the Japan Tourism Agency, asked the accommodation reservation website to remove the apartment’s rooms.

The rooms were delisted, and reservations were no longer available on the site in late March.

However, people who appeared to be minpaku guests continued to come and go until late April, according to the residents. They were believed to have made reservations before the delisting.

During that time, residents who lived under the two rooms were bothered by the noise from the “guests” and moved out.

ELEVATOR DOWN FOR 6 MONTHS

The remaining residents were informed in writing that the owner company would also be responsible for management of the building from May 11.

Still distrustful, the residents formed a group on a social networking site to exchange information.

They became aware of similar situations in Osaka and other cities, where a change in ownership and management company abruptly led to a more than doubling of rents.

The residents in Itabashi Ward did not really know each other’s faces or names until the rent-hike notice in January.

They were hoping that cooperation would make it easier to negotiate with the owner.

However, the new owner had another apparent strategy to empty the rooms.

On the door of each unit and at the elevator doors on every floor, a piece of paper said, “Notice of elevator outage.”

“Parts of the door have been damaged, making operation impossible,” the notice said. “Defects have been found in the electrical system, raising the possibility of electrical discharges.”

The notice said “use of the elevator will be suspended for the time being” and “it is expected to take more than six months for new parts to be made.”

One resident who was immediately suspicious contacted the elevator manufacturer directly.

The company said a routine inspection in late February revealed no defects or malfunctions in the elevator.

The company also said that even if elevator parts needed to be replaced, it would only take about a week to do so.

This information was immediately shared among residents on social media.

“I can only think that the (owner) is trying to force the elevator to shut down and drive us out,” said one resident.

The residents’ distrust turned to anger.

‘MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH’

A woman in her late 70s who lives on the seventh floor is now forced to use the emergency stairs, which have about 90 steps between floors.

The strain on her body is heavy, especially her knees.

Until then, she had been going out several times a day, but now there are days when she has to stay at home.

“(The owner’s) arrogant behavior has deprived me of a peaceful living environment,” she said. “It is a matter of life and death because the temperature is going to rise from now.”

She is also concerned about a man in his 80s who lives alone on the same seventh floor.

“It’s too late to do anything after something happens,” she said. “But what should I do?”

DENIALS FROM OWNER

It is estimated that about half of all residents have left or will be leaving the building.

The phone number of the apartment’s management company listed on the elevator notice was for a cellphone.

An Asahi Shimbun reporter sent a message to the number on June 5 and was told that another person was handling the matter. A different cellphone number was provided.

When the reporter called the number, a man answered and identified himself as the owner’s representative.

“The owner is Chinese, and he is in China,” the man said.

He also said the company “did not know the market rate for rent” and it “has no intention of evicting the residents.”

He also denied operating a minpaku, but said, “There was a time when I rented a room to a friend.”

He said he did not know how the friend used the room.

Regarding the elevator, the man said problems have arisen, and it is being inspected, but no timetable had been set for resuming its use.

The Asahi Shimbun called the phone number several times thereafter but received no response.