South-Facing Apartments Drop in Popularity Among Japan’s Renters in Age of Extreme Heat

Changing Priorities

Japanese company Lifull compiled data from the rental property search filters used on its real estate and housing platform Lifull Homes during 2025, converting them into points to create an overall ranking.

As in the previous survey, the top condition sought by people looking for rental housing was “separate bathroom and toilet,” although it decreased by 12 points to 913. A close second was “available parking,” at 899 points, which is considered particularly important in regions like Tōhoku/Hokkaidō and Kyūshū/Okinawa, outside the major metropolitan areas.

Lifull’s method was to take the 20 top-ranked search criteria in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, and award 20 for first place, descending to 1 point for twentieth.

Compared to the previous survey, the condition of “no guarantor required” rose by 60 points to 256. According to Lifull, it has become increasingly difficult for renters to secure a guarantor due to aging parents or no relatives who they can rely on. In addition, as a way to protect household finances against rising prices and soaring rents, “two-person occupancy allowed” also increased significantly, rising by 29 points to 493.

Meanwhile, the once-standard preference for a “south-facing unit” sharply declined by 71 points. In this era of extreme heat, the increased air-conditioning costs seem to have made such apartments less popular. The “bath reheating function” also fell by 48 points compared to the previous survey, which may reflect the increased number of people who prefer to take showers as a way to save time.

Data Sources

• Data on wish list conditions for renters seeking accommodation in 2026 (Japanese) from Lifull.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © PhotoAC.)