Society

Women-only share house operator involved in dubious rent dealings

Feb 18 (Japan Today) - A Tokyo-based operator of women-only share houses may have been involved in dubious rent business dealings under its former president amid the rapid expansion of the operation.

Smart Days Inc running a women-only share house chain called Kabocha no Basha, or Pumpkin Carriage in English, became unable to pay a fixed monthly amount that it guaranteed the owners of the properties from January.

The real estate company said it set up an external panel consisting of lawyers to investigate the stalled payments and may consider filing criminal complaints against the former president who resigned in January.

The company borrows apartments in Tokyo and surrounding areas from their owners and leased rooms mainly to college students and young women. The company advertises them as a residence to support "Cinderella." A register fee of 10,000 yen is needed but no deposit or other pre-rent expenses are required.

While the company expanded the business to rent rooms of around 1,000 apartments and houses within five years since its launch in 2012, it found it difficult to fill the rooms.

Smart Days sold apartments to the owners at prices about 30 percent higher than appropriate ones and promised to pay a fixed monthly amount. The company used the money it earned through the sale of apartments to make up for the monthly payments.

Many of the owners are company employees and they bought apartments with bank loans. The suspended monthly income made it difficult for them to pay back their loans and some of them may have to file for personal bankruptcy.

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