Bait listings — units already rented that stay on rental portals — are a long-standing problem in Japan. At SUMUIE, every listing goes through three verification steps before it goes live, and we continue to re-check each listing on a schedule. The policy is designed to remove fake listings structurally, not on a best-effort basis.
A new listing is only published after passing the following checks.
We verify the real-estate license number, legal company name, and registered office. Listings from companies whose license has lapsed or that are under business suspension are removed.
We confirm that the owner, or a company authorized to manage the unit, has explicitly consented to the listing. Units without a consent document or a management contract are not published.
When a managing company is set, we confirm that the unit is currently vacant and that rent, deposit, key money, and conditions are up to date. The confirmation date is shown on each listing.
Only listings that clear all three checks go live with a published status.
The owner, or a managing company with a written management mandate, has given written or email consent to be listed on SUMUIE. We do not re-publish listings without that consent.
For units with a managing company, the company has confirmed that the unit is currently vacant and that the displayed rent, deposit, key money, and conditions reflect the latest offer. The confirmation date is shown on the listing as the 'last verified' date.
When we receive a lease-signed, application-received, or listing-stop notice, the unit is removed from search results within 3 business days. The URL then returns HTTP 410 Gone so that search engines de-index the listing on the next crawl.
Partner agencies are asked to re-confirm vacancy and conditions every 30 days. Listings that exceed 30 days without re-confirmation are de-prioritized in search, and listings that exceed 60 days are temporarily hidden.
Each listing shows the date it was last verified, so stale listings are visible at a glance.
Users can report listings that turn out to be already rented or that the agent refuses to show. We follow up with the listing agency within 24 hours.
Agencies found to have posted fake listings are suspended from new listings until they provide remediation evidence. Repeat offenses result in termination of the listing contract.
If the listing turns out to be different from reality, or the agent refuses to show it, contact us via the form. Your identity is not disclosed to the listing agency; SUMUIE handles the fact-check internally.
Open the report formObligations for listing agencies — stop notices, information updates, and prohibited practices — are described on the dedicated page.
View agency pageA. In practice there is usually a lag of a few hours up to one business day before the listing agency notifies us that a unit has been leased. We commit to removing the listing within 3 business days of that notification and describe that tight SLA as our 'zero policy'.
A. It is displayed near the top of each listing page as the 'last verified' field. Listings older than 30 days are de-prioritized in search.
A. No. Your name and contact details are used only by SUMUIE to verify the report; they are not shared with the listing agency.
A. We cannot share per-listing documents with third parties, but if you have concerns about our verification process, please contact us and we will respond based on our internal records.
A. The listing is hidden immediately, and we ask the agency to provide a fact-report and a remediation plan. New listings from the agency are suspended until remediation is confirmed; serious or repeat cases result in contract termination.
