TEAMR and ARU Partner to Launch 'Vacant Home Discovery Team' Bridging Vacant Homes and Disability Employment

TEAMR Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture; CEO: Tatsuhiko Seki, hereinafter 'TEAMR') has partnered with ARU Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Oita City, Oita Prefecture; CEO: Yui Usuda, hereinafter 'ARU'), a nationwide provider of employment support services, to launch the 'Vacant Home Discovery Team'—a new initiative to accelerate the 'Re-utilization' of vacant and aging homes across Japan.

This initiative is a project by TEAMR to address challenges faced by local communities and property owners through the 'Re-utilization' of vacant and old homes.

TEAMR will accelerate outreach to underutilized properties—potential assets currently lying dormant—by leveraging property searches via Google Street View and information dissemination to owners through web and social media platforms.

Simultaneously, TEAMR will establish these operations as standardized work models suitable for supported employment programs, aiming to create new job opportunities for individuals with disabilities. This project is positioned as a pilot program tackling two major social issues: vacant homes and disability employment.

What is the 'Vacant Home Discovery Team'? A New Approach to Vacant Homes, Co-Developed with Employment Support Providers

TEAMR and ARU will collaborate to approach 'sleeping vacant homes'—properties previously difficult to identify—using the following methods:

- Vacant home identification using Google Street View Conduct area-wide surveys to extract residential candidates with poor maintenance conditions. - Information outreach and contact with owners via web and social media Disseminate information about vacant home utilization directly to owners in need. - Development of partnership networks for vacant home management Build networks with service providers such as judicial scriveners, administrative scriveners, demolition contractors, and estate clearance companies who serve vacant home owners.

These operations will be systematized into manuals and designed as work models that supported employment facilities can implement. The goal is for ARU’s employment support sites to become new drivers in solving local vacant home challenges.

Why This Initiative? Growing Vacant Home Crisis and Rising Social Demand for Disability Employment

### Challenges on the Vacant Home Side: From 'Building' to 'Utilizing'

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ '2023 Housing and Land Statistics Survey,' Japan’s vacant homes have reached approximately 9 million—the highest on record. Of these, about 3.85 million are vacant homes facing utilization and management challenges, excluding rental, resale, or vacation properties.

Meanwhile, new housing construction starts are declining. In 2024, only 792,098 units were started—a 3.4% decrease from the previous year—and the first time below 800,000 units since 2009, post-Lehman Shock. With rising land prices, attention is increasingly shifting from building new homes to renovating and reusing existing buildings.

TEAMR, a long-time advocate for vacant home utilization, will invest resources into this trend to revive more dormant homes into valuable assets. Through this collaboration with ARU, TEAMR aims to contribute not only to solving the vacant home crisis but also to addressing the social challenge of disability employment.

### Challenges on the Employment Support Side: Expanding Employment Obligations and the Need for Job Opportunities

In July 2026, amendments to the Act for Employment Promotion of Persons with Disabilities will take effect, raising the statutory employment rate to 2.7%. This expands the scope of companies subject to the obligation to those with 37.5 or more employees, including small and medium-sized enterprises, making disability employment promotion a national priority.

However, the transition from disability welfare services to general employment remains low, with only 1–3% annually securing jobs in mainstream companies. Facilities like ARU, which provide supported employment, play a crucial role in offering individuals with disabilities both work opportunities and the chance to develop necessary job skills.

Through this collaboration, TEAMR and ARU aim to increase both employment opportunities and skill development, while also contributing to solving the social issue of rising vacant homes.

Benefits of This Project

### For Real Estate Professionals Who Have Relied on Inheritance Lists

The 'Vacant Home Discovery Project' is part of TEAMR’s vacant home detection and customer acquisition tool, 'TEAMR Finder.' A pilot rollout is planned for 10 companies, with further evaluation to follow.

In October 2026, changes to the real estate registration ledger system will make the traditional use of 'inheritance lists' difficult. TEAMR offers a new sales approach that does not rely on registration data.

### For Property Owners Struggling with Vacant Homes

By expanding outreach through web and social media, along with growing partnership networks, TEAMR will broaden access to information about vacant home utilization. For owners who say, 'I’m struggling with my vacant home but don’t know who to consult,' TEAMR will deliver targeted information and knowledge to help them choose the right utilization path for their property.

Comment from Tatsuhiko Seki, CEO of TEAMR Co., Ltd.

Vacant homes and disability employment may appear to be separate social issues at first glance. However, we believe both share a common root: untapped potential within local communities.

Japan has many vacant homes—buildings that should be assets supporting people’s lives and community value—yet they remain unused and dormant. At the same time, many individuals with the will and ability to work lack opportunities to fully utilize their potential.

Our collaboration with ARU is an attempt to transform the entire process of discovering vacant homes, contacting owners, and connecting them to utilization into a new form of employment. We envision a future where the work of discovering vacant homes leads to personal growth and confidence for individuals, which in turn contributes to solving local challenges. We aim to expand this virtuous cycle nationwide.

Until now, our slogan has been 'Please lend us your vacant home,' creating new value from underutilized buildings. From now on, we will also strive to reignite human potential.

TEAMR believes in creating a society where those who take action are rewarded. Through this project, we aim to solve two major social issues—vacant homes and disability employment—while generating new jobs and hope for local communities.

Comment from Yui Usuda, CEO of ARU Co., Ltd.

ARU operates six Type B Supported Employment facilities in Oita City, providing work opportunities for approximately 140 users, while also supporting around 80 employment support providers nationwide.

I firmly believe that the future of welfare is not just about providing support, but about creating jobs and housing within communities, becoming central to urban development. As demographics and societal structures shift, it is a vital mission for welfare providers to step forward and address local challenges.

The long-standing challenges in supported employment have been 'wages' and 'housing.' How can we increase users’ income? How can we expand housing options so they can live securely in the community? We have been searching for answers.

We see potential in TEAMR’s approach of 'reviving vacant homes with minimal repairs.' The process of finding vacant homes, contacting owners, and facilitating revitalization offers diverse job opportunities where individuals with disabilities can excel. Beyond that, there is even potential to create new welfare housing, such as group homes or shared housing.