MOVING PROCESSES AND CONDITIONS OF RESIDENTS UNDER THE HOUSING LEASE PROGRAM FOR DISASTER VICTIMS IN SENDAI CITY

Abstract

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the housing lease program for disaster victims supplied over 60,000 private rental houses that serve as temporary housing. The number of houses has exceeded the number of newly constructed units of prefabricated temporary housing and many residents moved to urban areas in order to acquire rental houses. To examine moving processes and living conditions of residents under this program, an interview survey was conducted with residents living in leased houses in Sendai City. The following results were obtained. (1) Residents who were able to acquire housing in the early stage found rental houses with the cooperation of relatives and acquaintances, instead of real estate agents. (2) Many residents were not able to acquire adequate houses for the number of persons in their households. For this reason, families had to live separately. (3) Some residents experienced stress with their new life in rental houses because of the drastic change in their living environment.