China’s Housing Minister Flags Eight Key Themes for Real Estate Policy in 2021, Stresses Development of Rental Housing

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The head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) has provided an outline of the authority’s policy plans this year, flagging a heavy emphasis on the development of rental housing.

In an interview with state-owned media MOHURD head Wang Menghui (王蒙徽) said that the authority would focus on eight key focal points in 2021:

  1. Fully implement urban upgrade campaigns, drive urban structural optimisation, functional improvements and quality upgrades; accelerate the development of liveable, green, resilient, smart and humanist cities.
  2. Uphold the position that housing is for occupation and not speculation, appropriately implement long-term real estate plans, endeavour to stabilise land prices, housing prices and expectations.
  3. Strengthen the housing market system and housing welfare system, vigorously develop rental housing, effectively resolve outstanding problems with residential housing.
  4. Expand the vigour of urban administration, strengthen risk control in urban administration, upgrade urban security and resilience.
  5. Implement urban village development campaigns, upgrade the level of modernisation of urban housing, and improve the rural village residential environment.
  6. Accelerate the development of green building, vigorously drive building energy efficiency, in order to make a contribution to achieving peak carbon and carbon neutrality targets.
  7. Advance reform and innovation, establish systems and policies which suit the new demands of urban renewal, rural village revival and construction sector transition and upgrade.
  8. Strengthen the comprehensive leadership of the party, expand the vigour of cadre team formation, and pragmatically upgrade and expand new development concepts for cadres.

With regard to key housing issues in major cities, Wang said that MOHURD would adopt measures including:

  1. Accelerate the establishment of a housing welfare system that focuses on welfare rental housing and joint-ownership housing. Welfare rental housing includes public rental housing (公租房) and policy rental housing (政策性租赁住房).
  2. Focused development of policy rental housing in major cities with net population inflows. Accelerate improvements to land, tax and financial support policies.
  3. Standardised development of the residential leasing market. Launch of the “Residential Leasing Regulations” (住房租赁条例), accelerated improvements to long-term home leasing policy, adjustment and standardisation of the rental market order.
  4. Support major cities with net population inflows in the development of joint-ownership housing. Focus supply on registered residents, and gradually expand the permanent resident population.
  5. Undertake trials for flexible employees to participate in the residential housing public fund system and residential housing funds to support the development of rental housing.