What will affect us if it is registered? On the topic raised by the unified real estate registration certificate
The unified format of real estate registration books and certificates was officially released on the 26th. The unified formats of the Real Estate Registration Book, the Real Estate Ownership Certificate, and the Real Estate Registration Certificate will be fully put into use starting from March 1. Around this matter, a series of inherently derived topics related to real estate registration can no longer be avoided.
Do we need to get new licenses, and how will this affect our existing certificates?
For most people, the most valuable of all these certificates is the real estate certificate —— the “property ownership certificate” for urban commercial housing and rural homesteads, as well as the use rights or contracted management certificates for cultivated land, mountains, waters, forests, fields, lakes, and seas. With the nationwide rollout of unified real estate registers and certificates, how will this affect these “treasures” of ours?
The full implementation of the Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration will take time. After the regulations take effect, all certificates will remain valid, including the new versions issued in accordance with the law, the various old versions that continue to be issued because the integration of responsibilities and institutions has not been completed and the conditions for issuing new versions are not yet in place, and the various certificates lawfully issued during the period of decentralized registration before the regulations took effect. The new and old versions of certificates will be used in parallel for a period of time. Wang Guanghua, director of the Cadastral Management Department of the Ministry of Land and Resources (director of the Real Estate Registration Bureau), repeatedly stressed to reporters, hoping that every draft would make this clear.
As the core component of unified real estate registration, only after the unification of registers and certificates can changes in property rights be reflected in a unified and standardized manner, and can property rights be strictly protected in a unified way. "Without unified registers and certificates, real estate property rights cannot be publicly announced in a unified manner, and overlapping and conflicting rights may arise. The effect of public announcement and public trust in real estate registration will be compromised, property rights may not be effectively protected, and disputes and conflicts may also be triggered." Wang Guanghua emphasized that once registers and certificates are unified, no matter where a real estate property is registered, parties involved in a transaction will have a unified and trustworthy basis, and good order can be effectively established. "Without unified registers and certificates, different places having different registers and multiple certificates may lead to the sale of one house or one parcel of land to multiple buyers, creating transaction risks and affecting transaction security."
Eliminating the drawbacks of inconsistent certificates under the decentralized registration model will facilitate public convenience and reduce administrative costs. With unified certificates, the cost for ordinary people to obtain certificates will be lowered. In the past, much of the content in decentralized registration books and certificates overlapped, which wasted administrative costs and was prone to errors, causing unnecessary trouble for rights holders. "Real estate registration agencies must adhere to the principles of 'no change, no replacement' and convenience for enterprises and the public. When rights remain unchanged, books and certificates shall not be replaced. When handling registration matters such as changes and transfers in accordance with the law, they shall gradually be replaced with new real estate registration books and certificates." Leng Hongzhi, Deputy Director-General of the Real Estate Registration Bureau of the Ministry of Land and Resources, emphasized that local authorities must not force parties to replace their real estate ownership certificates and registration certificates, which would increase the burden on enterprises and the public.
Will there be a sell-off, and how will it affect the housing market?
"The unified registration of real estate is about to be implemented. Do you think people with multiple properties will sell them off? If they do, will housing prices drop as a result?" Jiang Rulin, a 30-year-old resident of Zhengzhou who is married with children and still renting, has been waiting for the right moment to buy a house.
Jiang Rulin's question is quite representative. Although the original intention of implementing unified real estate registration was not to lower housing prices, its objective impact on the real estate market is undeniable. With unified real estate registration, the current situation where personal housing information remains unclear is expected to change.
In fact, the lack of accurate and accessible information has long plagued China's housing construction and real estate regulation. A local grassroots official said, "We cannot even figure out how many homes each family owns or how large they are. Formulating regulatory policies is not only difficult but also prone to deviation."
Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property, said: "This policy is an important landmark event marking the shift of real estate regulation from the previous regulation of the transaction stage to the regulation of the stock stage."
China's real estate industry has now entered a stage of stock adjustment, with notable regional divergence, and "destocking" will be the dominant theme of the market in 2015. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2014, the nationwide area of unsold commercial housing reached a new high of 620 million square meters, an increase of 130 million square meters over the end of 2013, with the area of unsold residential housing exceeding 400 million square meters.
Although some market research institutions predict that with the acceleration of real estate registration, the supply of large second-hand homes will continue to increase, which may lead to more listings by owners holding multiple properties, it will not have an excessive impact on the overall real estate market.
Zhu Zhongyi, honorary vice president of the China Real Estate Association, believes that real estate registration and the networking of personal housing information are the most fundamental elements of a long-term regulatory mechanism for real estate, but housing prices are mainly determined by factors such as supply and demand and expectations. The real estate registration system itself will not have a significant impact on housing prices. Some interviewed experts believe that the implementation of the regulations will make decision-making more scientific and precise, helping to establish a long-term mechanism for the healthy development of the real estate market.
The real estate registration system has been implemented. What about the property tax that everyone is waiting for?
In response to reports of an impending property tax, the head of the Real Estate Registration Bureau stated that although unified real estate registration is a technical foundation for real estate taxation, tax issues can only be decided by the state in accordance with relevant tax laws and the principle of statutory taxation.
As one of the hot derivative topics of real estate registration, the relationship between real estate registration and property tax collection has become clearer through rounds of intense debate. Undoubtedly, real estate registration is a necessary technical condition for property tax collection. To levy a tax on the holding of properties, one must first determine exactly how many houses each person owns. At the same time, the information support from real estate registration will also strengthen the collection and management of deed taxes and individual income taxes in property transfer transactions.
After the real estate registration shoe drops, some people may sell off their multiple properties due to the approaching property tax, because based on the reform signals released so far, property tax collection will protect residents' basic housing needs and mainly target excess properties. The more properties one owns, the heavier the tax burden on the holding stage.
Chen Fei, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said: "The implementation of unified real estate registration means that the introduction of a real estate tax is drawing ever closer. This will be a heavy blow to speculators in commercial housing and will force some vacant homes onto the market, which is expected to effectively reduce the vacancy rate of sold housing."
Of course, the technical conditions for levying real estate tax include not only a detailed understanding of exactly how many properties each person owns, but also real estate appraisal techniques. What is even more complex is the design of the tax system: what exactly counts as residents’ basic housing needs, and is it more reasonable to levy the tax by unit or by square meter? … All these issues are interconnected, and a comprehensive consideration is required.
As is well known, legislation is currently the path for property tax reform. This reform will be led by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, with strengthened research and steady progress. This means that the collection of property tax will mainly depend on the legislative process, on the process of reaching reform consensus, reducing resistance, and coordinating relationships. It will not be achieved overnight, but will proceed on the expected track.
Some experts also believe that technical conditions are not an insurmountable obstacle to levying a real estate tax; what matters more is ensuring that the collection of this tax is well-founded and justified. Compared with most indirect taxes in China, such as value-added tax and business tax, which are embedded in prices, the real estate tax, which has a clear nature of a direct tax, would take money “directly” from people’s pockets. This is likely closely tied to major reforms such as statutory taxation and budget transparency.
I'm ready to help translate your Chinese legal content into professional English for the Shenzhen Zhiming Law Firm website. Please provide the Chinese text you'd like me to translate.Property rights remain a hot topic. What should be done about "small property rights housing"? What happens after 70 years for commercial housing?
Regarding the issue of “small property rights housing” that many urban residents (and certainly some suburban rural residents) are concerned about, a responsible official of the Ministry of Land and Resources stated on the 26th that real estate registration is an action taken in accordance with the requirements of the Property Law to protect the rights and interests of real estate rights holders in accordance with the law, and it is impossible to register anything illegal. China’s current laws and regulations clearly stipulate, and land use control is commonly implemented around the world. “Therefore, it is impossible for ‘small property rights housing’ to be registered, let alone be ‘whitewashed’ through legal registration.”
"The unified registration of immovable property is an explicit requirement of superior laws such as the Property Law. This is a statutory action. Regarding the issue of 'small property rights' housing, the provisions of laws and regulations are clear, and relevant departments such as land and resources have reiterated their stance on multiple occasions. Discussions on immovable property registration can only be conducted within the legal framework," said Wang Guanghua.
The Several Opinions on the Registration and Certification of Rural Collective Land Ownership issued by the Ministry of Land and Resources emphasizes that the registration and certification of rural collective land ownership must be strictly regulated, false land registration is strictly prohibited, and the registration and certification of illegally used land without lawful handling is strictly prohibited. "For illegal land use such as converting farmers' collective land into state-owned land without statutory expropriation procedures by taking advantage of the reform of the household registration system or unauthorized means such as 'village-to-community conversion,' the illegal transfer or lease of collective land by rural collective economic organizations for non-agricultural construction, and the purchase of homestead land, farmers' housing, or 'small property rights housing' in rural areas by urban residents, registration and certification shall not be granted."
With the full implementation of unified real estate registration certificates, another issue has surfaced—the unified registration of property and land highlights the issue of 70-year land use rights for commercial housing. "Land is the core of real estate. Many problems in our country's economic development essentially stem from land," said Yang Chongguang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Unified real estate registration is a requirement of the Property Law. However, many requirements of the Property Law are yet to be implemented. What happens after the 70-year land use rights for commercial housing expire will become apparent during the unified real estate registration process. "As real estate registration advances, the property rights issues behind the technical registration will become clearer, and the tasks of reform in accordance with the law will also become more defined."
