Implementation of the New Regulations on Housing Leasing
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a State Council decree that unveils Regulations on Housing Leasing (hereinafter referred to as “The Regulations”) which will go into effect from Sept. 15, 2025. As the first regulations on housing leasing in China, The Regulations play a significant role on regulating housing leasing activities, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the leasing parties, stabilising housing leasehold relations, boosting the high-quality development of the housing leasing market, and facilitating establishing a housing system that supports both leasing and purchasing. Meanwhile, The Regulations are also conducive to the continued healthy and orderly development of the housing leasing industry, housing leasing enterprises and agencies, marking the development of China’s housing leasing market into a new stage of standardisation and legalisation.
1. Significance of The Regulations
(1) As the first administrative regulations on housing leasing in China, The Regulations have included housing leasing enterprises, housing leasing brokerage institutions, and their employees within the scope of administrative regulations for the first time. The Regulations also clarify the requirements of the establishment, code of conduct, and regulatory requirements for housing leasing enterprises and housing leasing brokerage agencies, establishing fundamental legal guidelines for the sustained and healthy development of the housing leasing industry.
(2) The Regulations establish a series of foundational systems for housing leasing management, including recordal of leases, reporting of business commencement information by leasing enterprises and brokerage agencies, recordal of brokerage practitioners, releasing of authentic property listings, reporting of leasing information by leasing enterprises, supervision of leasing funds, and rent monitoring mechanism. These measures lay a solid legal foundation for regulating the behaviours of market entities in the housing leasing sector, strengthening industry supervision, and maintaining market order.
(3) The Regulations uphold the principle of fairness, put effort to balance the status of both parties in a lease and define the rights and obligations of both parties. At the same time, The Regulations clearly stipulate that when a lease has been continuously fulfilled for a specific period of time, the lessor is eligible for corresponding policy support, and the lessee is eligible for corresponding basic public services, which effectively promotes the establishment of stable housing leasing relationships.
2. Self-discipline on Housing Leasing Sector
The Regulations have emphasised the self-discipline administration of related housing leasing organisations.
As a national housing leasing and real estate brokerage organisation under the guidance of Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of PRC (hereinafter referred to as “MoHURD”), China Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Agents (hereinafter referred to as “CIREA”) will strengthen self-discipline administration on housing leasing and real estate brokerage in accordance with The Regulations. In December, 2020, in light of the requirements MoHURD, CIREA has supplemented the relevant content in bylaws and reported it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for approval, undertaking the responsibility of self-discipline administration of the industry, and becoming a national self-discipline administration organisation for housing leasing industry in China.
CIREA will take the implementation of The Regulations as an opportunity to accelerate the establishment of a sound system of self-discipline administrative standards and norms for the housing leasing and real estate brokerage industry, to guide member enterprises to operate in compliance with the regulations, to promote the professionalisation and specialisation of practitioners, and to foster the standardised and healthy development of the housing leasing and real estate brokerage industry.
3. Publicity and Implementation of The Regulations
In order to guide housing leasing enterprises, leasing brokerage agencies, online leasing information operators, local housing leasing associations to thoroughly understand and implement The Regulations, CIREA and China Construction News plan to hold the 2025 China Housing Leasing Development Forum late this August, so as to interpret The Regulations, discuss the measures, share self-disciplinary experience and boost the high-quality development of the housing leasing market