Regulation expected to be finalized by year-end

A highly anticipated regulation on real estate registration was not issued by the end of June as previously planned, a disappointing news for those who were hoping that such a regulation would curb corruption and stabilize the housing market.

Chen Xiao, an expert familiar with the regulation, told the Global Times Thursday that the regulation will be rolled out by the end of this year at the earliest.

The establishment of a unified system on real estate registration was first mentioned in China's Real Right Law released in 2007. According to a statement released by the State Council in March 2013, the rules on real estate registration were to be issued by the end of June 2014.

The news office of the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), which is in charge of drafting the regulation, did not comment on the issue when contacted by the Global Times on Thursday.

According to the MLR's plan on this year's legislation work published in mid-May, the ministry was to submit the regulation by the end of June.

"The draft of the regulation has been amended several times, as it concerns coordination among different government departments and the MLR lacks a deep understanding of housing registration procedures," Chen Xiao, an associate professor of law with Tsinghua University who participated in the discussion on the regulation, told the Global Times Thursday.

Currently, property rights over land, houses, prairies, forests and sea areas are dispersed among more than 10 government departments including the MLR, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Agriculture.

After the MLR submits the regulation to the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, the office will seek views from the public. So it will take at least half a year for the final rollout of the regulation, Chen said.

A total of 18 local governments had also started work on real estate registration, such as Beijing and Shanghai, the Xinhua News Agency reported on June 26.

The regulation is seen as a necessary step toward building a unified system on real estate registration. According to the MLR's blueprint, China plans to establish a unified real estate registration system by 2016 and make it operational within two years.

The registration system aims to safeguard real estate transactions and protect rights of property owners, according to the MLR. But many expect it will also help bring down housing prices and crack down on corruption.

Reasons behind the delay of the regulation are complicated, not only because of technical difficulties but also due to resistance from interest groups, experts said.

"From the technical aspect, the property rights are not explicit for certain types of properties such as shanty houses," Yan Yuejin, a researcher with the E-House Real Estate Institute, told the Global Times Thursday.

"Some local officials also have no impetus to push forward the case, as a transparent system will expose their hidden properties acquired through bribery or embezzlement," Yan said.

Before the regulation comes into force, some officials and public servants have been rushing to sell their houses after this year's Spring Festival holidays, which led to an increasing supply of high-end apartments in Shanghai, the 21st Century Business Herald newspaper reported on June 6.

A unified system on real estate registration will also facilitate the implementation of a nationwide property tax, Zhang Hongwei, research director of Shanghai-based property consultancy ToSpur, told the Global Times.

"With the easing of home purchase restrictions, the property tax is expected to play a bigger role in curbing speculative demand in the housing market," he said.