Beijing authorities announced Friday that a new house rental policy will be put into effect on October 31.
According to the rental policy, local governments should increase the supply of houses available for rent around industrial parks and on collectively-used land. Newly built houses should be rented to those working in the industrial parks or in the vicinity, and the area should be equipped with educational and medical facilities.
An online supervisory platform will be set up, which will provide house rental information, electronic rental contracts and applications, and supervision of transactions, to protect the rights of tenants.
The rental policy guarantees the education rights of tenants' children. It said Beijing residents who do not own houses can apply for their children to receive compulsory education in the area near their rented home, provided that they have lived in the area for at least three years and one of the couple has worked in the area for at least three years.
Non-Beijing residents can also apply for their children to receive compulsory education in the area of their rented houses.
Beijing residents renting government-subsidized housing such as public rental houses can have their hukou, or household registration, registered and transferred to their rented home.
Beijing authorities solicited public opinion on the draft house rental policy from August 17 to 25.
In May, Beijing authorities said they would increase the supply of houses for rent within the next five years, and that 500,000 new houses would be built.
