Govt Cracks Down on Illegal Villas and More China Real Estate Policy News

The latest regulatory wave in China involves the central government’s hard line on illegal villa developments, as Mingtiandi’s round-up of China regulatory news finds Evergrande, Country Garden and other developers paying the price for building illicit luxury projects in Hainan, Jilin, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces.

In other policy developments, the eagerness of municipal governments to woo talent to their cities, as reported previously in Mingtiandi, is still in full flush, with Guangzhou, one of China’s four first-tier cities, lowering residency requirements in a move seen as an effort to boost housing sales.

Nationwide Crackdown on Illegal Villa Projects

Illegal construction fell under the spotlight last week when the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a nationwide directive cracking down on unauthorised villas built since 2003. All 34 of China’s provincial-level entities have been instructed to submit reports on illicit villa projects with suggestions on how to resolve the issue, Yicai reported.

In accordance with the central government directive, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, the bureau responsible for the protection of nature reserves, instructed local authorities to carry out a review of luxury homes and private estates built illegally in protected areas, according to an article in The Paper. The central government banned the use of land for new villa construction in 2008, but the market continued to thrive with developers finding ways to circumvent the measures. Read more>>

Hainan Brings Bulldozes Illicit Projects to Protect Environment

China’s tropical island province, Hainan, has torn down over 200,000 square metres of unauthorised buildings in an effort to put an end to illicit development which damages the environment according to a report published by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in April.

In a tough year for developers, 124 projects in Hainan were suspended by local governments and over RMB 730 million in fines were levied. Among those punished, developer China Evergrande Group was fined RMB 215 million for not complying with regulations in the construction of a resort on the manmade island of Haihua. Read more>>

Illicit Wanda Golf Course Project Razed in Jilin

The Jilin provincial government flattened two golf courses and 187 unauthorised luxury houses in a resort constructed by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group near Changbai Mountain, as revealed in a report by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment published on April 28th.

The demolition, which was completed in mid-2018, took almost two years to clear the illicit 30 square kilometre resort in Fusong county. In all, 32 government officials were brought to book for their part in the development of the RMB 20 billion resort. Read more>>

Officials Warned on Involvement in Naughty Zhejiang Developments

Six government officials in Zhejiang province were given warnings for allowing the illegal construction of residences in areas where drinking water is sourced, The Paper reported on April 29th.

The illegally erected homes were found in Tonglu county and Xiaoshan district, as well as on the border of Hangzhou in the city of Jiaxing. The residences in Tonglu, built along one bank of the Fuchun River, a source of drinking water, were owned by tech company Tsinghua Tongfang, while the illegal construction in Xiaoshan was carried out under the instruction of local developer Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group and the Jiaxing development by Jiaxing Huike Real Estate Co Ltd. Read more>>

Guangzhou Lifts Hukou Requirements for Graduates

Guangzhou is planning to woo graduates to the city by exempting them from restrictions which had required them to be able to prove residency in the city for at least six consecutive months to qualify for a hukou, the Chinese local household registration.

The new rules, which took effect from April 22nd, also remove age requirements for residency, which previously had mandated that giving master’s degree be at least 45 years old, and bachelor’s degree holders be at least 50 to qualify for local residency. Even fresh graduates will be eligible to apply for a hukou in the capital of Guangdong province if they can prove legal local employment in the city. Read more>>

Eight Country Garden Projects Halted on Safety, Quality Issues

Real estate developer Country Garden saw eight projects suspended in the city of Lu’an in Anhui province following complaints from homeowners about inferior construction quality and safety at its Land Central Park project in Lu’an, according to The Paper.

The city government ordered the developer to halt construction on the projects and to make a thorough inspection of building quality and safety. The government further penalised Country Garden by cancelling advance sales permits and refusing to file sales contracts for the developer’s seven other projects in Lu’an, giving no indication of when these homes could go on the market. Read more>>