Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China No.656

November 24, 2014

The Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration are hereby issued for implementation as of March 1, 2015.

Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 The Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") are hereby formulated to integrate the responsibilities concerning the real estate registration, regulate the registration act, offer convenience for the public in registration application and protect the legal rights and interests of right holders in accordance with the Real Rights Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant laws.

Article 2 For the purpose of the Regulations, real estate registration refers to acts of real estate registration organ to record the real estate property ownership and other statutory affairs in the real estate register in accordance with the law.
For the purpose of the Regulations, real estate refers to land, sea area and such fixtures as buildings, forests, and others.

Article 3 The Regulations apply to first registration, change of registration, transfer of registration, cancellation of registration, correction of registration, dissidence registration, advance notice registration, close-down registration and other affairs concerning registration of real estate.

Article 4 The State applies a uniform registration system over real estate.
Real estate registration shall be implemented in the principle of strict management, being stable and continuous and convenient for the public.
Rights which have already been enjoyed by the right holder of a real estate in accordance with the law shall not be affected by the change of registration organ and registration procedures.

Article 5 The following rights of real estate shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations:
1. collective land ownership;
2. ownership of constructions and structures, such as buildings;
3. ownership of forests and woods;
4. contracted management right of such land as farmland, forest land and grassland;
5. right to use land for construction;
6. right to use house sites;
7. right to use sea area;
8. easement right;
9. right to mortgage; and
10. other rights of real estate required to be registered by laws.

Article 6 Competent department of land and resources of the State Council shall be responsible for guiding and supervising the real estate registration work of the State.
A local people's government at or above the county level shall designate a department as the registration organ of real estate for its administrative region to implement the registration work of real estate and such department shall be guided and supervised by the competent real estate registration organ of the people's government at a higher level.

Article 7 The real estate registration shall be executed by the registration organ of the people's government at the county level of the place where the real estate is located; the people's governments of municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities divided into districts can determine the real estate registration organs at their corresponding levels with the authority to handle the uniform registration of real estates located in their respective regions.
The real estate registration across administrative regions at the county level shall be executed respectively by the registration organs of real estate of the administrative regions at the county level in which the real estate is located. If separate registration fails, registration organs of relevant administrative regions where the real estate is located shall negotiate for the registration; if no agreement can be reached, the registration shall be executed by the organ designated by the competent registration organ of the people's government at a higher level which administrates both the two administrative regions as aforesaid.
The registration of real estates, including the forests, woods and forest land in key state-owned forest districts identified by the State Council, the sea area and island used for projects approved by the State Council, and the state-owned land under use by central state organs, shall be subject to the provisions provided by the competent department of land and resources of the State Council in concert with other departments concerned.

Chapter II Real Estate Register

Article 8 The real estate registration shall be executed based on the real estate unit. Each real estate unit has a sole code.
The registration organ of real estate shall establish a uniform real estate register in accordance with provisions of the competent department of land and resources of the State Council.
The following items shall be recorded in the real estate register:
1. nature condition of real estate, such as location, boundary, space bound, area and purpose;
2. ownership conditions of real estate, such as subject of right, type, content, source, duration and change of right;
3. items concerning the limitation of rights of real estate and relevant tips; and
4. other related items.

Article 9 The real estate register may be made in electronic media, or in paper if the condition does not permit. The registration organ of real estate shall expressly provide the sole legal form of media for the real estate register.
If an electronic media is adopted, off-site backup file for the real estate register shall be made regularly and such register shall has a sole and established form of transformation to paper file.

Article 10 The registration organ of real estate shall record various registration items into the real estate register accurately, completely and clearly in accordance with the law. The real estate register may not be destroyed and no amendment may be made in respect of registration items unless the amendment is made in accordance with the law.

Article 11 Working personnel of the real estate registration organ shall have qualified professional knowledge and ability adaptive to the registration of real estate.
The registration organ of real estate shall strengthen the management and professional technical training of real estate registration personnel.

Article 12 The registration organ of real estate shall specially designate a person to keep the real estate register and shall establish and perfect relevant security responsibility system.
If the real estate register is made in paper, necessary security facilities for guard from theft, fire, stains and pests shall be provided.
If the real estate register is made by an electronic media, special storage facilities shall be provided and protection measures for information network security shall be adopted.

Article 13 The real estate register shall be kept by the registration organ of real estate permanently. In case of destroyed or lost real estate register, the registration organ of real estate shall re-establish the register pursuant to the original registration information.
In case of change of the administrative region or the adjustment of the function of registration organ of real estate, the real estate register shall be delivered to relevant registration organ of real estate accordingly.

Chapter III Registration Procedures

Article 14 If registration is applied by reasons of business or settlement of mortgage, the application shall be made jointly by the two parties concerned.
The application may be made by either party concerned in any of the following cases:
1. first registration application is made for real estate without registration record;
2. rights to real estate are obtained due to inheritance or acceptance of bequest;
3. rights to real estate are established, changed, transferred, eliminated in accordance with effective legal instruments of the people's court or arbitration committee or effective decisions of the people's government;
4. application for change of registration is made due to the change of the right holder's name, title or nature conditions;
5. application for cancellation of registration is made due to loss of real estate or the right holder's waiver of rights to real estate;
6. application for change of registration or dissidence registration is made; or
7. other cases in which either party concerned may make application provided by laws and administrative regulations.

Article 15 The party concerned or agent thereof shall make the registration application for real estate at workplace of the registration organ of real estate.
Prior to the record of the registration item applied by the registration organ of real estate into the real estate register, the applicant may withdraw the registration application.

Article 16 The applicant shall submit the following materials and shall be responsible for the authenticity of such materials:
1. application of registration;
2. identification paper of applicant or agent thereof and the Power of Attorney;
3. proof of origin for the ownership of relevant real estate, proof material for registration reasons, the ownership certificate of real estate;
4. materials stating the boundary, space bound and area of real estate;
5. materials stating the stakes with others; and
6. other materials provided in laws, administrative regulations and the implementing rules of the Regulations.
The registration organ of real estate shall publish the list of materials required for registration application and sample text at the workplace and on the web portal.

Article 17 The registration organ of real estate shall handle the application separately as follows after receipt of the application materials for real estate registration:
1. the application shall be accepted and the applicant shall be notified in writing in case such application is within the scope of registration duties and application materials are complete and in compliance with the legal form or the applicant has submitted any and all supplemented or corrected application materials as required;
2. if any mistake in application materials could be corrected on site, the applicant shall be informed to correct such mistake promptly, and the application shall be accepted after the correction and a written notice shall be sent to the applicant;
3. if the application materials are incomplete or cannot meet the legal form, the registration organ shall notify the applicant on the spot of the non-acceptance in writing and all such content required to be supplemented and corrected on a one-off basis;
4. if the real estate involved in the registration application is beyond the registration scope of the registration organ, it shall notify the applicant on the spot that the application is rejected in a written form and the application shall be submitted to competent registration organ.
If the registration organ of real estate does not notify the application on the spot of the non-acceptance in writing, the applicant shall be deemed as having been accepted.

Article 18 If the registration organ of real estate accepts the registration application of real estate, it shall check the application in accordance with the following requirements:
1. whether materials stating the boundary, space bound and area of real estate are in consistent with the conditions of the real estate under registration application;
2. whether relevant proof materials are in consistent with the content applied for registration; and
3. whether the registration application breaches any provision of laws and administrative regulations.

Article 19 The registration organ of real estate may inspect the real estate applied for registration on the spot in any of the following circumstances:
1. first registration of the ownership of such constructions and structures as buildings;
2. registration of the right of mortgage of buildings under construction;
3. registration cancellation due to the loss of the real estate;
4. other circumstances where the registration organ of real estate deems necessary to make on-the-spot inspection.
In respect of registration application in which ownership dispute or other's interests may be involved, the registration organ of real estate may conduct an investigation over the applicant, interested parties or relevant units.
When the registration organ of real estate conducts on-the-spot inspection or investigation, the applicant and parties under investigation shall give cooperation with it.

Article 20 Unless otherwise provided by laws, the registration organ of real estate shall complete the registration procedures of real estate within 30 working days as of the acceptance date of such registration application.

Article 21 The registration of registration items shall be complete upon being recorded into the real estate register.
The real estate ownership certificate or registration certificate shall be issued to the applicant in case of the completion of registration with real estate registration organ.

Article 22 The registration organ of real estate shall refuse the registration application and give a written notice to the applicant if the registration application falls into any of the following circumstances:
1. registration application is in violation of laws and administrative regulations;
2. any unsettled ownership dispute is involved;
3. right of real estate applied for registration is not within specified period; or
4. other circumstances provided in laws and administrative regulations, in which registration may be refused.

Chapter IV Sharing and Protection of Registration Information

Article 23 Competent department of land and resources of the State Council shall, in concert with other related departments, establish an uniform basic platform for real estate registration information management.
Information registered by the registration organs of real estate at all levels shall be incorporated into the uniform basic platform for real estate registration information management to ensure the real-time sharing of registration information at the national, provincial, municipal and county level.

Article 24 Real estate registration information shall be real-time communicated and shared with approval and trade information of departments concerning housing and urban-rural development, agriculture, forest and marine.
For information which can be obtained through real-time communication and sharing of information, the registration organ of real estate shall not require the applicant to re-submit such information.

Article 25 Departments of land and resources, public security, civil affairs, fiscal affairs, taxation, industry and commerce, finance, audit and statistics shall strengthen the communication and sharing of information related to real estate registration.

Article 26 The registration organ of real estate, registration information sharing units and their working personnel shall keep the real estate registration information in confidence; and shall take necessary security measures for confidentiality of such registration information involving state secretes.

Article 27 Any right holder or interested party may apply for inquiring about or copying the real estate registration materials in accordance with the law and the registration organ shall not refuse to provide the same.
Relevant state organs may inquire about and copy the real estate registration materials related to the investigation matters in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.

Article 28 Units and individuals inquiring about the real estate registration information shall tell the real estate registration organ their purposes of inquiry, and shall not use such registration information obtained for any other purpose; and no such information may be disclosed without the consent of the right holder.

Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 29 If the false registration by the real estate registration organ, or the provision of false materials for application of registration by the party concerned, causes any loss to others, compensation liability shall be assumed in accordance with the Real Rights Law of the People's Republic of China Article 30 Working personnel of the registration organ of real estate shall be given sanction if they make false registration, destroy or forge the real estate register, modify registration items without authorization, or have other misfeasance or neglect for their duties; if any loss is caused to others, compensation liability shall be assumed; and if a crime is constituted, criminal liabilities shall be investigated.

Article 31 In case of the forging and modification of real estate ownership certificate or registration certificate or the purchase or sale or use of faked or modified real estate ownership certificate or registration certificate, such real estate ownership certificate or registration certificate shall be seized by relevant registration organ of real estate or public security organ; if any illegal gain is obtained, such illegal gain shall be confiscated; if any loss is caused to others, compensation liability shall be assumed; in case of violation of administration of public security, public security punishment shall be given in accordance with the law; and if a crime is constituted, criminal liabilities shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 32 If the registration organ of real estate, registration information sharing units and their working personnel and units or individuals inquiring about the registration information violate the regulations of the State to disclose the registration materials or registration information or utilize the registration materials or registration information to conduct any illegal activities, compensation liability shall be assumed when any loss is caused to others as a result,; relevant person liable shall be given a sanction; and criminal liabilities shall be investigated if the act of relevant person liable constitutes a crime.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 33 Various real estate ownership certificates issued and real estate registers prepared prior to the implementation of the Regulations shall remain in force.
The registration of contracted management right of rural land during the interim period of the uniform real estate registration shall be conducted in accordance with relevant regulations of the State.

Article 34 The implementing rules of the Regulations shall be prepared by the competent department of land and resource of the State Council in concert with other departments concerned.

Article 35 The Regulations shall come into force as of March 1, 2015. For any inconsistence between provisions provided in administrative regulations issued prior to the effectiveness of the Regulations and that provided herein, the Regulations shall prevail.