The Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has released a guideline to supervise the management of public rental housing and co-ownership housing.

The new guideline aims to accelerate efforts to build a system that ensures supply through multiple sources, provides housing support through multiple channels and encourages both housing purchase and renting, regulate the housing market, enhance the supervisory functions of relevant departments, safeguard social fairness and justice, and improve public services.

It mainly specifies occupancy, utilization, management, property services and punishments for violations for local public rental housing and co-ownership housing, the payment and reduction of rental fees, and the terms concerning withdrawal, exchange and inheritance of relevant housing.

According to the guideline, without the written consent of other co-owners, the purchaser of a house with co-ownership shall not unilaterally establish the right of residence in the housing.

When purchasers pass away, their inheritors are entitled to sign a new agreement with administrative agencies concerned and use their due share of the housing with joint ownership for inhabitancy if they have no other self-owned homes in Guangzhou. Meanwhile, inheritors are allowed to transfer their share of housing with joint ownership in accordance with current rules, regardless of their ownership of personal houses.

In addition, leaseholders can postpone the payment of rental fees and apply for reductions for up to 12 months when they suffer critical illnesses or encounter economic difficulties. To further raise the satisfaction of leaseholders of public rental housing, they are allowed to exchange apartments with other tenants under the supervision of administrative agencies.

Guangzhou said it will also introduce a supervisory mechanism to improve services for the regulation of public rental housing and co-ownership housing, sending service supervisors based on the number of households and residents.