New Property Rights Laws in the People's Republic of China (came into effect in 2007) -- Translated into English

POSTED: 6/7/2010 UPDATED: 6/8/2010

The original post was too long for Blogger and was cutting off all posts that came before it, so we at There Is No Spoon have decided to divide it into five sections, corresponding with the natural organization of the original document.

Disclaimer: the following document is an UNOFFICIAL English translation of the Property Rights Laws in the People's Republic of China that went into effect in May of 2007. This document and all concepts represented herein have no legal binding in the People's Republic of China, nor in the United States of America. We are providing this information as an educational resource only.

Normally I would just upload a PDF to a technical document like this, but due to the importance of the material that follows and to the dearth of relevant results when searching Google or Bing for "Property Rights in China," I thought it would be more prudent and beneficial to all if I just posted the entire text as a separate HTML post so that all search engines will be able to pick it up in all of its glory. What follows is an English translation of China's newly minted Property Rights that set off the fast and furious Real Estate Bizarre currently underway in the Peoples Republic of China. I am in the process of analyzing this information as part of my series on the historical and cultural differences of real estate in the United States and China, but I thought I would share while I gather more information since so few people interested in the the magic of China Miracle realize how new this real estate fad is to this communist country. Up until now, an English translation of the new laws was hard to come by. Enjoy!

A full English translation of the 2007 Property Rights Law of the People's Republic of China "signed" into law on March 16th, 2007 follows:

Property Rights Law of the People's Republic of China
Promulgation date: March 16, 2007
Effective date: October 1, 2007
Department: National People’s Congress
Order of the President of the People’s Republic of China (No. 62)
The Property Rights Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 5th Session of the 10th National People's Congress of the People’s Republic of China on March 16, 2007, is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect on October 1, 2007.
Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
March 16, 2007
(click "read more" to see Table of Contents with links to the 5 parts)

CONTENTS

Part I: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter I Fundamental Principle
Chapter II Establishment, Modification, Transfer and Lapse of Property Rights
Section I Real Property Registry
Section II Movable Property Delivery
Section III Miscellaneous
Chapter III Protection of Property Rights

Part II: OWNERSHIP

Chapter IV General Stipulations
Chapter V State Ownership, Collective Ownership and Individual Ownership
Chapter VI Building Distinction Ownership of the Owner
Chapter VII Neighborhood Relationship
Chapter VIII Joint Ownership
Chapter IX Special Regulations Pertaining to Attainment of the Ownership

Part III: USUFRUCTUARY RIGHTS

Chapter X General Stipulations
Chapter XI Right to Land Contractual Management
Chapter XII Right to the use of the Construction Land
Chapter XIII Right to the use of the Residential Housing Land
Chapter XIV Easement on Land

Part IV: SECURITY INTEREST IN PROPERTY RIGHTS

Chapter XV General Stipulations
Chapter XVI Mortgage Right
Section I General Mortgage Right
Section II Maximum Mortgage Right
Chapter XVII Right of Pledge
Section I Pledge of Movable Property
Section II Pledge Rights
Chapter XVIII Lien

Part V: POSSESSION

Chapter XIX Possession