Property registration system put under spotlight

The State Council has just issued the "Provisional Regulations for Real Estate Registration," in which the policymaker required the establishment of a unified information management system for real estate registration that can incorporate information about the ownership of collective land and housing, as well as land rights.

Development of the real estate registration system has progressed at a snail's pace since it first appeared in the 2007 Property Law. Many experts said the resistance to the system has come from local government officials and departments looking to protect their own interests.

The registration system has provoked a heated discussion, through which three representative opinions have emerged.

The first is that the registration system will be a powerful weapon in the fight against corruption because it will allow the Party's discipline inspectors to identify officials who own multiple properties. The second opinion is that the system will be a catalyst for lowering housing prices as it will likely set off a wave of selling. The third opinion comes from academics, who believe the system will pave the way for a property tax in several years.

For their part, the government agencies involved in the development of the registration system have stressed that it was not designed to fight corruption or regulate housing prices, though it will increase the possibility a property tax will be instituted after 2018.