(ECNS) -- Beijing has not changed its policy regarding people who become eligible to buy houses through scam marriages, the Beijing Daily reported.
Rumors have been swirling that buyers with multiple divorce records will face restrictions when it comes to purchasing houses in Beijing. But local authorities have assured a 60-year-old twice-divorced woman that her marriage history will not affect her plan to buy a new house.
According to Beijing's restrictions on home buying in 2011, individuals without hukou, or residential permits, are barred from buying property in the capital unless they can provide tax and social security certificates proving they have lived in the city for more than five years.
However, to bypass the hukou restriction, there have been cases of Beijingers marrying a non-local to allow him or her to qualify to purchase a house, and then divorcing once the process is complete.
Beijingers who profit from such scams have been given the nickname "house worm." One man, who only revealed his family name of Zhang, said he earned 30,000 yuan from one fake marriage.
According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, some brokerage agencies exist to facilitate these fraudulent house-buying qualifications.
Beijing Daily said the capital city introduced a plan to prevent marriage scams in 2011, and that this policy remains unchanged.
Housing market regulators closely check the identities of buyers, including details related to the household register, social security details, tax history, marital status and work permits to prevent scam-based deals.
