China's Property Law: Impact On The Real Estate Sector

摘要

China's Law on Rights in Rem (中华人民共和国物权法, the "Property Law"), which took effect on October 1, 2007, contains many important legislative innovations and sets forth a number of ground-breaking rules that have had a profound impact on China's economy, particularly in the real estate sector. Since the issuance of the Property Law, China's central government agencies have issued a series of regulations to implement the Property Law in 2007 and 2008. Of the existing implementation rules, the most important are the Land Registration Measures (土地登记办法, effective February 1,2008)[1] and the House Registration Measures (房屋登记办法, effective July 2008)[2]. In addition, various central government agencies have issued administrative measures that affect players in the real estate sector. These include the Measures for the Registration of Accounts Receivable Pledges (应收账款质押登记办法, effective October 1, 2007)[3], the Measures for the Registration of Movables Mortgages (地产抵押登记办法, effective October 17, 2007)[4], and the Measures for Equity Pledges Registration (股权出质登记办法, effective October 1, 2008)[5]. According to these Measures, uniform registration systems (URSs) for land, houses, accounts receivable pledges, mortgages on movables, and equity pledges will be established throughout the nation. For the first time in China's legislative history, the Property Law affords equivalent legal protection to public property rights and private property rights[6]. In doing so, it strikes a delicate balance between safeguarding the socialist economic system and promoting private property[7]. While maintaining the primacy of China's socialist market economic system, the Property Law provides real property owners a certain level of comfort by delineating their rights. For instance, the Property Law dedicates a chapter to construction land use rights and lays out specific rules that are critically important to real estate developers. It also eases real property owners' concerns by specifically providing that the term of residential construction land use rights will automatically renew after the initial 70-year term expires.