Housing pension system is planned ahead for the era of real estate inventory
2024-08-28
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As my country's real estate enters the inventory era, a large number of houses are beginning to enter "middle-age and old age". Planning a housing pension system in advance will help improve the living quality and security of residents, and will also provide strong support for the stable development of the real estate market and urban renewal.
Xia Jinbiao
As an important institutional arrangement for real estate entering the stock era, the housing pension system has taken a "key step" in the pilot. Recently, at the 15th meeting of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said that Shanghai will explore the implementation of three systems: regular housing physical examinations, housing safety insurance and housing pensions, and build a long-term mechanism for housing safety management throughout the life cycle. Shanghai is considering advancing in two steps: the first step is to carry out a pilot in Pudong and other districts this year; the second step is to expand it to the entire city next year based on the pilot. A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development revealed that currently, 22 cities, including Shanghai, are piloting this system.
The housing pension system was first proposed on May 1, 2022. In 2023, my country proposed a new model of real estate development to promote the transformation and high-quality development of the real estate industry. The new model includes a series of reform measures such as improving the housing supply system, establishing a new mechanism for the linkage of "people, housing, land, and money" elements, and establishing a long-term mechanism for the safety management of the entire life cycle of housing. Among them, establishing a long-term mechanism for the safety management of the entire life cycle of housing is to study the establishment of housing physical examinations, housing pensions, and housing insurance systems. Subsequently, the housing pension system as an innovative and forward-looking institutional arrangement has become the focus of attention from all walks of life.
At present, the supply and demand relationship in my country's real estate market has undergone major changes, from a shortage of total volume to a structural shortage of supply. Urban development has shifted from large-scale incremental construction to a focus on both stock quality improvement and incremental structural adjustment. It has entered an important period of urban renewal, and it is imperative to explore the establishment of systems such as housing pensions. According to the latest statistics, China's urban housing stock continues to grow, and has shifted from a shortage of supply to a state of overall balance. By 2023, China's urban residential stock will be approximately 33.55 billion square meters, and the number of urban housing units will be approximately 374 million units, with a large number of houses beginning to enter the "middle-aged and elderly" stage.
In fact, my country has made institutional arrangements similar to housing pensions. In 1998, my country issued the "Administrative Measures for the Maintenance Fund of Common Residential Parts and Common Facilities and Equipment", which came into effect on January 1, 1999. Later, in order to solve the problems and realities of the difficulty in using the maintenance fund, the opaque revenue and expenditure, and the increasing maintenance demand due to the gradual aging of residential buildings, the "Administrative Measures for Special Residential Maintenance Funds" was issued in 2007 to replace the original "Administrative Measures for the Maintenance Fund of Common Residential Parts and Common Facilities and Equipment", and has been implemented since February 1, 2008.
However, there are also some problems in the implementation of the special housing maintenance fund system, such as small fund volume, cumbersome withdrawal procedures, and difficulty in implementing the renewal payment system. At the same time, as the real estate market enters the stock era, a large number of houses are beginning to enter the "middle-aged and elderly" period, and the proportion of old houses that need maintenance and renovation is rapidly increasing. The existing special housing maintenance funds are difficult to meet, and it is urgent to make up for the institutional shortcomings of ensuring the safety of houses throughout their life cycle.
According to the information disclosed by some local pilot housing pension systems, the housing pension system consists of two parts: personal accounts and public accounts. The funds in personal accounts mainly come from the special housing maintenance funds paid by owners when purchasing new houses, while the public accounts are established by the government, and the sources of funds may include land transfer fees, added value of maintenance funds, financial subsidies, etc. During the pilot stage, the focus is on establishing public accounts, which will help solve the problems of maintenance and renovation of old houses without bringing additional burdens to owners.
The industry believes that the housing pension system is an advance plan for the real estate industry to enter the stock era. In the future, the institutional arrangements for housing pensions may be similar to the three pillars of the personal pension system. The first pillar is a special maintenance fund, which is jointly owned by all owners and enters personal accounts. The second pillar is a public account, such as a certain proportion of land transfer fees, financial rewards and subsidies, public maintenance fund appreciation income, provident fund appreciation income, etc. The third pillar is a commercial housing pension, including comprehensive housing safety insurance and commercial housing pension supplements.
It can be expected that the housing pension system will continue to improve on the basis of the pilot projects in 22 cities including Shanghai, and then continue to explore the long-term mechanism of housing safety management throughout the life cycle, and promote its implementation nationwide. In the short term, while the housing pension system provides housing with full life cycle security, it may lead to an increase in housing holding costs. However, in the long term, the housing pension system will help improve the quality and safety of residents' living, and will also provide strong support for the stable development of the real estate market and urban renewal.
