Guangzhou has released new regulations on individual housing loans from the housing provident fund, with relaxed application requirements.

On June 8th, the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center issued a notice on printing and distributing the "Implementation Measures for Personal Housing Loans of Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund".

It is understood that the new measures include four major changes: adding loans for building, renovating, and overhauling houses, and clarifying the application conditions and loan amounts; relaxing the application conditions for foreigners, adding the situation of "having a work permit for foreigners in China and a work - type residence permit"; increasing the calculation coefficient of the available loan amount, raising the multiple of the account balance from 8 times to 10 times; optimizing the loan term, which can be calculated up to 5 years after retirement at most, and not exceeding 68 years old, and the loan term shall not exceed the remaining land use term of the loaned housing.

The "Implementation Measures" will be officially implemented on June 9th and will be valid for 5 years.

The full text is as follows:

Implementation Measures for Personal Housing Loans of Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These measures are formulated in accordance with relevant regulations such as the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China", the "Regulations on the Administration of Housing Provident Funds" and the "General Rules for Loans", combined with the actual situation of this city, in order to standardize the management of housing provident fund loans, support the reasonable housing consumption of employees who contribute to the housing provident fund, assist in the urban housing renewal work, prevent capital risks, and build a new model for real - estate development.

Article 2 The personal housing loans of Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund (hereinafter referred to as "housing provident fund loans") refer to the loans issued by commercial banks entrusted by the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center to employees who contribute to the housing provident fund and meet the loan conditions for purchasing, building, renovating, and overhauling self - occupied housing within the administrative region of this city.

Article 3 Housing provident fund loans shall follow the principles of voluntariness, fairness, good faith, and compliance with laws and regulations.

Article 4 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center is responsible for the approval and management of housing provident fund loans across the city. With the consent of the Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall entrust commercial banks (hereinafter referred to as "entrusted banks") to handle financial businesses such as housing provident fund loans and settlements.

Chapter II Loan Conditions

Article 5 Employees who contribute to the housing provident fund and apply for housing provident fund loans shall meet the following conditions simultaneously: (1) Currently contributing to the housing provident fund normally at the housing provident fund management center in this city or other domestic cities. (2) Mainland residents have the household registration of the People's Republic of China and valid resident identity cards; compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have permits to enter and leave the Chinese mainland or residence permits for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents; foreigners have passports and permanent residence identity cards for foreigners, or have passports and valid work permits for foreigners in China and work - type residence permits. (3) When applying for a loan, they have continuously and fully contributed to the housing provident fund for 6 months (inclusive) or more; the contribution time in other places and the contribution time of retired military personnel in the military can be combined with the contribution time in this city. (4) When purchasing self - occupied housing, they shall pay the down payment for the house purchase as required, have a house purchase contract confirmed by the real - estate registration department in the housing location, and be able to handle mortgage and guarantee procedures. (5) For self - occupied housing to be built, renovated, or overhauled, the land nature shall be state - owned, and a housing construction planning permit or documents approved by government departments for building or renovating the housing shall be obtained, and mortgage guarantee shall be provided as required. A loan application shall be submitted within 1 year from the date of obtaining the above - mentioned documents. (6) They shall have full capacity for civil conduct, good credit, stable occupations and incomes, and the ability to repay the principal and interest of the loan.

Article 6 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall give priority to providing housing provident fund loans to military officers transferred from active service who are resettled by the government or choose self - employment.

Article 7 When applying for a loan, if there is one of the following situations, the loan will not be granted: (1) The purchased housing or the mortgaged property has an incomplete building structure, is of brick - wood structure or mixed structure, or is used as a villa or non - residential housing, or is an independent single - family house. (2) The housing or mortgaged property to be purchased, built, renovated, or overhauled cannot be freely traded on the market (except for sale - type affordable housing). (3) The housing or mortgaged property to be purchased, built, renovated, or overhauled is subject to any restrictions on rights such as seizure, preservation, or establishment of a right of residence. (4) Only a partial property share of the housing is purchased (except for shared - ownership housing), or the applicant buys or sells housing with parents, children, or spouses, or the applicant buys or sells housing with the former spouse within one year after divorce, or the same borrower applies for a housing provident fund loan again with the same housing. (5) The family purchases, builds, renovates, or overhauls the third or more set of housing. (6) The applicant has an outstanding housing provident fund loan record, or the applicant has used the housing provident fund loan twice. (7) The applicant has one of the following situations: 1. The single - loan has accumulated more than 6 overdue installments (inclusive) in the past 5 years; 2. The single credit card has accumulated more than 6 overdue installments (inclusive) in the past 2 years; 3. The credit card status is in arrears, frozen, or suspended; 4. The loan is classified as sub - standard, doubtful, or loss - class; 5. The applicant is included in the list of dishonest and untrustworthy persons subject to enforcement.

Article 8 For employees who contribute to the housing provident fund and apply to withdraw the balance of their housing provident fund accounts or apply for housing provident fund loans by means of deception or providing false materials, they shall not be eligible for loans within 5 years from the date of application; for employees who contribute to the housing provident fund and have withdrawn the balance of their housing provident fund accounts or obtained housing provident fund loans by means of deception or providing false materials, they can apply for housing provident fund loans again 5 years after full repayment.

Chapter III Loan Amount, Term, and Interest Rate

Article 9 The available loan amount of personal housing provident fund shall meet the following requirements simultaneously: (1) It shall not be higher than the balance of the provident fund contribution account × 10+ monthly contribution amount × the number of months until retirement age. (2) It shall not be higher than the maximum loan amount of the housing provident fund in this city. The maximum loan amount shall be determined and announced for implementation by the Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Committee according to the social and economic development situation of this city. (3) When purchasing self - occupied housing, it shall not be higher than the total purchase price of the house × (1 - the minimum down - payment ratio). If the purchased housing is a new house, the total purchase price shall be based on the contract price of the online house - sale contract; if the purchased housing is a second - hand house, the total purchase price shall be based on the lower of the contract price of the online house - sale contract and the verified (appraised) price of the house. When building, renovating, or overhauling self - occupied housing, it shall not be higher than 50% of the total cost of building, renovating, or overhauling the housing. The total cost shall be based on the lower of the cost of building, renovating, or overhauling this set of housing and the verified (appraised) price of another self - owned housing used as collateral. (4) The monthly repayment amount of the housing provident fund loan calculated according to the loan amount shall not exceed 50% of the applicant's family income. The income of employees who contribute to the housing provident fund shall be recognized according to the following standards: If the housing provident fund contribution base does not reach the upper limit of the contribution base in this city at that time, their personal income shall be based on the contribution base; if the contribution base reaches the upper limit, their personal income shall be based on the higher of the contribution base and the salary, and the salary shall be based on the amount registered by the employee who contributes to the housing provident fund at the Housing Provident Fund Management Center.

Article 10 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center and the entrusted institutions can determine the number of housing units through materials issued by relevant departments such as the People's Bank of China and the real - estate registration authority, housing provident fund loan records, and due - diligence investigations in the form of face - to - face tests and interviews. If the above information can be obtained through information sharing, the applicant does not need to submit it. If the homebuyers do not belong to the same family, the number of housing units shall be calculated based on the number of housing units of the party with more housing units in their respective families.

Article 11 The term of the housing provident fund loan shall meet the following requirements simultaneously: (1) The loan term shall not exceed 30 years and shall not exceed the remaining land use term of the mortgaged property. (2) The sum of the loan term of the second - hand house and the building age of the mortgaged property shall not exceed 50 years. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall comprehensively judge the building age of the housing through the housing information confirmed by the real - estate competent department and the housing verification (appraisal) report issued by an institution with real - estate appraisal qualifications. (3) For building, renovating, or overhauling self - occupied housing, the maximum loan term shall not exceed 10 years. (4) The maximum loan term can be calculated up to 5 years after the borrower's retirement age, and shall not exceed 68 years old; when two or more people apply for a housing provident fund loan to purchase the same housing, the longest loan term shall be used for calculation.

Article 12 The interest rate of the housing provident fund loan shall be implemented in accordance with relevant national regulations. If the interest rate is adjusted during the loan term, it shall be implemented according to the new interest rate standard as of January 1st of the next year after the interest rate adjustment, and no separate notice will be issued.

Chapter IV Loan Procedures

Article 13 Housing provident fund loans shall be handled in the following procedures: (1) After the Housing Provident Fund Management Center collects the loan application materials from employees who contribute to the housing provident fund, it shall review the relevant situation. If the materials are complete, the application shall be accepted; if the materials are incomplete, the employees who contribute to the housing provident fund shall be notified to supplement them. After the Housing Provident Fund Management Center accepts the loan application of employees who contribute to the housing provident fund, it shall make a decision on whether to grant the loan or not within 15 days and notify the employees who contribute to the housing provident fund. (2) For loans approved by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, the borrower and other parties shall jointly sign a written loan contract. (3) After the borrower completes the guarantee procedures, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall entrust the entrusted bank to issue the housing provident fund loan to the borrower.

Article 14 When the housing provident fund loan applied for by the borrower is not enough to pay for the house purchase, the borrower can simultaneously apply for a commercial housing loan from the entrusted bank.

Article 15 The borrower shall be responsible for the authenticity, completeness, legality, and effectiveness of the application materials and information. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center has the right to verify the loan materials and information, and the borrower and relevant responsible persons shall cooperate.

Article 16 The loan application materials specified in these measures shall be made public by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center in the form of a service guide.

Chapter V Loan Guarantee

Article 17 If the purchased housing is a completed house or a second - hand house, the purchased housing must be used as collateral, and the real - estate mortgage registration procedures shall be completed before applying for the loan disbursement.

Article 18 If the purchased housing is a pre - sold house, the purchased housing can be used as collateral, and the real - estate mortgage registration procedures shall be completed before applying for the loan disbursement; or the mortgage pre - registration can be handled first, and the real - estate development enterprise of the development project shall provide phased guarantee until the real - estate mortgage registration of the housing is completed, and the real - estate development enterprise of the development project shall sign a written contract with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center.

Article 19 When building, renovating, or overhauling self - occupied housing, another self - owned commercial housing of the borrower shall be used as collateral, and the above - mentioned real - estate mortgage registration procedures shall be completed before applying for the loan disbursement.

Chapter VI Loan Repayment

Article 20 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center is responsible for calculating the principal and interest of the housing provident fund loan. The entrusted bank is responsible for disbursing or deducting the loan according to the instructions of the Housing Provident Fund Management Center and issuing relevant vouchers.

Article 21 The housing provident fund contributed shall be given priority to repaying the housing provident fund loan.

Article 22 The borrower shall repay the principal and interest of the housing provident fund loan according to the repayment plan and repayment method agreed in the loan contract. If the above - mentioned provisions are violated, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center can collect overdue interest according to the loan contract and has the right to deduct the balance of the borrower's housing provident fund account to repay the principal and interest of the housing provident fund loan.

Article 23 If the borrower wants to repay the housing provident fund loan in advance, they shall obtain the consent of the Housing Provident Fund Management Center and handle the early - repayment procedures in accordance with relevant regulations.

Chapter VII Loan Supervision

Article 24 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall establish a capital liquidity risk management mechanism according to the capital operation situation, conduct early - warning hierarchical management, and divide it into three levels of early - warning from low to high: Level - I early - warning, Level - II early - warning, and Level - III early - warning. Level - I early - warning: The personal housing loan ratio of the housing provident fund is between 85% and 90%, and the net capital flow is negative for three consecutive months. Level - II early - warning: The personal housing loan ratio of the housing provident fund is between 90% and 95%, and the net capital flow is continuously negative. Level - III early - warning: The personal housing loan ratio of the housing provident fund is above 95%, and the net capital flow is continuously negative. When the early - warning level occurs, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall closely monitor it and take measures such as queuing up to issue loans according to the capital situation to reduce the liquidity risk.

Article 25 If the borrower does not meet the housing provident fund loan conditions or obtains the housing provident fund loan through deception, after investigation and verification by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, it has the right to terminate the loan contract in accordance with the loan contract, recover the issued housing provident fund loan. If a crime is constituted, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall transfer the case to the judicial organ in accordance with the law to investigate criminal liability.

Article 26 If the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, the guarantee institution, or the entrusted bank causes losses to the housing provident fund loan due to negligence, the legal liability of the responsible person shall be investigated in accordance with national laws and regulations and relevant regulations of the province and the city.

Article 27 These measures shall come into force on June 9th, 2026, and shall be valid for 5 years. If the original policies are inconsistent with these measures, these measures shall prevail. If there are other regulations on the conversion of commercial personal housing loans to personal housing loans of the housing provident fund, those regulations shall apply. If these measures are inconsistent with the housing provident fund loan policies of the state, the province, and the city, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall implement the housing provident fund loan policies of the state, the province, and the city. The "Notice of the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center on Printing and Distributing the 'Implementation Measures for Personal Housing Purchase Loans of Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund'" (No. 1 [2021] of the Regulations of the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center) shall be repealed simultaneously.

This article is from Viewpoint Network and is published by 36Kr with authorization.