Hainan has clarified the policy for the sale of completed commercial residential housing, and the deposit for completed houses shall not exceed 5% of the total house price in principle.
On November 5, the Hainan Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Hainan Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Planning, and Hainan Regulatory Bureau of the National Administration of Financial Regulation jointly issued a circular to implement the *Circular on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System* issued by three departments including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and put forward detailed provisions on existing-home sales and pre-sale management of commercial housing.
In terms of existing-home sales, commercial housing projects with newly transferred land after August 28, 2026 will continue to implement the existing-home sales policy; projects with land transferred from March 8, 2020 to August 28, 2026 shall be implemented in accordance with the original policy provisions; projects with land transferred before that can continue to implement pre-sale.
The circular clarifies that for projects implementing existing-home sales, after obtaining the construction permit for building works, real estate development enterprises can sign a deposit contract with home buyers to collect earnest money, which shall not exceed 5% of the total house price in principle. All the earnest money must be deposited into the special earnest money supervision account, and shall not be used during the supervision period.
In terms of pre-sale management, for commercial housing projects with newly transferred land after August 28 that are eligible for pre-sale, the main structure of a single building must be fully capped; for projects with land transferred before August 28, those that have obtained the construction project planning permit shall be implemented in accordance with the original provisions, and those that have not obtained the permit shall implement the new pre-sale policy in principle.
In terms of capital supervision, all housing purchase funds paid by home buyers, including down payments and individual housing loans, shall be deposited into the capital supervision account. The supervision will be lifted after the project completes the completion acceptance filing and supporting facilities such as water, electricity, gas and heating meet the delivery conditions.
The circular requires that the development and construction of commercial housing implement the project development company system. Before the completion acceptance filing of the project, investors are strictly prohibited from diverting funds such as sales and financing funds of the project development company, and are strictly prohibited from fleeing capital contribution or distributing dividends in advance.
In terms of land supply, real estate development enterprises must use their own funds to purchase land; for commercial residential land with transfer announcements released after August 28, the down payment shall be paid within 30 natural days from the date of signing the transfer contract, with the payment ratio no less than 50% of the total price, and the remaining balance can be paid off within a maximum of two years, and no interest will be charged for installment payment.
In terms of house types, commercial housing projects started after the issuance of the circular can build house types smaller than 100 square meters, but the area shall not be less than 80 square meters in principle. This circular shall come into effect as of the date of issuance.
The full text of the circular is as follows:
Circular on Implementing the *Circular on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System*
Local housing and urban-rural development bureaus, natural resources and planning bureaus, financial supervision branches and financial supervision sub-bureaus of all cities, counties and autonomous counties:
In order to implement the relevant requirements of the *Circular of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and National Administration of Financial Regulation on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System* (Jian Fang Gui [2026] No. 3, hereinafter referred to as "Document No.3"), accelerate the construction of a new real estate development model, steadily promote the reform of the commercial housing sales system, and promote the high-quality development of the real estate market in our province, the relevant matters are hereby notified as follows in combination with the actual situation of our province:
I. Improve the Management of Commercial Housing Existing-Home Sales
(1) Continue to implement the existing-home sales system. Commercial housing projects with newly transferred land after August 28, 2026 (inclusive, the same below) will continue to implement existing-home sales.
For commercial housing projects with land transferred from March 8, 2020 (inclusive, the same below) to August 28, 2026, the conditions for existing-home sales shall be implemented in accordance with the original policy provisions. Commercial housing projects with land transferred before March 8, 2020 can continue to implement pre-sale, and are encouraged to choose existing-home sales.
For urban renewal projects approved by the municipal and county governments that are equipped with supporting commercial housing, the pre-sale system can continue to be implemented.
(2) Strictly enforce the conditions for existing-home sales. For commercial housing projects that implement existing-home sales, after completing the project completion acceptance filing and the supporting facilities such as water and electricity meet the delivery conditions, the real estate development enterprise shall submit the existing-home sales plan and relevant certificates to the housing and urban-rural development department of the city or county where the project is located for filing.
Real estate development enterprises are encouraged to apply for existing-home sales after completing the first registration of the houses, and fully implement the "delivery of house with delivery of property right certificate" policy. Real estate development enterprises shall sell houses in accordance with the existing-home sales plan, and the sold houses and the right to use construction land shall not have restrictions on transaction such as mortgage or seizure, so as to ensure clear ownership of land and houses. If the real estate development enterprise and the mortgagee agree to sell the mortgaged house, the certification document that the mortgagee agrees to the sale shall be submitted when handling the existing-home sales filing certificate. Real estate development enterprises shall publicize the mortgage and seizure status of the properties to be sold in the project. The contract filing procedures can be completed only after the restrictions such as mortgage cancellation or seizure removal for each unit are completed.
If the project development company of the real estate project applies for development loan with the mortgage of the under-construction project, it shall set the mortgage with the collective of the divided land use rights.
(3) Promote the use of earnest money for existing-home sales. For commercial housing projects that implement existing-home sales, after obtaining the construction permit for building works, the real estate development enterprise can sign a purchase deposit contract with the home buyer, and collect a small amount of earnest money in accordance with the law, which shall not exceed 5% of the total house price in principle. The purchase deposit contract shall specify the amount of earnest money, the selling price of commercial housing, the delivery time and the liability for non-performance on schedule.
The housing fund supervision institution shall undertake the supervision of earnest money, and open an earnest money supervision account at the host bank of the project. The housing fund supervision institution shall be determined by each city and county in light of the actual situation. All the existing-home earnest money paid by the home buyer shall be deposited into the earnest money supervision account, and the earnest money shall not be used during the supervision period. After the project completes the completion acceptance filing and the supporting facilities such as water, electricity and gas meet the delivery conditions, the supervision of the project earnest money will be lifted.
II. Strictly Manage the Pre-sale of Commercial Housing
(4) Clarify pre-sale conditions by categories
1. Projects with newly acquired land. For commercial housing projects with newly transferred land after August 28, 2026 that are eligible for pre-sale, the main structure of a single building must be fully capped. The pre-sale fund supervision and other matters shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of "Document No.3".
2. Ongoing projects. For commercial housing projects with land transferred before August 28, 2026 that are eligible for pre-sale, the provisions below shall be implemented:
For projects that have obtained the construction project planning permit, the pre-sale conditions, pre-sale fund supervision and other matters shall be implemented in accordance with the original provisions; all cities and counties shall reasonably set the key supervision amount, which must cover all construction costs of the project. If the construction project planning permit is changed, the time when the construction project planning permit is first obtained shall prevail.
For projects that have not obtained the construction project planning permit, the new pre-sale policy shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of "Document No.3" in principle.
(5) Strengthen pre-sale fund supervision. The housing fund supervision institution shall sign a capital supervision agreement with the real estate development enterprise, and open a capital supervision account at the project host bank. All housing purchase funds paid by home buyers, including down payments and individual housing loans, shall be deposited into the capital supervision account. After the commercial housing project completes the completion acceptance filing and the supporting facilities such as water, electricity, gas and heating meet the delivery conditions, the capital supervision will be lifted. Relevant measures will be formulated separately.
III. Effectively Implement the Project Development Company System for Real Estate Projects
(6) The development and construction of commercial housing implements the project development company system. Before the completion acceptance filing of the project, investors are strictly prohibited from diverting funds such as sales and financing funds of the project development company, and are strictly prohibited from fleeing capital contribution or distributing dividends in advance. The establishment of the project development company is determined on the basis of the land transfer contract (parcel of land). The same project company can carry out phased development and construction on the same parcel of land. For urban renewal projects, multiple parcels of land can be coordinated within the same urban renewal project for phased development and construction.
IV. Promote the Host Bank System for Real Estate Projects
(7) Real estate development enterprises and host banks make two-way selection, and one project determines one host bank. For commercial housing projects that sign development loan contracts after August 28, 2026, if the lending bank provides development loan alone, the lending bank shall be the host bank; if the lending bank forms a syndicate to provide loans, the leading bank of the syndicated loan shall be the host bank.
(8) Real estate development enterprises open capital accounts at the host banks. During the existence of the project, in addition to the pre-sale funds and earnest money that are supervised in accordance with the provisions, all project-related funds such as development loans, project own funds and existing-home sales funds shall be included in the capital account management. For projects that implement existing-home sales and pre-sales, the reasonable financing needs of the project shall be met in accordance with the market-oriented principle, and the lending bank shall reasonably determine the loan term according to the project construction and sales cycle and risk level.
V. Optimize Land Supply Management
(9) Make overall planning and rational layout of commercial residential land, optimize the land transfer plan, and the land can be transferred with the planning scheme. The land for commercial residential projects shall strictly implement the net land transfer, and improve the municipal supporting facilities around the land.
(10) Real estate development enterprises must use their own funds to purchase land. For commercial residential land with transfer announcements released after August 28, 2026, the transfer price can be paid in installments in accordance with the national regulations. The down payment shall be paid within 30 natural days from the date of signing the transfer contract, with the payment ratio no less than 50% of the total price, and the remaining balance can be paid off within a maximum of two years after the signing of the transfer contract. No interest will be charged for installment payment. The specific terms shall be stipulated by the cities and counties in the transfer announcement and the land transfer contract.
VI. Strengthen the Coordination of Policies and Measures
(11) Support projects to carry out completion acceptance filing in batches according to the smallest unit, and the houses can only be delivered after the water, electricity, gas and municipal supporting facilities are fully equipped.
(12) Meet diversified housing demands. Commercial housing projects started after the issuance of this circular can build house types smaller than 100 square meters, but the area shall not be less than 80 square meters in principle.
(13) On the premise of adhering to the existing-home sales system, ensuring full-decoration delivery and controllable risks, the development enterprises of commercial housing projects can apply to the competent department for handling sales procedures in advance in light of the market situation, project sales expectation and construction progress, and the specific implementation shall be in accordance with relevant provisions.
(14) Continuously optimize the approval processes for planning and design, development and construction, completion acceptance and market sales of commercial housing projects, improve management and service efficiency, and strive to reduce the capital pressure of real estate development enterprises and lower the construction cost of commercial housing.
(15) Strengthen the supervision of the real estate market, standardize the market order, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of home buyers. Strengthen the supervision of project quality and safety, and strictly prevent enterprises from lowering standards and reducing quality in order to rush the construction period. Vigorously promote intelligent construction and industrialized buildings.
This circular shall come into effect as of the date of issuance. If the previous relevant provisions of our province are inconsistent with this circular, this circular shall prevail.
This article is from Viewpoint, and is authorized to be released by 36Kr.