The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development seeks public input on the Regulations on the Management of Housing Provident Fund (Draft for Soliciting Opinions).

On June 5th, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a notice seeking public opinions on the "Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations (Revised Draft)". Employees who meet any of the following conditions can withdraw the balance in their housing provident fund account: (1) paying rent; (2) buying, building, renovating, or making major repairs to their own housing for self-use; (3) repaying housing loan principal and interest; (4) renovating their self-occupied housing within a certain limit; (5) paying property fees for their self-occupied housing; (6) retiring; (7) completely losing the ability to work and terminating their labor (personnel) relationship with the unit; (8) settling abroad; (9) other housing consumption situations approved by the State Council. The original text is as follows: Notice of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Soliciting Opinions on the "Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations (Revised Draft)" In order to deepen the reform of the housing provident fund system, better meet the diversified housing needs of depositors, our ministry has initiated the revision of the "Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations". According to work arrangements, the "Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations (Revised Draft)" will be open for public opinions, and feedback can be submitted through the following methods: 1. Email: [email protected] 2. Mail: Regulations Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, No. 9 Sanlihe Road, Haidian District, Beijing, postal code: 100835. Please indicate "Solicitation of Opinions on the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations" on the email subject and envelope. The deadline for feedback is July 5, 2026. Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations (Revised Draft) Chapter 1 General Provisions Article 1 In order to strengthen the management of the housing provident fund, protect the legitimate rights and interests of housing provident fund owners, promote urban housing construction, and improve the living standards of urban residents, these regulations are formulated. Article 2 These regulations apply to the collection, withdrawal, use, management, and supervision of housing provident funds within the territory of the People's Republic of China. The housing provident fund referred to in these regulations refers to the long-term housing savings deposited by the employees of government agencies, state-owned enterprises, urban collective enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, urban private enterprises, and other urban enterprises, institutions, privately-run non-enterprise units, social organizations (hereinafter referred to as units), and their employees. Article 3 The housing provident fund deposited by employees and units for employees belongs to the individual employee. Article 4 The management of the housing provident fund follows the principles of decision-making by the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, operation by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, storage in a bank account, and financial supervision. Article 5 Housing provident funds should be withdrawn and used in accordance with these regulations, and no unit or individual may use them for other purposes. Article 6 The deposit and loan interest rates of the housing provident fund are proposed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance, and the People's Bank of China, and submitted to the State Council for approval. Article 7 The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the State Council, together with the Ministry of Finance of the State Council, the People's Bank of China, and the State Council's banking regulatory authority, formulate housing provident fund policies and supervise their implementation. The housing urban-rural development authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, together with the local finance departments and branches of the People's Bank of China, and dispatched agencies of the State Council's banking regulatory authority, are responsible for supervising the implementation of housing provident fund management regulations and policies in their respective administrative regions. Chapter 2 Institutions and Their Responsibilities Article 8 Cities directly under the central government and cities where the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government are located should establish the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee as the decision-making body for housing provident fund management. One-third of the members of the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee are responsible for the people's government, housing and urban-rural development, finance, the People's Bank of China, banking regulatory authorities, and relevant experts, one-third are union representatives and employee representatives, and one-third are unit representatives. The director of the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee should be a person with social credibility. Article 9 The Housing Provident Fund Management Committee shall perform the following duties in the management of the housing provident fund: (1) Formulate and adjust specific management measures for the housing provident fund based on relevant laws, regulations, and policies, and supervise their implementation; (2) Formulate the range of deposit ratios for the housing provident fund according to the provisions of Article 18 of these regulations; (3) Determine the maximum loan amount for the housing provident fund; (4) Approve the collection and use plans of the housing provident fund; (5) Deliberate on the distribution plan of the appreciation income of the housing provident fund; (6) Approve reports on the implementation of the collection and use plans of the housing provident fund; (7) Approve applications for writing off bad debts of the housing provident fund. Article 10 Cities directly under the central government and cities where the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government are located should establish a Housing Provident Fund Management Center based on the principle of streamlining and efficiency to be responsible for the management and operation of the housing provident fund. Counties (cities) do not establish housing provident fund management centers. The housing provident fund management center specified in the preceding paragraph may establish branch offices in qualified counties (cities). The housing provident fund management center and its branch offices should implement unified rules and regulations and conduct unified accounting. The housing provident fund management center is a non-profit independent institution directly under the municipal people's government. Article 11 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall perform the following duties: (1) Formulate and implement collection and use plans of the housing provident fund; (2) Record the deposit, withdrawal, and use of housing provident funds for employees; (3) Perform accounting for the housing provident fund; (4) Approve the withdrawal and use of the housing provident fund; (5) Ensure the preservation and repayment of the housing provident fund; (6) Prepare reports on the implementation of collection and use plans of the housing provident fund; (7) Handle other matters approved by the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee. Article 12 The Housing Provident Fund Management Committee shall designate commercial banks entrusted to handle housing provident fund financial transactions in accordance with the relevant regulations of the People's Bank of China and the State Council's banking regulatory authority. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall entrust the designated commercial banks to handle housing provident fund loans, settlements, and the establishment, deposit, and return procedures of housing provident fund accounts. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall sign an entrustment contract with the designated commercial bank. Chapter 3 Deposit Article 13 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall establish a dedicated account for the housing provident fund in the entrusted bank. Units should register with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center for housing provident fund deposits, and complete the procedures for setting up housing provident fund accounts for their employees. Each employee can only have one housing provident fund account. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center should establish a detailed account of housing provident fund business for employees, recording the deposit, withdrawal, etc., of individual employees' housing provident funds. Article 14 Newly established units should register with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center for housing provident fund deposits within 30 days of establishment, and within 20 days of registration, complete the procedures for setting up housing provident fund accounts for their employees. For units that merge, split, dissolve, or go bankrupt, they should register for changes or cancellations with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center within 30 days of the occurrence of the above situation, and the original unit or liquidation organization should transfer or freeze the housing provident fund accounts of their employees within 20 days after completing the registration. Article 15 Units hiring employees should register for deposits with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center within 30 days of employment and complete the procedures for setting up or transferring employee housing provident fund accounts. For units that terminate labor (personnel) relationships with employees, the unit should register for changes with the Housing Provident Fund Management Center within 30 days of the termination, and complete the procedures for transferring or sealing the housing provident fund accounts of the employees. Article 16 The monthly deposit amount of an employee's housing provident fund is the employee's monthly average salary from the previous year multiplied by the employee housing provident fund deposit ratio. The monthly deposit amount of the housing provident fund deposited by the unit for the employee is the employee's monthly average salary from the previous year multiplied by the unit's housing provident fund deposit ratio. Article 17 New employees hired by a unit should start depositing housing provident funds from the date of salary payment, with the monthly deposit amount being the employee's monthly salary multiplied by the employee and unit housing provident fund deposit ratio. Article 18 The deposit ratios for employee and unit housing provident funds shall not be less than 5% of the employee's monthly average salary from the previous year; in cities with conditions, the deposit ratio can be appropriately increased, but must not exceed the maximum deposit ratio specified by the state. The deposit ratio range shall be proposed by the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, approved by the local people's government after review, and submitted to the provincial, autonomous regional, or municipal people's government for approval. Article 19 The employee's personal deposit of the housing provident fund shall be deducted and paid by the unit from the employee's salary each month. Units should remit the unit's and employee's housing provident fund deposits to the housing provident fund special account within 5 days of issuing employee salaries each month, with the funds being credited to the employee's housing provident fund account by the designated bank. Article 20 Units must deposit housing provident funds on time and in full, and must not delay or underpay the deposits. For units facing genuine difficulties in depositing housing provident funds, with approval from the unit's employee representative assembly or union discussion, and upon verification by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, and approval by the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, the deposit ratio may be reduced or delayed; once the unit's financial performance improves, the deposit ratio may be increased or the delayed amount must be paid. Article 21 Housing provident funds shall accrue interest from the date they are deposited into the employee's housing provident fund account according to the interest rates stipulated by the state. Article 22 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall provide employees who deposit housing provident funds with valid certificates of depositing the housing provident fund. Article 23 The housing provident fund deposited by the unit for employees shall be disbursed as follows: (1) Government agencies and institutions budget for it; (2) Enterprises include it in their costs. Chapter 4 Withdrawal and Use Article 24 Employees meeting any of the following conditions can withdraw the balance in their housing provident fund account: (1) Paying rent; (2) Buying, building, renovating, or making major repairs to their self-occupied housing; (3) Repaying housing loan principal and interest; (4) Renovating their self-occupied housing within a certain limit; (5) Paying property fees for their self-occupied housing; (6) Retiring; (7) Completely losing the ability to work and terminating their labor (personnel) relationship with the unit; (8) Settling abroad; (9) Other housing consumption situations approved by the State Council. For withdrawals according to items (6), (7), and (8) of the preceding paragraph, the employee's housing provident fund account can be canceled simultaneously. In the event of an employee's death or pronouncement of death, the employee's heir or beneficiary can withdraw the balance in the employee's housing provident fund account. Article 25 When an employee applies for a housing provident fund withdrawal, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall make a decision to approve or reject the withdrawal within 3 days from the date of application and notify the applicant. Upon approval, the payment procedures shall be handled by the designated bank. Article 26 Employees who deposit housing provident funds can apply for entrusted housing provident fund loans when buying, building, renovating, or making major repairs to their self-occupied housing. If an employee applies for an entrusted housing provident fund loan, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall make a decision to approve or reject the loan within 10 days from the date of application and notify the applicant. Upon approval, the loan procedures shall be handled by the designated bank. The risk of entrusted housing provident fund loans shall be borne by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center. Article 27 Applicants for entrusted housing provident fund loans shall provide guarantees. Article 28 With the guarantee of ensuring the withdrawal and loan of housing provident funds, with the approval of the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center may use the housing provident fund to purchase treasury bonds and policy financial bonds. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall not provide guarantees to others. Article 29 The appreciation income of the housing provident fund shall be deposited into a special account for the appreciation income of the housing provident fund opened by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center in the designated bank, to be used as extra funds for establishing a risk reserve for entrusted housing provident fund loans, management expenses of the Housing Provident Fund Management Center, and public expenditures in the housing field, such as building maintenance and management throughout the house's life cycle. Article 30 The Management expenses of the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall be prepared as part of the total annual budgeted expenditure in accordance with the prescribed standards, submitted to the local people's government's finance department for approval, remitted from the appreciation income of the housing provident fund to the local finance department, and disbursed by the local finance department. The standard of management expenses for the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall be formulated by the housing urban-rural development authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in conjunction with the local finance departments according to relevant standards. Chapter 5 Supervision and Management Article 31 The State Council, the housing and urban-rural development authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, and the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall strengthen the digital capabilities of the housing provident fund, enhance cross-regional, cross-departmental, and cross-level business coordination, promote mutual recognition and lending of housing provident funds, and improve management service efficiency. Article 32 The finance departments of local people's governments shall strengthen the supervision of the collection, withdrawal, and use of housing provident funds within their administrative regions and report to the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee of the local people's government. When preparing collection and use plans for housing provident funds, the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall seek the opinion of the finance department. When approving collection and use plans and reports on the implementation of plans for housing provident funds, the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee must have the finance department participate. Article 33 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall submit the annual budget and final accounts of the housing provident fund to the finance department for review and then to the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee for deliberation. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall submit financial reports to the finance department, housing and urban-rural development authorities, and the Housing Provident Fund Management Committee annually and make the financial reports public. Article 34 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall accept the supervision of the audit department in accordance with the law. Article 35 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center and employees have the right to urge units to fulfill the following obligations on time: (1) Register and change or cancel housing provident fund deposits; (2) Establish, transfer, or freeze housing provident fund accounts; (3) Deposit housing provident funds in full. Article 36 The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall urge the designated bank to handle the business specified in the entrustment contract in a timely manner. The designated bank shall provide the Housing Provident Fund Management Center with relevant business information regularly according to the agreement of the entrustment contract. Article 37 The State Council's housing and urban-rural development authorities shall determine public credit information in the field of housing provident funds and establish a list of seriously untrustworthy entities in the field of housing provident funds. The Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall establish a complete and accurate credit record, incorporate it into the national credit information sharing platform, and implement hierarchical and classified supervision. Article 38 Employees and units have the right to inquire about the deposit and withdrawal of their own or their unit's housing provident fund, and the Housing Provident Fund Management Center and the designated bank shall not refuse. If there are objections to the balance in the housing provident fund account, employees and units can apply to the designated bank for reexamination; if there are objections to the reexamination results, they can apply to the Housing Provident Fund Management Center for further reexamination. The designated bank and the Housing Provident Fund Management Center shall provide a written response within 5 days of receiving the application. Employees have the right to report and expose misconduct involving the misappropriation of the housing provident fund. Article 39 Municipal governments should establish a sound mechanism for resolving housing provident fund disputes, promoting the resolution of major issues such as disputes over housing provident fund deposits between units and employees. Chapter 6 Penalties Article 40 Units that fail to register for housing provident fund deposits or do not complete the procedures for setting up housing provident fund accounts for their employees as required by this regulation shall be ordered by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center to complete them within a time limit; if they fail to do so within the time limit, they shall be fined an amount between 10,000 and 50,000 yuan. Article 41 Units that delay or underpay housing provident fund deposits in violation of this regulation shall be ordered by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center to make up for the shortfall within a time limit; if they still fail to do so, they may apply for compulsory enforcement by a people's court. Article 42 Those who illegally withdraw housing provident funds through fraud, forgery of documents, or other means shall be ordered by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center to return the funds within a time limit, have their housing provident fund withdrawal and loan qualifications canceled within 3 years. Those who illegally obtain entrusted housing provident fund loans through fraud, forgery of documents, or other means shall be ordered by the Housing Provident Fund Management Center to return the funds within a time limit, have their housing provident fund withdrawal and loan qualifications canceled within 5 years, and be fined between 10% and 20% of the amount obtained illegally; for severe cases, they shall be included in the list of serious dishonest subjects. Article 43 The Housing Provident Fund Management Committee that approves the use plan of the housing provident fund against these regulations shall be ordered