The Chinese government’s implementation of the housing pension system has sparked widespread skepticism. On August 26, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development stated that the housing pension is not a real estate tax and individuals do not need to pay any additional money. However, just one day later, official Chinese media again raised doubts among the public by saying that they aim to make housing insurance as common as car insurance.
On August 27, an article in the Financial Times, under the auspices of the People’s Bank of China, mentioned that by around 2040, nearly 80% of houses in China will reach the “middle-aged and elderly” stage and stated the importance of establishing a system for inspecting and insuring houses, similar to cars. This idea was previously brought up by Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
This news immediately led to public questioning. Automotive blogger and Weibo influencer “Shanghai Chengyu” commented, “Car insurance exists because of the risks of traffic accidents while driving. Cars get scrapped when they get old; there’s no age insurance. It’s completely different. ”
Weibo influencer “DesertFish-” posted, “Yesterday (August 26), amidst public skepticism regarding housing insurance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development clarified: the public has misunderstood, housing insurance does not require money from individuals but aims to establish government public accounts in trial cities as soon as possible. It was also mentioned that individual contributions for housing maintenance were already made by the public when buying houses, and there is no need for additional payments.
“However, in less than a day, the People’s Bank of China’s The Financial Times published an article suggesting that housing insurance should be made as popular as car insurance. We don’t understand the reasoning behind this decision. ”
“DesertFish-” referenced the clarification from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as stated in the article by the Building Magazine Society on August 26, explaining that the misunderstanding of the housing pension system, emphasizing it is not a real estate tax, and public accounts do not require money from the people. Individual accounts already have funds through the payment of residential special repair funds.
Earlier on August 23, Deputy Minister Dong Jianguo of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China mentioned during a press conference last Friday (August 23) the consideration of establishing a housing inspection, housing pension, and housing insurance system to build an effective mechanism for the lifelong safety management of houses. Currently, 22 cities, including Shanghai, are conducting pilot programs.
This news caused a considerable stir and on August 24, it trended on Baidu’s hot search list, with most netizens expressing opposition to the proposed measures.