Recently, several local governments in China have introduced new policies to promote the real estate market. Apart from some housing subsidies, officials are also encouraging farmers to give up their rural homesteads and purchase homes in cities. This policy has drawn attention from the market. At the same time, homebuyers in various regions have recently revealed online that the housing subsidies promised by local governments have not been issued in a timely manner. Some homebuyers are still waiting for the housing subsidies they were supposed to receive in 2021.
In Anhui Province, Fengyang County government recently implemented new policies to boost the real estate market. They specifically provide incentives for farmers to relinquish their homesteads. Rural residents in Fengyang County who meet certain conditions and voluntarily give up their homesteads for resettlement in the city will receive a one-time 50,000 yuan housing reward. They will also receive a 1% subsidy on the contract price (excluding ancillary facilities such as parking spaces, garages, and storage rooms).
Meanwhile, the government of Nantong City in Jiangsu Province has also made commitments to provide a certain amount of rewards for those who voluntarily give up their rural homesteads to buy homes in the city.
Previously, other cities have introduced similar policies. In April of this year, six departments including the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of Ezhou City in Hubei Province jointly issued a notice regarding real estate, involving housing subsidies, “old-for-new” replacement, and nine other aspects.
Regarding the encouragement for rural residents to buy homes in cities, the notice states that rural residents in Ezhou City who voluntarily relinquish legal homesteads and demolish homesteads and related structures, and then buy new commercial residential properties in the “double focus” area, will receive housing subsidies based on the area of the relinquished homestead.
In fact, as early as September 2020, the Chinese authorities initiated a new round of rural homestead system reform pilots in 104 counties (cities, districts) and 3 prefecture-level cities nationwide. Encouraging farmers to give up rural homesteads to buy homes in cities is one of the important aspects of these pilots.
The policies introduced by local governments to encourage farmers to give up homesteads and buy homes in cities have sparked public attention and discussions.
Many netizens commented, “All the ideas are aimed at the farmers, forcing them to give up their homesteads and buy houses in the city. Farmers do not have stable incomes, let alone guaranteed pensions for their elderly lives, what were they thinking?” “If farmers lose their homes and homesteads, they will become homeless and have nowhere to go back to if they fail.” “This is testing the waters for future strong measures, and once farmers lose their production tools, if they fail in the city, there will be no turning back.” “Official documents claim it’s voluntary and not coercive, but when implemented at the grassroots level, who can guarantee it will still be voluntary?”
Chinese issues expert Wang He previously told a media outlet that the Communist Party has long been eyeing rural homesteads, with various land policies in many regions. It’s actually very difficult for authorities to transform rural migrant workers into urban residents because the former would need to enjoy the same treatment as city residents, which would require a substantial outlay from the government. Currently, local governments simply do not have the funds available.
In reality, over 200 cities in China have introduced relevant policies for housing subsidies, but many cities are facing difficulties in implementing these policies, including delays in granting subsidies.
According to a report by The Paper in April of this year, homebuyers in various regions have shared online that the promised housing subsidies have not been issued in a timely manner by local governments, with some homebuyers still awaiting housing subsidies they were supposed to receive in 2021.