Unified real estate registration reform accelerated

ZHENGZHOU - After drawing strong complaints about inefficiency, real estate registration authorities in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, have resolved to simplify procedures.

From Aug 25 to Sept 21, the new property registration center in Zhengzhou only issued 42 certificates, with more than 5,000 applications waiting.

The go-slow occurred as the city adopted a unified registration system, but met with difficulties integrating different administration units, mainly the city's housing and land bureaus, and lengthy processing remained.

Applicants still had to first go to the housing bureau to confirm transactions and then to the land and resources department to register their property.

On Thursday, dozens of land and resources bureau staff went to work at the housing bureau. They even canceled their holidays to handle outstanding applications.

China aims to have unified property registration in all cities and counties by the end of this year. As of August, half of the country had adopted the new system, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Under the new system, property registration should be handled by one single department to reduce costs and inconvenience for citizens.

With three months to go before the deadline, provinces have stepped up their efforts to introduce the new system. Shanghai plans to fully adopt the system on Oct 8.

Wu Chunqi, a real estate researcher with Beijing City University, said the difficulties mostly arose due to incomplete data sharing platforms.

"Personnel training and financial support are also necessary for the implementation of the new system," said Wu. He called for local legislation to deal with practical problems in different places.

In July, the local legislature in Tianjin passed a regulation on registrations. The regulation, which took effect on Sept 1, was the first local rule.