Regulation on the Administration of Housing Accumulation Funds (2019 Revision)

Regulation on the Administration of Housing Accumulation Funds (2019 Revision)

（Promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on April 3, 1999 by Order No. 262, and revised for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulation for the Administration of Housing Accumulation Funds made on March 24, 2002；revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend Certain Administrative Regulations on March 24, 2019)

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 The present Regulation is formulated for the purpose of strengthening the administration of housing accumulation funds, maintaining the lawful rights and interests of housing accumulation fund owners, promoting the construction of urban houses, and improving the dwelling standard of urban residents.
Article 2 The present Regulation shall apply to the deposit, withdrawal, use, management and supervision of housing accumulation funds within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
The term housing accumulation funds as mentioned in the present Regulation shall refer to the long-term housing funds deposited by state organs, state-owned enterprises, urban collective enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, urban private enterprises, other urban enterprises, public institutions, privately run non-enterprise entities, social organizations (hereinafter collectively referred to as entities) and their incumbent employees.
Article 3 The housing accumulation funds deposited by an individual employee and those deposited by the employee's entity for the employee shall be owned by the employee himself.
Article 4 Housing accumulation funds shall be managed according to the principles of decision made by the housing accumulation fund management committee, funds operated by the housing accumulation fund management center and deposited in special bank accounts, and fiscal supervision.
Article 5 Housing accumulation funds shall be used by employees for buying or building houses, rebuilding or overhauling houses for self-dwelling, and shall not be misappropriated by any entity or individual for any other purpose.
Article 6 The interest rate of the deposited housing accumulation funds and that of the lent housing accumulation funds shall be proposed by the People's Bank of China, and be reported to the State Council for approval after opinions have been solicited from the administrative department of construction of the State Council.
Article 7 The administrative department of construction of the State Council shall, jointly with the public finance department of the State Council and the People's Bank of China, draft housing accumulation fund policies, and supervise the implementation thereof.
The administrative department of construction of the people's government of a province or autonomous region shall, jointly with the public treasury department at the same level and the branches of the People's Bank of China, take charge of supervising the implementation of the regulations and policies for the administration of housing accumulation funds within its jurisdiction.
Chapter II Institutions and Their Duties
Article 8 A municipality directly under the Central Government, a municipality where the people's government of a province or autonomous region is located, or any other districted municipality (region, prefecture, league) shall establish a housing accumulation fund management committee as the decision-making body for housing accumulation fund management. Among the members of a housing accumulation fund management committee, the person-in-charge of the people's government and the persons-in-charge of the relevant departments of construction, public finance, the People's Bank, etc. as well as relevant experts shall account for 1/3, the trade union representatives and employee representatives shall account for another 1/3, and the entity representatives shall account for the remaining 1/3.
The post of director general of a housing accumulation fund management committee shall be held by a person with public faith.
Article 9 A housing accumulation fund management committee shall perform the following duties in respect of housing accumulation fund management:
(1) Formulating and adjusting specific measures for the management of housing accumulation funds in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies, and supervising the implementation thereof;
(2) Proposing the specific deposit proportion of the housing accumulation fund according to Article 18 of the present Regulation;
(3) Determining the maximum loan quota of the housing accumulation fund;
(4) Examining the housing accumulation fund collection and use plan and deciding whether or not to grant approval;
(5) Examining the program on distribution of value-added proceeds of the housing accumulation fund; and
(6) Examining the report on the implementation of the housing accumulation fund collection and use plan, and deciding whether or not to grant the approval.
Article 10 A municipality directly under the Central Government, a municipality where the people's government of a province or autonomous region is located, or any other districted municipality (region, prefecture, league) shall, by following the principles of streamlining and efficiency, establish a housing accumulation fund management center to take charge of the management and operation of the housing accumulation funds. A county (municipality at the county level) shall not establish a housing accumulation fund management center.
A housing accumulation fund management center as prescribed in the preceding paragraph may establish branches in the counties (cities at the county level) where it is possible. The housing accumulation fund management center and its branches shall be governed by uniform rules and bylaws, and shall make uniform accounting.
A housing accumulation fund management center shall be the independent non-profit public institution of the people's government of the city to which it is directly subordinate.
Article 11 A housing accumulation fund management center shall perform the following duties:
(1) Working out and implementing the housing accumulation fund collection and use plans;
(2) Taking charge of recording the employees' deposit, withdrawal and use, etc. of housing accumulation funds;
(3) Taking charge of making accounting of housing accumulation funds;
(4) Examining and deciding to approve or disapprove the withdrawal and use of housing accumulation funds;
(5) Taking charge of the value maintenance and the return of housing accumulation fund;
(6) Working out reports on the implementation of the housing accumulation fund collection and use plans; and
(7) Undertaking other matters decided on by the housing accumulation fund management committee.
Article 12 A housing accumulation fund management committee shall, according to the relevant provisions of the People's Bank of China, designate an entrusted commercial bank to handle the housing accumulation fund financial business (hereinafter referred to as entrusted bank); the housing accumulation fund management center shall entrust the entrusted bank to handle the financial business such as housing accumulation fund loans and settlement as well as such matters as opening housing accumulation fund accounts, deposit and returning funds, etc.
A housing accumulation fund management center shall conclude an entrustment contract with the entrusted bank.
Chapter III Deposit
Article 13 A housing accumulation fund management center shall open a special housing accumulation fund account in the entrusted bank.
An entity shall undergo the formalities for registration of housing provident fund contribution with the housing provident fund management center, and undergo the formalities for opening housing provident fund accounts for its employees.
Each employee may have only one housing provident fund account.
Article 14 A newly formed entity shall, within 30 days after its formation, undergo the formalities for registration of housing provident fund contribution with the housing provident fund management center; and shall, within 20 days from the date of the registration, undergo......