Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Registration of Immovable Property

(November 27, 2020)

Article 1 For the purpose of regulating the act of immovable property registration, facilitating the application for immovable property registration, maintaining the security of immovable property transactions, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the person entitled to the real rights in immovable property, in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality, these Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China, the Interim Regulation on Real Property Registration and other applicable laws and administrative rules.

Article 2 The municipal department of planning and resources, as the competent department of the immovable property registration in this Municipality, is in charge of directing and supervising the registration of immovable property in this Municipality. The district departments of planning and resources shall assist the supervision and administration in terms of the immovable property registration within respective jurisdictional areas.

Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources Confirmation and Registration is the authority of immovable property registration in this Municipality and in charge of the registration work across this Municipality. The registration agencies under the departments of municipal and district planning and resources are entrusted by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources Confirmation and Registration to handle specific registration matters.

Such departments as housing and urban-rural development administration, housing administration, agriculture and rural areas, forestry, ocean, transportation, civil defense, ecological environment, urban management and law enforcement shall, in accordance with respective duties, coordinate the work related to immovable property registration.

Article 3 The following real rights in immovable property shall be registered in accordance with law:

1.ownership of collective land;

2.ownership of constructions and structures such as buildings;

3.ownership of forests and woods;

4.the right to land contractual management such as the cultivated land, forestland, and grassland;

5.the right to use land for construction purposes;

6.the right to use a house site;

7.the right to use the sea areas;

8.the right of habitation;

9.easements;

10.mortgage; and

11.other real rights in immovable property required for registration provided for by laws.

Article 4 Registration of immovable property includes the registration of creation, change, transfer, deregistration, correction, dissent, a priority notice, and seizure.

Article 5 The municipal department of planning and resources shall establish a uniform information system for immovable property registration and rely on the government service “Integrated Online Platform” to optimize the registration procedure and curtail time for registration for the purpose of providing convenient and effective services for parties concerned.

The immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations and requirements of technical specifications for registration in this Municipality, handle immovable property registration through registration information system.

The technical specifications for immovable property registration in this Municipality are formulated by municipal department of planning and resources.

Article 6 The register of immovable property, created and preserved permanently by the immovable property registration authority, is the basis for determining the attribution and contents of the real rights in immovable property.

The immovable property registration authority shall designate specially-assigned persons to preserve the immovable property register, and establish and develop a corresponding safety responsibility system.

Article 7 Immovable property registration shall be registered by a immovable property unit. The unit means the space that has closed ownership boundary, independent usage and a unique code.

Once the immovable property unit is confirmed, no arbitrary segmentation or coalescence shall be allowed; if so required, it shall be carried out in conformity with relevant national and municipal regulations.

Article 8 When applying for the registration of creation or the registration of change in terms of metes and bounds, space, area or other changes, the cadastral investigation shall be carried out.

The cadastral investigation activity shall be carried out in compliance with the requirement of technical specifications of cadastral investigation. Technical specifications of cadastral investigation shall be co-formulated by the municipal department of planning and resources and other relevant departments.

This Municipality shall promote the marketization of real estate registration investigation in accordance with law.

Article 9 Parties or their agents shall apply for immovable property registration at the registration agency; online application is available when the items of registration belong to the scope of online application, and the specific scope shall be announced by the immovable property registration authority.

The immovable property registration agency shall promote and perfect the online application and gradually expand the scope of online application.

Article 10 Applicants shall submit application materials truthfully without hiding any reality or making fake materials, and shall sign integrity commitment statement on the application form of the immovable property registration.

Where there is approval information, trading information or other information related to the departments of housing and urban-rural development and administration, housing administration, agriculture and rural areas, forest, transportation, taxation or otherwise in the application materials that should be submitted, and the immovable property registration authority can obtain such information through real-time sharing on the municipal big data platform, no requirement shall be made for the applicant to submit repeatedly.

The immovable property registration authority shall declare available information categories through real-time sharing to society and upgrade them in a timely manner.

Article 11 Such information as registration duties, registration scope, categories and model texts required for registration, shall be declared at the workplace of the registration agency, the web portal of “Shanghai China” and the web portal of the municipal department of planning and resources.

This Municipality shall, in accordance with the principle of being convenient for the people, collect registration-related transaction, tax and other declaration materials by the means of one-window collection when accepting registration.

Article 12 Where the registration application belongs to the scope of registration duties and the application materials are complete and conforming to the statutory form, the immovable property registration authority shall accept the application in written notice; Where any mistakes in application materials can be corrected on the spot, the applicant concerned shall be informed to correct promptly and be accepted again and notified in writing after concretion on the spot. The date of application is the date of acceptance.

Where further proof is required for the relevant information on registration items, the immovable property registration authority shall ask the applicant hereof to provide certification materials within a specific time limit on the spot in one time. The date of completing the materials is the date of acceptance.

Where application materials are incomplete or non-conforming to statutory form, the applicant hereof shall be notified in writing on the spot that the application is not accepted and all the contents that need to be supplemented and corrected shall be notified in one time.

Failure to notify the applicant hereof in writing on the spot shall be deemed acceptance.

Article 13 After the acceptance of registration application, the immovable property registration authority shall conduct verification on the application materials, on-site inspections on the immovable property for application and investigations to the applicant concerned, interested party or relevant institutions in accordance with law.

Article 14 The immovable property registration authority shall complete the procedures of immovable property registration from the date of acceptance, in accordance with the following requirements of the time limit except otherwise prescribed by laws:

1.Registration of seizure or objection shall be completed on the spot;

2.Registration of cancellation in respect of easements, mortgage and a priority notice shall be completed within 1 working day;

3.Registration for the right to use a house site and home ownership, registration for the right to contractual management of land, and registration of transfer in respect of inheritance and acceptance of bequests that fail to submit effective legal documents or documents of notarization, the registration of correction on right attribution and the registration of correction in compliance with duties, shall be completed within 30 working days; And

4.Other immovable property registration shall be completed within 5 working days.

Where there is necessary announcement in accordance with law, announcement time shall not be included into the time limit prescribed in the preceding Paragraph. Where there are necessary on-site inspections and investigations, or verification on relevant conditions to related departments in accordance with law, the time limit for completing the procedure on immovable property registration shall not exceed 30 working days.

Article 15 Where any application is compliance with the real estate registration regulations, the immovable property registration authority shall record registration items in the immovable property register. The registration items shall be deemed completed at the time when the items are recorded in the register.

The immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with the immovable property register, fill in and issue a real right certificate for immovable property and the registration certificate for immovable property. Parties concerned may choose the real right certificate for immovable property and the registration certificate for immovable property in electronic medium or paper medium.

Article 16 In any of the following cases, the immovable property registration authority shall disapprove the registration application and notify the applicant hereof in writing:

1.The materials of the immovable property which specify the metes and bounds, space, area and others are not consistent with the condition of the immovable property to be registered;

2. The relevant certification materials and documents are not consistent with the content of the immovable property to be registered;

3. The items in the application for registration conflict with the records in the real estate register;

4. Immovable property to be registered is an illegal building;

5. The application for the registration of mortgage or p transfer in terms of the immovable property that has been sealed up in compliance with law; And

6. There is any dispute arises over the attribution, the real rights in immovable property that the application is made for registering exceed the time limit or other circumstances that prescribed by laws and administrative rules, shall not be registered.

Article 17 Prior to applying for registration, the applicant may submit application materials in electronic medium through government service “Integrated Online Platform”. The immovable property registration authority shall check whether the materials is complete and conforming to statutory form, and conduct verification, on-site inspections or investigations in accordance with law.

Where immovable property registration is conforming to the regulations of immovable property registration, the immovable property registration authority shall through the government service “Integrate Online Platform” notify the applicant the date of submitting the original documents and issue a real right certificate for immovable property or registration certificate for immovable property on the spot after the applicant submit all original documents; Where immovable property registration is non-conforming to the regulations of immovable property registration, the applicant concerned shall be notified through the government service “Integrated Online Platform”.

Article 18 When applying for the registration of creation, alteration, transfer and deregistration due to the circumstance for which the real rights in immovable property rights will be created, altered, transferred and extinguished, the applicant shall, in accordance with the laws, rules and relevant regulations of the state and this Municipality, apply for registration with corresponding materials.

Article 19 Where a developer applies for the registration of creation for ownership of newly-built commercial houses, the applicant hereof shall list the scope of the following immovable property and provide relevant certification materials:

1. A developer-retained self-own real estate as commercial houses for sale determined by the sales plan filed with the housing management department;

2. Joint immovable property owned by different owners, which is prescribed by laws and rules or agreed and specified by parties concerned and immovable property built as a public welfare service facility; in respect of applying registration of creation for the ownership of affordable housing, the developer shall list the scope of the immovable property prescribed in the Item 2 of the preceding Paragraph and submit relevant certification materials.

If the developer retains its own real estate as commercial houses for sale, it shall be recorded in the real estate register, a real right certificate for immovable property shall be issued separately; joint immovable property owned by different owners shall be recorded in the register and no real right certificate for immovable property shall be issued.

Public welfare public service facilities specified in the state-owned construction land allocation decision or assignment contract, or recognized by relevant departments shall be marked in the immovable property register; where a relevant party hereof applies for the registration of creation, a real right certificate for immovable property shall be issued.

When applying for registration of mortgage for affordable housing, the certification materials agreed by the relevant departments should also be provided.

Article 20 For the purpose of protecting landscape and building, where the house shall be kept specified, in the state-owned construction land allocation decision or assignment contract, the parties concerned may apply for the registration of creation for home ownership together with the registration of creation for the construction land use right or apply for the registration of creation for home ownership together with other newly-built housing on the state-owned construction land and the relevant facts shall be registered in the immovable property register.

Article 21 When applying registration of transfer for immovable property obtained due to inheritance or acceptance of bequests, the parties concerned shall submit certification materials of death, will or agreement for the allocation of immovable property in terms of all statutory heirs and kinship materials of the decedent, or submit notarized materials or effective legal documents. The immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with law, conduct verification, on-site inspections or investigations on relevant materials and facts of inheritance and acceptance of bequests. all heirs and related parties should cooperate.

In respect of the submitted certification materials of death, will or agreement for the allocation of immovable property in terms of all statutory heirs and kinship materials of the decedent, the immovable property registration authority may conduct an announcement and the announcement period shall be not less than three months.

Article 22 Where farmland owned by farmers collectively or farmland owned by the state and used by farmers collectively in accordance with law, the parties hereof may apply for the registration of right to contractual management of land.

Where the right to land contractual management is obtained by means of family contracting, the list of all family members who have the right to contractual management of land shall be recorded in the register of immovable property.

Where the right to management of land has been obtained for a period of five years or longer after being transfer in accordance with law, the parties concerned may apply for the registration of creation with relevant materials in terms of acquired right to management of land and other necessary materials.

Article 23 A transferee of the housing on the land with rights to use allocated land, going through the procedures for the transfer of the land use rights, shall apply for the registration of transfer for the home ownership when applying for the registration of creation for the right to use land for construction purposes. Where the use way of the same person entitled to the right to use such land changes from allocation to transfer or other paid way, the person hereof shall apply for the registration of creation for the right to use land for construction purposes.

Article 24 Where there is a combined underground engineering with the buildings on its surface in terms of a construction project, the registration of creation for the right to use land for construction purposes and home ownership shall be handled with the part of its surface. Where a separately-developed underground engineering is handled the registration of creation for the right to use land for underground construction purposes and home ownership separately, the registration of creation for buildings and structures on the ground such as entrance and vent shall be handled together with the registration of creation for home ownership.

When handling the registration of creation for the right to use land for the underground construction purposes, the scope of attribution of such right shall be determined in accordance with the scope specified in the land approval document; if not specified, it shall be confirmed in compliance with the maximum scope of land occupation and starting and ending depth in terms of the horizontal projection of underground buildings and structures.

Underground buildings and structures which belong to civil defense engineering shall be stated in the immovable property register.

Article 25 When utilizing a house site to build a dwelling and its auxiliary facilities in accordance with law, the applicant hereof may apply for registration of the right to use the house site and the home ownership. The registration of right to use the house site and home ownership shall be applied for by the household representative elected by the members of the rural household and the list of the members of the household shall be recorded in the register of immovable property.

Where utilizing a house site to build a dwelling and its auxiliary facilities in accordance with law, the registration of creation shall be applied for by presenting documents contained approval of using land from the people’s government entitled to right of approval such as the source materials of right attribution, documents on approval of building house building a house site, materials about the completion of the house, materials confirmed representative and members of the house, cadastral investigation report of the immovable property and other necessary materials.

When applying for the registration of transfer for a right to use a house site and home ownership, the proof that the transferee is a member of the rural collective economic organization in this village shall be provided, unless the home ownership is transferred due to inheritance.

The people’s governments at all districts shall, in accordance with the uniform arrangement of the Municipal People’s Government, follow the requirement in which the registration shall be handled in a prescriptively, orderly and convenience-oriented way when organizing and carrying out the initial registration for the unregistered right to use a house site and home ownership in their own administrative districts. Such particulars as the area of the house site and the house, the construction age of the house and household splitting shall be subject to the investigation of the title of the immovable property thereof and confirmation by villagers’ group, village and township step by step.

Article 26 In the case of acquiring the right to use sea areas by means of application for approval, bidding or auction, or changing or transferring the right to use the sea areas, no renewal after the expiration of the term of the right to use sea areas, the parties concerned may apply for the registration of the corresponding right to use the sea areas.

Where the sea areas are destroyed due to reclamation, the applicant hereof shall, in accordance with law, apply for the initial registration of the right to use state-owned land and go through the registration of cancellation of the right to use sea areas after the completion of the reclamation or other projects.

Article 27 Where the parties concerned create a right of habitation by means of entering into a contract for the right of habitation in writing or will, they shall apply for the registration of creation for the right of habitation by materials like the contract of the right of habitation or will. The immovable property registration authority shall issue the registration certificate of the immovable property.

Where a right of habitation is extinguished, the parties concerned shall go through the deregistration of the right in a timely manner.

Article 28 Where an easement is created in compliance with an agreement, the parties concerned shall use the real right certificate for immovable property in respect of the servient land and dominant land, an easement contract and other necessary materials to apply for the initial registration of the easement.

The immovable property registration authority shall record items such as the purpose, method, and the duration of utilizing in the register of immovable property about the servient land and dominant land respectively.

Article 29 Where the building under construction is mortgaged, after the completion of the construction, the party concerned shall convert the registration for mortgage on the building under construction to the registration for mortgage for immovable property at the time when the registration of creation for the home ownership is handled, except for the following immovable property:

1.a commercial house which has completed the registration of a priority notice;

2.joint immovable property by owners identified upon the registration of creation for the home ownership;

3.immovable property built as a public welfare service facility which is not owned by the developer; or

4.equipped affordable housing and its parking spaces and garages for parking cars

Where there is any registration of a priority notice on the mortgage of housing construction project created before the implementation of the uniform registration of immovable property in this Municipality transferring to registration for mortgage for immovable property, the procedure shall be handled in accordance the regulations as specified in the preceding Paragraph.

Article 30 Where a immovable property is destroyed and the parties concerned do not apply for a deregistration, the immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with the certification documents provided by the departments of household management, resources planning, marine or otherwise, handle the deregistration.

Where a immovable property is expropriated, retrieved or confiscated or a real right in immovable property is extinguished due to effective legal documents issued by the people’s court or an arbitrarily institution, the immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with the effective legal documents, handle the deregistration.

Article 31 A right holder or an interested party may apply for the correction of the registration if he believes that an item recorded in the register of immovable property is incorrect.

After the acceptance of the application of the correction of the registration, the immovable property registration authority shall suspend the registration related to mortgage, transfer or change for immovable property, and suspend to accept new application of registration hereof; after the completion of the correction of the registration, acceptance shall be resumed.

Where an administrative organ make a decision of administrative review that revoke the registration of immovable property or the people’s court make a judgment that revoke the registration of immovable property, the immovable property registration authority shall correct the registration within 3 days from the date on which the decision of administrative review or the judgment become legally effective; except for those circumstances that the registration authority has already handled the registration involving the disposal of real rights in immovable property, registration of a priority notice and registration of seizure after the incorrect registration.

Where the original right holder is dead or termination cannot restore the original registration status relevant facts shall be registered in the immovable property register and the real right certificate for immovable property shall not be issued.

Article 32 Where there is pre-sale of immovable property such as commercial houses, immovable property purchases or mortgages, creating mortgage by pre-purchasing commercial houses or other circumstances prescribed by laws and administrative regulations, the parties concerned may apply for the registration of a priority notice in accordance with an agreement.

After a transaction contract for newly-built commercial house or stock house is signed online, the parties concerned may apply for the registration of a priority notice.

During the effective period of the registration of a priority notice, without the written consent of the right holder, the immovable property registration authority shall not handle any disposition of the real rights in this immovable property for applying registration.

Article 33 After receiving a notice in terms of carrying out seizure and other measures in a immovable property from the public security authority, the people’s court, the people’s procuratorate or other authorities, the immovable property registration authority shall record the items and the term of seizure in the immovable property register directly.

Where the immovable property registration authority has any objection in terms of the items of seizure, it shall, in accordance with law, submit a review advise to relevant authorities.

If the public security authority, the people’s court and the people’s procuratorate and other authorities do not make renewal upon the expiration of the seizure term, the registration of seizure shall become invalid.

Article 34 The immovable property registration authority shall, based on a legally effective document, record relevant items in the register in any of the following circumstances:

1.the decision related to immovable property rights made by an administrative authority such as expropriation of land owned by collective, expropriation of houses, recovery of the right to use state-owned land for construction purposes, approval of land for construction purposes and pre-sale permits for commercial houses;

2.the recognition of affordable houses made by an administrative authority;

3.the recognition of an illegal land and failure to perform the repair obligations to a great historic building made by an administrative authority; or

4.the recognition of unauthorized changing on load-bearing structure and attaching an illegal building.

Where circumstances listed in Item 3 and 4 of the preceding Paragraph have been rectified, the administrative authority shall issue certification documents and the immovable property registration agency shall record in the register of immovable property; In the case of circumstances listed in Item 4 of the preceding Paragraph, when applying for registration for mortgage or transfer, the parties concerned shall provide the said certification documents.

In respect of materials related to the items of the real rights in immovable property such as house lease contract, the parties concerned may apply for recording the items hereof in the register of immovable property.

Where the parties concerned, in accordance with law, submit investigation report in terms of soil pollution to the immovable property registration authority, the immovable property registration authority shall record items hereof in the register of immovable property.

Article 35 The immovable property registration authority shall establish a system of immovable property registration management and a system of information security and confidentiality.

The materials of immovable property registration shall be managed by the registration agencies. The registration agencies shall create storage places for the materials of immovable property registration in compliance with the standard of protecting the security of the materials of immovable property registration.

Where the materials of the immovable property registration fall within the scope of archive, archive management shall be conducted in accordance with relevant regulations.

Retrieving and making copies of the information of the registered immovable property shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the state and Shanghai Municipality. An interested party shall not disclose or illegally use the registered information of a right holder’s immovable property.

Article 36 The registration agencies may provide retrieving service in terms of the materials of immovable property registration by the retrieving window of immovable property, self-service retrieving facilities, internet or other means.

Article 37 The staff members of immovable property registration shall have professional knowledge and business capabilities in relevant laws, rules and immovable property registration appropriate to their positions.

The immovable property registration authority shall enhance the management and professional technical training to the staff members of immovable property registration.

This Municipality shall explore and establish immovable property registrar system and select eligible immovable property staff members as registrars, independently responsible for the specialized work of real estate registration review and registration.

Article 38 Where any staff member of immovable property registration makes a false record, destroys or forges a register of immovable property, amends registered items without approval, disclose materials of immovable property registration or information of registration, or otherwise abuses power or neglects duty, the staff member shall be given a disciplinary sanction in accordance with law; if any damage has been caused to any other person, he or she shall assume the compensation liability in accordance with law; and if any crime is constituted, he or she shall be subject to criminal liability in accordance with law.

Article 39 Where any damage is caused to others due to a registration error, the immovable property registration authority shall be liable for compensation. After having made compensation, the immovable property registration authority may recover the amount so paid from the person who has made the registration error.

Where a party provides false materials in an application for registration and causes damage to others, he or she shall be liable for compensation.

This Municipality shall explore and establish a system of liability insurance of immovable property registration.

Article 40 In respect of relevant acts for being dishonest for immovable property registration, the immovable property registration authority shall, in accordance with the law, collect relevant entities’ untrustworthy information to the service platform of public credit information in this Municipality, and relevant departments shall implement disciplinary measures against untrustworthy entities in accordance with law,

Article 41 Where the comprehensive renovation on old housing is in compliance with the requirement of planning and has been completed, the immovable property registration can be handled in accordance with law.

The registration matters for immovable property that should be registered but not registered in the past shall be dealt with in consideration of laws, rules and policies at that time, the actual conditions and other factors. The specific measures in terms of those problems shall be formulated by the Municipal People’s Government.

Article 42 These Regulations shall be effective as of March,1,2021. The Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Real Estate Registration adopted at the 8th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on December 25, 2008 shall be repealed simultaneously.