China cracks down on property violations
February 20, 2008
[photopress:real_estate_crack_down.jpg,full,alignright]The Ministry of Construction reports China has resolved 9,029 cases of fraud, illegal land seizures and other violations in the real estate industry since last March.
In some cases, developers had seized land illegally or held sites idle for two years or longer.
China’s State Council, the cabinet, recently issued a circular calling for higher land use efficiency.
The circular said, ‘If land approved for development remains unused for more than two years, it should be recovered by the government according to laws and regulations. If the land remains idle for more than one year and less than two years, land developers should pay a 20 percent fee.’
The ministry said some developers had built residences without permits, pre-sold substandard apartments or misled buyers with false advertising.
Some local administrative officials were involved, mostly abusing their licensing or supervisory power in return for illegal gains.
The ministry said, ‘Some didn’t impose penalties required by laws and regulations, while some illegally issued planning, construction, pre-sale or demolition permits to developers. Some cases involved power-for-money deals between property companies and officials from supervision departments.’
The ministry started a crackdown on the real estate sector last March, after it declared that the industry had become a hotbed of corruption.
Source: Window of China