Beijing Relaxes Property Rules and Expands Housing Fund Loan Caps

Beijing authorities jointly issued a sweeping real estate policy package on August 7, 2026, aimed at easing buyer restrictions and expanding financial support. Effective August 8, the new measures lower social security and income tax residency requirements for non-registered families across the city to one year, eliminate qualification checks when parents gift housing to adult children, and significantly increase Housing Provident Fund loan caps. Married couples with two contributions can now access up to 3.4 million yuan in provident fund loans when combining policy incentives for green housing, multi-child families, and suburban relocation.

As a top-tier city, Beijing's policy shift reflects China's broader effort to stabilize the real estate market through targeted demand-side support. Raising Provident Fund limits directly reduces borrowing costs for first-time and upgrading buyers while steering population growth outside the central urban core and supporting multi-child families and green construction standards.

Municipal authorities in Beijing issued a seven-point real estate adjustment package on August 7, 2026, lowering purchase barriers for non-registered residents and significantly raising Housing Provident Fund (HPF) borrowing limits, effective August 8. The policy was jointly released by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Beijing Housing Fund Management Center, according to reports by Xinhua and state media outlets. Under the updated rules, non-Beijing registered families purchasing commercial homes inside the Fifth Ring Road now face a unified social security or individual income tax payment requirement of one year, down from two years. This aligns the residency requirement across the entire municipality while keeping allowable purchase quotas unchanged. Additionally, the policy simplifies property transfers by removing qualification checks for parents gifting municipal commercial housing to adult children, allowing direct application for title transfers. The regulation introduces substantial enhancements to the Housing Provident Fund. Baseline loan caps for single-filer households were set at 1.2 million yuan for first-time buyers and 1.0 million yuan for second homes. Dual-filer couples qualify for baseline limits of 2.4 million yuan for first-time purchases and 2.0 million yuan for second homes. The policy allows stackable top-ups based on specific demographic and urban development criteria. Registered residents from Beijing's six core urban districts buying a first home in outer districts can receive up to 200,000 yuan in extra loan capacity. Purchases meeting municipal green building standards qualify for up to 400,000 yuan in additional borrowing, while local multi-child families with two or more children are eligible for an additional 400,000 yuan. Combined stackable increases can reach 600,000 yuan for single filers and 1.0 million yuan for married couples, raising the maximum prospective loan cap for dual-filer couples to 3.4 million yuan, subject to repayment capacity assessments. Furthermore, the reform optimizes calculation formulas, granting 400,000 yuan in loan eligibility per contribution year based on the spouse with the longer contribution record. It also permits households with one or no property in Beijing to reapply for HPF loans once prior loans are fully settled, expands mortgage transfer capabilities for secondhand homes, and allows home renovation fund withdrawals up to 250,000 yuan.