Urban residents with hukou who want to live in the countryside can only rent rural houses — they must not buy homestead land or houses on it
Original: eternity4719 · source details
Original author: eternity4719 · Chinese source: · English adaptation: parveen0029. Translation and grade notes ↗
Bibliographic titles are retained in their original language.
Source author's views and grades; not individually verified by this site.
Cost and benefit at a glance
- Check the cost Cost ↓
- No upfront cost. The trade-off is that the house remains the landlord’s property; the maximum single lease term is 20 years, after which a new agreement must be…
- Then the source benefit Benefit ↓
- Official documents from the General Office of the State Council make clear: “Urban residents must not purchase homestead land, rural houses, or ‘small-property houses’ in villages.…
In plain terms
People with urban hukou are expressly prohibited by national regulations from buying homestead land, rural houses, or “small-property houses” in villages. Even if villagers claim “a written contract suffices,” paying money does not transfer ownership of the property. To reside long-term in the countryside, one must sign a lease agreement limited to 20 years per term, with renewal possible thereafter.
This guide's cartoon · show illustration
Enlarge illustrationOriginal illustration with Chinese lettering; the English dialogue is below. Humour is a reading aid, not evidence.
English dialogue
- We agreed verbally.
- Where is that written?
Cost: what it takes
No upfront cost. The trade-off is that the house remains the landlord’s property; the maximum single lease term is 20 years, after which a new agreement must be negotiated.
Benefit: what the source reports
Official documents from the General Office of the State Council make clear: “Urban residents must not purchase homestead land, rural houses, or ‘small-property houses’ in villages.” The same documents also state that after selling or leasing their homes, farmers cannot reapply for homestead land. A 2019 joint directive from the Central Rural Work Leading Group Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reiterates this ban while outlining a legal alternative: urban residents may rent rural houses for residence or business use, provided lease terms do not exceed 20 years and are mutually agreed upon upon renewal.
Conditions, limits and disagreements
Homestead land is allocated solely to registered villagers for construction purposes. When renting a rural house, a written contract must specify the lease term, rent amount, permission for renovations, and how any renovation costs are handled at lease end. Leases exceeding 20 years — such as 50- or 70-year terms — are illegal; likewise, paying rent for multiple years upfront is prohibited. Additionally, it is illegal to use homestead land for building villas, large estates, or private clubs; paying villagers to “co-build” such structures also violates regulations.
Original references
Original bibliographic titles and links are preserved; some titles are in Chinese.
国务院办公厅 (2007). 关于严格执行有关农村集体建设用地法律和政策的通知（国办发〔2007〕71 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_2395.htm；中央农村工作领导小组办公室、农业农村部 (2019). 关于进一步加强农村宅基地管理的通知（中农发〔2019〕11 号）第五、六部分. https://www.moa.gov.cn/govpublic/NCJJTZ/201909/t20190920_6328397.htm
Medical, legal, financial and policy conditions vary by person, place and time. Policy material primarily concerns mainland China; check the cited document and current local requirements.