China issues real estate registration rules

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has issued provisional regulations on real estate registration, according to a statement released on Monday.
The regulations include 35 articles and will take effect March 1, 2015, the statement said.
In accordance with China's Property Law, the new rules mark the beginning of the country's real estate registration work, to be guided and supervised by the land and resources authorities.
All governments above the county level shall designate special departments for registration in their areas and follow instructions from higher governments.
The regulations will cover collective ownership of land, ownership of buildings and forest, contracted land management rights, and rights to the use of construction land, homesteads and maritime areas.
The registration will be filed electronically or in print and kept permanently, and the electronic version shall be backed up regularly, according to the statement.
Land and resources authorities will establish a platform to manage registration information that can be shared in real time and will be strictly confidential.
Anyone who completes a false registration will have to pay compensation. Any abuse of power, forged document or illegal information disclosure of real estate registration will be prosecuted, the statement said.