China’s property crisis forces local hukou reform, laying groundwork for national change
- Local governments in China are experimenting with changes to their household registration system, leading some to wonder if national policy is forthcoming
More than 20 cities have allowed people from any region of the mainland to change their official residency under a scheme known as the hukou.
In China, household registration is tied to social benefits, and migrants can change their status in these localities as long as they buy a home in the city.
The new policy is one incentive some areas are trying to destock their cluttered housing inventory, according to property researcher the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS).
Rules for hukou registration – which restricts population mobility and is widely believed to be responsible for China’s wide gap between urban areas and the countryside – have been relaxed for home purchasers in these cities, including those deemed as emerging centres like Hangzhou and Nanjing, CREIS said in a report last week, citing recent policy changes.
Once the market goes down again, purchase restrictions will be further relaxed and there will be bolder policies in household registration
Free migration accelerates urbanisation, improves efficiency in agriculture, narrows gaps between regions and helps China move closer to its goal of “common prosperity”, said Zhou Tianyong, a professor with the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics and a former senior researcher with the Central Party School in Beijing.
“Obstructing population migration and accumulating too many underemployed and low-income people in rural areas and the agriculture sector are hidden dangers that can lead to social instability and unrest,” he wrote on his social media account last month.