State Council Approves Housing Fund Rules Revision, Cuts Loan Approval to 10 Days

The State Council executive meeting on July 31 reviewed and approved the draft decision on amending the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations. The meeting called for better leveraging the role of housing provident funds, broadening the scope of withdrawals and use, expanding system coverage, and improving management service efficiency to meet residents' diverse housing consumption needs. According to the 2024 National Housing Provident Fund Annual Report, the number of actual contributors in 2024 reached 176 million, with a total deposit balance of RMB 10.9 trillion, but only 81.27 million people made withdrawals during the year, accounting for just 46.1% of actual contributors. The 2026 Government Work Report mentioned housing provident funds twice, marking the first such inclusion since 2015.

On June 5, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development had solicited public comments on the revised draft of the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations. This revision represents the third systematic upgrade since the regulations were promulgated in 1999, following amendments in 2002 and 2019. The revision covers four main areas: first, broadening the scope of withdrawals and use, with withdrawal scenarios expanded from six to nine categories, adding home renovation and property fee payments, plus other housing consumption scenarios approved by the State Council; second, expanding contribution coverage, allowing individual businesses, non-full-time employees, and other flexible employment personnel to participate voluntarily in the housing provident fund system; third, optimizing fund management mechanisms, improving the responsibilities of the housing provident fund management committee, strengthening supervision, and clarifying the responsibilities of management centers; fourth, enhancing service efficiency, with loan approval time reduced from 15 days to 10 days from the date of application, while strengthening digital capacity building and cross-regional coordination mechanisms to promote mutual recognition and mutual lending.

As of 2026, more than 60 cities have adjusted and optimized housing provident fund policies, including raising loan amount ceilings, broadening the scope of withdrawals and use, and optimizing policies for flexible employment personnel and cross-regional use. These adjustments aim to further unleash housing consumption potential and safeguard people's livelihood.