1. Applicable Codes: Guangdong Provincial Regulations on Urban Real Estate Ownership Registration, Guangdong Provincial Regulations on Urban Real Estate Transfers, GuangZhou Municipal Provisions on Urban Real Estate Registration.
2. Applicability: If a property owner intends to sell housing (including private housing, employer-managed housing, directly administrated housing, and military housing) with a property certificate, the buyer and the seller shall jointly apply for the transfer of title of store housing; major scenarios include:
(1) The property owner sells his housing without any other rights to a buyer;
(2) The property owner sells his housing with other rights to a buyer, and the title to the property is to be transferred with the holder of the other rights agreeing to remain its current mortgage;
(3) The housing has been obtained from an auction and an application is being filed to register the transfer of title;
(4) The title to the property is being transferred in accordance with legal documents issued by judicial authorities.
3. Documents Required:
| No. | Type of Document | Name of Document | Number of Copies | Original or Photocopy | Conditions | Remarks |
| 1 | Application Letter | Guangzhou Municipal Application Letter for Registration of Property Title Transfer | 1 | Original | Four photocopies for finance and tax authorities | |
| 2 | Approval of application for transfer of allocated land use rights, ground structures and annexes | 1 | Original | Applicable to transfer of allocated land use rights, ground structures and annexes | ||
| 3 | ID Paper | Entity and Individual ID Paper | 1 | Photocopy | A corporate judicial person shall also provide a copy of its articles of association which has been filed with the Industry & Commerce Administration | |
| 4 | Property Ownership Certificate | Property Ownership Certificate and Co-ownership Certificate | 1 | Original | Four photocopies for finance and tax authorities | |
| 5 | Documents Involved in Real Estate Ownership Transfer | Purchase Contract or Swapping Contract | 2 | Original | ||
| 6 | Tripartite Agreement among Mortgagee, Seller and Buyer | 1 | Original | Housing with mortgage in place | ||
| 7 | Auction Transaction Confirmation | 1 | Original | Transfer of title to auctioned housing | Four photocopies for finance and tax authorities | |
| 8 | Survey Drawings | Property Survey Drawings | Applicants +1 | Original | ||
| 9 | Other Documents | Tax Payment (Exemption) Certificate Issued by Tax Authorities | 1 | Original | ||
| 10 | Legal Instrument | 1 | Original | According to ruling by a People’s Court (or an arbitration organization) | Valid judgment, verdict, reconciliation agreement or notice to assist in enforcement issued by a People’s Court; valid award issued by an arbitration organization; or administrative action decision with compulsory enforceability issued by an administrative agency. | |
| 11 | Document showing bankruptcy declaration by court, document showing formation of a liquidation team by court, certificate of legal representative issued by the liquidation team, and power of attorney | 1 | Original | Applicable to real estate sales by bankrupt enterprises | ||
| 12 | Certificate showing that the state-owned asset administration agency or the finance agency at the same level or regulatory authorities has approved the sale | 1 | Original | Applicable to properties held by administrative agencies, public institutions and state-owned enterprises | If the property in question is not a state-owned asset, a certificate showing so is required. | |
| 13 | Certificate showing that the PLA General Logistics Department has approved the sale | 1 | Original | Applicable to military properties | ||
| 14 | Approval of sale by the city’s National Land & Housing Administration | 1 | Original | Applicable to directly administrated public housing | ||
| 15 | Merger, bankruptcy, ownership transformation or dissolution document, with a statement of the property’s title | 1 | Original | Applicable to properties by organizations involved in a merger, bankruptcy, ownership transformation, or dissolution | ||
| 16 | Approval letter of the organization’s renaming and ownership transformation or a certificate from the Industry and Commerce Administration | 1 | Original | Applicable to properties of enterprises undergoing system reform or asset restructuring | The certificate should cover the enterprise’s modification registration and shareholder changes. If the enterprise is a state-owned one undergoing ownership transformation, the approval document from the regulatory authorities shall be provided. | |
| 17 | Land disposition scheme approved by national land authorities | 1 | Original | Applicable to transfer of allocated land use rights, ground structures and annexes by enterprises undergoing ownership transformation | ||
| 18 | Receipt of payment of land use rights transfer fees | 1 | Original | Applicable to transfer of allocated land use rights, ground structures and annexes by enterprises required to complete formalities for paid land use rights | ||
| 19 | Guardian Guarantee and Guardian Certificate | 1 | Original | Applicable to properties sold by minors | The guarantee shall state that the guardians have the guardianship and that the sale of the minor’s property is in the interest of the minor. The guarantee shall be signed by all guardians. |
4. Handling Agency: Department of Store Housing Registration, Guangzhou Municipal Real Estate Transaction Registration Centre
5. Date of Completion:
(1) For residential properties: Within 10 workdays of case acceptance at the counter and issuance of the Real Estate Transaction Registration Processing Confirmation.
(2) For non-residential properties: Within 15 workdays of case acceptance at the counter and issuance of the Real Estate Transaction Registration Processing Confirmation.
6. Authority of Review & Approval:
(1) For residential properties: Level 1 Review & Approval
(2) For non-residential properties: Level 2 Review & Approval
7. Handling Process:
(1) For properties exempted for surveying: Case accepted (one workday) — documents received & distributed (one workday) – review (three workdays) — second review (one workday) – taxes and fees paid (one workday) — documents received & distributed (one workday) — certificate prepared & verified (one workday) — certificate issued (one workday) — filing
(2) For properties requiring surveying and transfer of allocated land use rights, ground structures and annexes: Case accepted (one workday) — documents received & distributed (one workday) – price checked (five workdays) — first review (three workdays) — second review (one workday) – taxes and fees paid (one workday) — documents received & distributed (one workday) — certificate prepared & verified (one workday) — certificate issued (one workday) — filing
8. Fees Payable:
| Fee | Amount | Fee Basis |
| Real Estate Transaction Handling Fee | Buyer: RMB 3 per square meter Seller: RMB 3 per square meter | Suijia [2002] No. 97 Yuejia [2002] No. 108 |
| Housing Registration Fee | Residential: RMB 80 per case for entities; RMB 50 per case for individuals. Non-residential: RMB 550 per case (50% concession for “Affordable Housing”) RMB 10 for each additional certificate. | Suijia [2008] No. 174 Yuejia [2008] No. 169 Fagai Jiage [2008] No. 924 Yuejia [2002] No. 116 Suijia [2002] –[2003] No. 104 Suijia Circular [2003] No. 387 |
| Stamp Duty on Ownership Certificate | RMB 5 per copy | The rate shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions in documents issued by finance and tax authorities. |
| Stamp Duty | Buyer: 0.05% of Property Price Seller: 0.05% of Property Price Exempted Exempted for individual sellers or buyers of housing | The rate shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions in documents issued by finance and tax authorities. |
| Deed Tax | Regular residential property purchased by individuals: transaction price (or appraised price) ×1.5%; other: transaction price (or appraised price) ×3% For first-time buyers of common housing of no more than 90 sq m, the deed tax is lowered to 1% | The rate shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions in documents issued by finance and tax authorities. The certificate of first-time housing purchase shall be issued by the construction authorities in the prefecture, county or district where the housing is located. |
| Land VAT, Individual Income Tax, Business Tax and Surcharges | To be levied in accordance with the relevant national regulations; actual rates to be set by tax authorities; land VAT exempted for individual sellers of housing. | The rate shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions in documents issued by finance and tax authorities. |
| Land Transfer Fee | Commercial properties: 35% of the benchmark land price of their grid points, plus 10% of route price for land plots in locations along streets. Office properties: 30% of the benchmark land price of their grid points. Residential properties: for private residential properties (excluding “Affordable Housing”, “Housing for the Needy”, and “Social Security Housing”), 3% of the benchmark land price of their grid points; for institutional residential properties, 30% of the benchmark land price of their grid points. Industrial properties: for commercial infrastructure facilities and commercial warehousing land plots, 30% of the benchmark land price of their industrial grid points; for other industrial properties, 20% of the benchmark land price of their industrial grid points. For purchased public housing, 1% of the sale price. | |
| Deed Tax on Land Transfer Fee | 3% of the land transfer fee | The rate shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions in documents issued by finance and tax authorities. |
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