The long-awaited "Housing Rental Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were announced yesterday (21st) and will come into effect on September 15th. The regulation was released for public consultation in September 2020. Analysts believe that the official introduction of the "Housing Rental Regulations" marks a new stage of legalization and standardization in China's housing rental market. The chaos in the rental market will put an end to false housing listings, rent gouging, illegal construction, and illegal rental loans, causing many renters to suffer greatly. There are numerous entities in the housing rental market with scattered housing resources, making it difficult for regulatory authorities to conduct real-time and comprehensive supervision of all rental activities; At the same time, the regulation of the housing rental market involves multiple departments such as real estate, market supervision and management, and finance, and cross departmental coordination and regulation also face challenges. ”Zhang Bo, the director of 58 Anjuke Research Institute, told China Net Finance. With the release of the Regulation, the housing rental management system will be further improved. The Regulation consists of 7 chapters and 50 articles, including regulating housing rental activities, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in housing rental activities, stabilizing housing rental relationships, and other aspects, aiming to promote the high-quality development of the housing rental market and accelerate the establishment of a housing system that combines renting and purchasing. Zhang Bo stated that the implementation of the Regulation will have a significant restraining effect on various irregularities in the housing rental market. For example, the Regulation imposes strict prohibitions on the publication of false or misleading housing information, and puts forward requirements for source management of housing inspection and other aspects. In addition, there are corresponding penalties for the publication of false or misleading housing information, which will greatly help reduce the occurrence of false housing. The Regulation proposes that landlords should register their housing rental contracts with the local real estate management department through housing rental management service platforms and other means in accordance with regulations. If the lessor and lessee sign a housing rental contract through a housing rental brokerage agency, the agency shall handle the registration of the housing rental contract. Cao Jingjing, General Manager of the Index Research Department of Zhongzhi Research Institute, stated that the implementation of the contract filing system helps to regulate the order of the leasing market and provides a basis for tenants to enjoy basic public services in accordance with relevant regulations; In addition, it helps the regulatory authorities to grasp the dynamics of the leasing market and provide data support for subsequent policy formulation and market supervision. She believes that through contract filing, the future rental market will be more transparent and standardized, and the legitimate rights and interests of landlords and tenants will be more effectively protected. The regulation proposes that the industry should start the process of survival of the fittest, and the country should improve policy measures to cultivate market-oriented and specialized housing rental enterprises. At present, the institutionalization rate of China's housing rental industry is still relatively low. ”Cao Jingjing stated that according to monitoring data from the China Index Research Institute, as of June 2025, the cumulative number of housing units opened by the top 30 housing rental enterprises in China is 1.359 million, which still accounts for a relatively small overall market share. She believes that from the perspective of market-oriented and specialized policy orientation, there is still significant room for development for long-term rental apartment enterprises in China. Promoting the development of professional housing rental enterprises will help improve the quality of housing rental products and services, and promote the high-quality development of the housing rental market. The Regulation puts forward a series of compliance requirements for housing rental enterprises, such as establishing a housing rental fund supervision account, establishing housing rental archives, and improving internal management systems such as housing rental information verification. Zhang Bo believes that this will accelerate the survival of the fittest in the industry, and the housing rental market will enter a new stage of "institutionalized operation, quality upgrading, and financial assistance". According to data from 58 Anjuke, the rental to housing price ratio in key cities will rise to 2.17% in the first half of 2025, and the investment return rate of high-quality rental assets in core cities will approach the 5-year fixed deposit interest rate. A large amount of long-term capital is constantly entering, "Zhang Bo said. In the next five years, enterprises that can integrate policy resources, optimize financing structures, and improve operational efficiency will become market leaders. The development of housing rental enterprises cannot be separated from policy support. ”Cao Jingjing stated that in the future, policies are expected to continue to increase support for housing rental policies from the perspectives of finance, market cultivation, and non residential to rental conversion. In addition, policies on both the supply and demand sides will be continuously optimized in conjunction with housing provident fund and talent population. (New Society)