Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of Housing Provident Fund
(Adopted on September 23, 2005 at the 22nd Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress)
Article 1
For the purposes of strengthening the administration on the housing provident fund of this Municipality, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the owners of the housing provident fund, promoting the construction of houses in town/townships, and improving the living standards of the town/township residents, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the “Regulations on the Administration of Housing Provident Fund” of the State Council, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.
Article 2
The Shanghai Municipal Housing Provident Fund Administration Commission (hereinafter referred to as MHPFA) is the policy-making organ in the administration on the housing provident fund of this Municipality.
The Shanghai Provident Fund Management Center (hereinafter referred to as SPFMC) takes charge of the operation and management of the housing provident fund of this Municipality, supervises and examines the paying, drawing and using of the housing provident fund by the units and their employees in this Municipality, and exercises the function of administrative punishment in accordance with law.
The administration and usage of the housing provident fund of this Municipality shall, in accordance with law, be subject to the supervision of such administrative departments as construction, finance, the People’s Bank, etc., and the auditing supervision of the auditing departments in accordance with law.
The administrative departments of labor security, civil affairs, personnel, industry and commerce, housing, land and resources, statistics, etc. shall, in accordance with their respective duties, cooperate in the implementation of these Provisions.
Article 3
The housing provident fund shall be paid by the State organs, State-owned enterprises, town/township collective enterprises, foreign-investment enterprises, town/township private enterprises and other town/township enterprises, institutions, non-enterprise units run by the private sector, mass organizations (hereinafter jointly referred to as units) and their employees.
Article 4
The rate for paying the housing provident fund may be set on a floating basis but not below the minimum rate set by the State. The rate for paying housing provident fund for each year and the maximum limit of monthly payment shall be worked out by the MHPFA, and be made public and implemented after submitted to and approved by the Municipal People’s Government.
Article 5
The SPFMC shall have comprehensive and precise mastery of relevant information concerning the units and their employees, and urge the units to go through, in time and in accordance with law, the formalities of registration for housing provident fund payment, and supervise the setup, transfer, and cancellation of the housing provident fund accounts.
The relevant administrative departments of industry and commerce, labor security, statistics, etc. shall provide the SPFMC with relevant information concerning the units and their employees.
Article 6
In case an employee is employed by a new unit after termination of his labor contract with his former employer unit, the original unit shall, within 30 days starting from the date of termination of the labor contract, transfer the housing provident fund account of the said employee to his new unit.
In case the employee is not employed by a new unit after termination of his labor contract with his former employer unit, the former unit shall, within 30 days starting from the date of termination of the labor contract, transfer the housing provident fund account of the said employee to the SPFMC for safekeeping as a blocked account. In case the said employee is employed by a new unit, the new unit shall, within 30 days starting from the date of employment, go through the formalities of unblocking and transfer of the housing provident fund account for the said employee.
In case the unit fails to go through the formalities of transfer, blocking, or unblocking of the housing provident fund account for its employee, the employee may apply to the SPFMC to urge and supervise the handling of the account by presenting valid documentary evidence. In case the unit fails to handle the matter within 10 days starting from the date of urging the unit, the SPFMC shall handle the case within 20 days.
Article 7
The employee may apply to the SPFMC for drawing the balance of deposit from his/her own housing provident fund account in one of the following circumstances:
1. Purchasing, building, rebuilding, or overhauling the house for his/her own dwelling;
2. Retiring or retiring with merit;
3. Having lost most or all of his/her working ability, and terminated his/her labor contract with their unit;
4. Emigrating abroad;
5. Paying back the principal or interest of the mortgage on the house;
6. The rent for the houses having surpassed the set ratio of the family income.
An employee that receives minimum living subsidies for city dwellers, or has been unemployed for two consecutive years with the household living in serious difficulty, or whose household lives in serious difficulty due to serious illness suffered by him/her or his/her spouse or direct relatives, may also apply to the SPFMC for drawing the balance of deposit from its own housing provident fund account to pay rent, special property maintenance fund, or, property service fees, etc.
When the employee has drawn the balance of deposit from its own housing provident fund account, his/her right of enjoying social security in accordance with law shall not be affected.
Article 8
The employee applying to draw the balance of deposit from its own housing provident fund account, shall submit to the SPFMC documents for drawing the money provided by the unit he/she works in and other relevant testimonial materials.
The SPFMC shall, within 3 days starting from the date of receiving the application for drawing from the housing provident fund, make a decision of approval or denial, and notify the applicant in writing. In case of approval, the bank that is entrusted to handle the business of the housing provident fund (hereinafter referred to as the entrusted bank) shall make the transaction; in case of denial, the SPFMC shall state the reasons for refusal.
Article 9
An employee that pays the housing provident fund may, at the time of buying, building, rebuilding, overhauling the house for his/her own dwelling, apply to the SPFMC for housing provident fund loan.
An employee that applies for the housing provident fund loan at the time of buying, building the house for his/her own dwelling, shall meet simultaneously the following conditions:
1. His/her payment of housing provident fund before the application for loan meets the required length of time;
2. Payment for the house from his/her own capital shall not be lower than the required ratio;
3. He/she has stable income and the ability to pay back the loan;
4. He/she has no other unpaid debt that may affect his/her ability of paying back the loan.
The length of time mentioned in Item 1, and the required ratio mentioned in Item 2 of the preceding clause shall be worked out by the SPFMC, and be made public and become effective after approval by the MHPFA.
The conditions for an employee to apply for the housing provident fund loan to rebuild or overhauls the house for his/her own dwelling shall be analogous in implementation to those set out in the second clause of this Article.
Article 10
An employee that applies for the housing provident fund loan shall submit to the SPFMC an application and other relevant testimonial materials.
The SPFMC shall, within 15 days starting from the date of receiving the application for housing provident fund loan, make a decision of approval or denial, and notify the applicant in writing. In case of approval, the entrusted bank shall handle the transaction of the loan; in case of denial, the SPFMC shall state the reasons for refusal.
Article 11
In case a unit is cancelled, dissolved, or declared bankrupt in accordance with law, the payment it owed for the housing provident fund shall be paid off in the liquidation in accordance with law.
In case a unit is to be separated or merged, or its ownership system is to be changed, the subject liable for paying what it owes the housing provident fund shall be clearly identified before it can go for the relevant formalities.
In calculating the amount of payment a unit owes the housing provident fund, the base of the employees’ salaries and wages shall be determined according to the relevant testimonial materials provided by the unit or its employees. In case both the unit and its employee fail to provide the testimonial materials, the average salaries and wages of the employees in this Municipality publicized by the statistics department for last year may be taken as the base of its employee’s salaries and wages
Article 12
In drawing up important policies, such as setting the rate of housing provident fund payment and the maximum quota of housing provident fund loans, the MHPFA shall solicit extensively the opinions of the units and their employees by holding informal discussions or hearings, etc, or through the mass media.
Article 13
The SPFMC and the entrusted bank shall issue certificates of housing provident fund payment to the units and their employees every August.
The SPFMC and the entrusted bank shall set up an information management system for the administration and operation of housing provident fund, so as to facilitate the units and employees to look up information on their housing provident fund accounts.
The SPFMC, the entrusted bank, the units and relevant working personnel have the obligation to keep secret the information concerning the employees’ housing provident fund account.
Article 14
The SPFMC shall, before the end of every March, make public the annual report, reviewed by the MHPFA, on the housing provident fund of the last fiscal year, including the collection and use of the housing provident fund, a financial report and other matters that need explaining.
Article 15
The entrusted bank and the guarantor institutions shall strictly perform the entrustment contract signed with the SPFMC, and provide, in accordance with operation norms, convenient services to the units and employees in conducting transactions related to the housing provident fund.
The guarantor institutions mentioned in the preceding clause refers to the institutions that are set up in accordance with law to provide special guarantee for individual housing provident fund loans obtained for purchase of houses.
Article 16
Any unit or individual may lodge a complaint about, or report to the SPMFC acts of violating the provisions on the administration of the housing provident fund. The SPMFC shall, within 30 days starting from the date of receiving the complaint or report, put forward its opinions on how to deal with the matter, and notify the complainer or reporter in writing.
Article 17
Any unit that fails to go through the registration formalities for payment to the housing provident fund in accordance with law, or fails to complete the formalities for setting up individual housing provident fund accounts for its own employees, or fails to make payments to the housing provident fund within the time limit in accordance with law, or fails to make full payments to the housing provident fund shall be dealt with by the SPMFC in accordance with the provisions of the “Regulations on the Administration of Housing Provident Fund” of the State Council.
Article 18
Anyone who illegally draws the deposit balance from his/her own housing provident fund account by fraud, shall be enjoined by the SPMFC to return the illegally drawn amount within a prescribed time limit, and may be penalized with a fine of not less than ten percent but not more than fifty percent of the amount illegally drawn.
Anyone that illegally draws the deposit balance from other person’s housing provident fund account by fraud shall be enjoined by the SPMFC to return the illegally drawn amount within a prescribed time limit, and may be penalized with a fine of not less than the amount illegally drawn and not more than five times the amount illegally drawn. Where the act constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal responsibilities.
Article 19
Anyone that illegally obtains a housing provident fund loan by fraud shall be enjoined by the SPMFC to return the illegally obtained loan within a prescribed time limit, and may be penalized with cancellation of his/her qualification for obtaining a housing provident fund loan within one to five years, or with a fine of not less than ten percent of the illegally obtained loan but not more than fifty percent of the illegally obtained loan. Where the act constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal responsibilities.
Article 20
The party concerned, if disagrees with the specific administrative act made by the SPMFC, may apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative lawsuit according to the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Administrative Reconsideration” or the “Administrative Litigation Law of the People’s Republic of China”.
Where the party concerned does not apply for administrative reconsideration, nor brings an administrative lawsuit, nor performs the specific administrative act within the prescribed time period, the SPMFC that has made the specific administrative act may apply to the people’s court for enforcement.
Article 21
Enterprises that perform the duty of paying the housing provident fund, institutions and mass organizations that depend on their own revenues for expenses, non-enterprise units run by the private sector, and their employees may pay additional housing provident fund.
The procedures of paying, drawing and using additional housing provident fund shall be set by the MHPFA, and submitted to the Municipal People’s Government for approval.
Article 22
The procedures for town/township self-employed businessmen and their employees, and free-lance professionals to pay, draw and use housing provident fund may take these Provisions as reference.
Article 23
These Provisions shall become effective on January 1, 2006. The “Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Housing Provident Fund” adopted on April 12, 1996 at the 27th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress shall be repealed simultaneously.
