Multiple Regions Expand Uses of Housing Provident Funds to Boost Housing Consumption

As housing demand shifts from “whether to have” to “how good it is,” the mechanism for withdrawing and using housing provident funds is continuously improving. In recent years, to meet residents’ diverse housing needs, many regions have optimized housing provident fund policies, expanded the scope of its use, and provided financial support in areas such as old housing renovation, property fee payments, and home decoration.

The “Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China” states, “Deepen the reform of the housing provident fund system, expand its scope of use, and support flexible employment personnel to participate in the housing provident fund system.” In the future, housing provident funds are expected to provide security for more groups on a larger scale.

Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Research Institute, believes that from current policy trends, the core function of the housing provident fund is gradually expanding from supporting mortgage loans to covering rental, renovation, property fees, elevator installation, and even family mutual aid, forming a comprehensive support tool for the entire housing consumption cycle. This shift accurately responds to the current housing buyers’ concerns about holding costs and quality of life.

Supporting Diverse Housing Consumption Needs

As an important part of China’s housing security system, the housing provident fund provides financial support for residents to meet their housing needs.

In recent years, against the backdrop of significant changes in the real estate market’s supply and demand, how to better leverage the housing provident fund and improve the efficiency of fund use has become a key policy focus.

Currently, the housing provident fund fund pool holds a large amount of surplus funds. The “National Housing Provident Fund 2024 Annual Report” (hereinafter referred to as “the Report”) released by three departments including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development shows that by the end of 2024, the total accumulated deposits in the housing provident fund reached 32,794.135 billion yuan, with a balance of 10,925.279 billion yuan.

Yan Yuejin believes that the core logic of current nationwide policy adjustments is to activate existing stock and precisely reduce burdens, meaning that the accumulated funds in individual accounts are flexibly guided into various housing-related consumption scenarios.

According to estimates by Dongwu Securities, through expanding rental withdrawal, broadening usage scope, and further lowering loan interest rates, reforms to the housing provident fund system could release about 5,151 billion yuan, which, with a 70% consumption inclination, could theoretically stimulate 3,606 billion yuan in consumption.

Practically, in recent years, various regions across the country have explored expanding the use cases for the housing provident fund. For example, the “Report” shows that in terms of rental housing, in 2024, 22.57 million people withdrew 27.2057 billion yuan from the fund for rental housing; in old community renovation, 65,300 people withdrew 2.043 billion yuan for such projects.

Beyond these two uses, some regions have extended the scope of support to paying property fees, maintenance funds, renovation costs, and even self-funded elevator installations.

For instance, the “Guilin Housing Provident Fund Management Committee’s Notice on Optimizing Housing Provident Fund Policies” issued on March 9 states, “Support depositors from January 1, 2026, to withdraw housing provident funds for the payment of residential special maintenance funds when purchasing new housing,” and “For elevator upgrades in existing residential buildings, within two years of completing the upgrade, residents can withdraw housing provident funds in a lump sum based on actual self-funded costs (excluding government subsidies and expenses already covered by the residential special maintenance funds).”

The Jilin City Housing Provident Fund Management Committee issued a notice on March 1 titled “Optimizing and Adjusting Housing Provident Fund Usage Policies,” which explicitly expanded the scope to include withdrawing funds for paying residential special maintenance funds, paying property purchase taxes, and self-updating old housing or reconstructing demolished buildings.

Zhang Bo, Director of the 58 Anjuke Research Institute, told Securities Daily that extending the use of housing provident funds to old housing renovation, decoration, and property fee payments aligns with residents’ demand for improved living quality, supporting the entire housing lifecycle and genuinely enhancing living happiness.

Stabilizing the Market, Expanding Domestic Demand, and Strengthening Security

In efforts to stabilize the real estate market, local governments are also focusing on utilizing the housing provident fund as a key policy tool.

In February, the Fujian Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the “Several Opinions on Further Promoting Stable Development of the Real Estate Market,” which includes “optimizing housing provident fund withdrawal policies” as a measure to stabilize the market, control new supply, reduce inventory, and improve supply, among others. Specific measures include supporting renovation withdrawals, supporting the purchase of parking spaces, and supporting urban renewal withdrawals.

“Support for the scope of housing provident fund use should extend from simple property transactions to include house replacement, old community renovation, decoration, furniture and appliance purchases, and other full lifecycle housing consumption, as well as covering costs like property fees,” Yan Yuejin said. “This is especially meaningful in cities dominated by existing housing stock.”

Zhang Bo believes that broadening the use scenarios and expanding the coverage of the housing provident fund can activate demand for upgrading existing housing and reduce burdens for first-time buyers. This aligns with the new real estate cycle trend of combining rental and purchase, revitalizing stock housing, and injecting lasting momentum into market stability and healthy development.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, policies to expand the scope of housing provident fund use and support flexible employment participation are expected to intensify.

According to annual work plans released by various housing provident fund management centers, expanding the use of the fund and broadening flexible contribution groups have been designated as key tasks for 2026.

For example, Qingdao’s housing provident fund management center’s 2026 work plan mentions “studying to relax usage thresholds, exploring withdrawals for old housing demolition and reconstruction or paying rent during the demolition period, and expanding the coverage of withdrawal applicants to provide more support for improving living environments,” and “expanding publicity and promotion methods, mobilizing financial institutions, industry platforms, grassroots organizations, and others to improve policy guidance and implementation, fully mobilize new employment groups to contribute and use the fund, and release housing security benefits.”

Additionally, some cities have recently revised their housing provident fund management regulations to expand coverage. For example, on March 16, Shenzhen issued the “Shenzhen Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations,” which institutionalize the pilot results of flexible employment participation, clarifying that units outside of mandatory contribution entities, individual entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other flexible employment personnel can contribute, withdraw, and use housing provident funds.

“Supporting flexible employment personnel to participate in the housing provident fund system breaks traditional employment restrictions, providing housing support for new residents and young people, helping solve temporary housing difficulties, and strengthening the fund’s role in social security,” Zhang Bo suggested. “During the 14th Five-Year Plan, the fund should include flexible employment groups and new residents, gradually integrating professions like couriers, food delivery, transportation, and others, implementing more flexible contribution models. For example, allowing these groups to choose contribution bases and frequencies, and targeted subsidy policies. Also, establishing mechanisms for recent graduates to fully participate in the housing provident fund after graduation.”

Yan Yuejin states that in the future, the scope of housing provident fund applications should be moderately expanded to better serve residents’ quality of life. Additionally, considering population mobility and industrial development trends, the coverage of the housing provident fund system should be further enlarged to include more new residents and flexible employment groups, truly playing a foundational role in expanding domestic demand and promoting consumption.