The Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development have jointly issued a document encouraging the use of collectively owned land to build rental housing in major cities, in order to increase the supply of rental housing and ease the housing shortage in urban areas.

According to the document, land and housing authorities will encourage and support major cities nationwide to start housing projects for tenants using collectively owned land. In the first stage, 13 large cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhengzhou, have been chosen to launch pilot rental housing projects.

The document says all the projects should be launched voluntarily, and not even one room in a rental housing project can be sold. Since the beginning of this year, the central and local governments have issued a series of policies supporting the development of residential leasing, a move that is expected to increase the supply of land for rental housing construction.

The use of collectively owned land for housing construction is expected to be an important part of the housing system, which includes commercial and rental housing, and a long-term mechanism to facilitate the steady and healthy development of the real estate market.