Chinese Property Law

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Real Rights Law and the Civil Code

Chinese property law is codified in the Real Rights Law (Wuquan Fa), adopted on 16 March 2007 after a thirteen-year drafting process involving seven separate readings by the National People’s Congress — an unusually protracted legislative history that reflected intense ideological debates about the protection of private property in a socialist market economy. The Real Rights Law, comprising 247 articles in 19 chapters, entered into force on 1 October 2007 and remained the principal source of property law until the adoption of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China on 28 May 2020, effective 1 January 2021. Book II of the Civil Code (Articles 205-462) incorporates the substance of the 2007 Real Rights Law with modest amendments, preserving its core structure while integrating the property law rules within the broader codification of civil law. The Civil Code’s Book II is divided into five parts: general provisions, ownership, usufructuary rights, security rights, and possession. The legislative history of the Real Rights Law reflects fundamental debates about the balance between state and collective ownership on one hand and the protection of private property rights on the other, with the final compromise establishing the principle of equal protection of the property rights of the state, collectives, individuals, and other property right holders (Article 4 of the Real Rights Law; Article 207 of the Civil Code).

Chinese Property Law — Real Rights and Land Use Rights

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Chinese property law underwent a landmark transformation with the adoption of the Property Law (Wuquan Fa) in 2007, which for the first time codified a comprehensive system of real rights in the People’s Republic of China. The Property Law was incorporated, with amendments, as Book II of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (Minfa Dian), which came into force on 1 January 2021. Book II (Wuquan Bian — Real Rights) covers Articles 205–462 and is structured around the distinction between ownership (suoyouquan), usufructuary rights (yongyi wuquan), and security rights (danbao wuquan).

Property Law on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia

Chinese Property Law

The Real Rights Law and the Civil Code

Chinese Property Law — Real Rights and Land Use Rights