Guangzhou： Real estate agencies should reasonably reduce the cost of housing sales and leasing intermediary services.

　　Cctv newsOn December 5th, Guangzhou Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and Guangzhou Municipal Market Supervision Administration issued implementation opinions on regulating real estate brokerage services. Among them, it is proposed that real estate intermediaries should reasonably reduce the cost of housing sales and leasing intermediary services. Encourage the implementation of grading pricing according to the principle of higher transaction price and lower service rate. Guide the parties to the transaction to jointly bear the intermediary service fee. Real estate agencies shall not charge any unspecified fees, and shall not use false or misleading price means to implement price fraud. Real estate brokerage institutions with market dominance shall not abuse their market dominance to collect intermediary service fees at unfairly high prices. The real estate Internet platform shall not force the real estate brokerage agencies joining the platform to implement a unified brokerage service charging standard, and shall not interfere with the real estate intermediary agencies to decide the charging standard independently.

　　Opinions of Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Guangzhou Municipal Market Supervision Administration on Regulating Real Estate Brokerage Services

　　District Housing and Construction (Housing Management) Bureau, Market Supervision Bureau, Nansha District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, towns (streets), and municipal housing transaction supervision center:

　　In order to implement the relevant provisions of the Opinions of the General Administration of Market Supervision of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Regulating Real Estate Brokerage Services (J.F.G. [2023] No.2) and the Implementation Opinions of Guangdong Provincial Market Supervision Administration of Guangdong Provincial Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau on Regulating Real Estate Brokerage Services (Y.J.H. [2023] No.680), further standardize real estate brokerage services, strengthen the management of real estate brokerage industry and promote the healthy development of the real estate market, we hereby put forward the following.

　　First, strengthen the management of institutions and personnel, and strengthen the publicity of registration information.

　　(1) Strictly implement the filing system of real estate brokerage institutions. Real estate agencies and their branches that provide brokerage services such as sales of newly-built commercial houses and sale and lease of stock houses to clients shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Real Estate Brokers, put on record through the Guangzhou real estate intermediary business management system within 30 days from the date of obtaining the business license. If the filing information of real estate intermediaries and their branches is changed or cancelled, the relevant formalities shall be handled within 30 days from the date of change.

　　(2) Strengthening the management of brokers. Housing and construction (housing management) departments in all districts should fully implement the real-name registration of real estate brokers. When providing services, real estate intermediary practitioners should wear credit information cards of Guangzhou real estate intermediary service personnel registered with their real names, publicize their employment information, and accept social supervision. Real estate intermediary practitioners may not undertake real estate brokerage business and collect fees in their own names. Real estate agencies should establish and improve the staff training system, and carry out business training in real estate laws and regulations, brokerage business knowledge, professional ethics, etc. All district housing and construction (housing management) departments, market supervision and management departments, Nansha Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau and towns (streets) should give full play to their territorial management functions, do a good job in the management of real estate agency employees, vigorously promote the local standards of Guangzhou real estate agency service norms (DB4401/T 164-2022), and constantly implement them.

　　(3) Strengthen the publicity of registration information. City housing transaction supervision center should update the filing information of real estate agencies in a timely manner and timely release it through official website of the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and official website of the Real Estate Agency Association. Housing construction (housing management) departments in all districts and towns (streets) should issue housing transaction risk warnings to remind consumers to guard against transaction risks and carefully choose real estate intermediaries. Real estate intermediaries and their branches shall publicize their business licenses and filing documents in a prominent position in their business premises, as well as the contents that should be publicized in the Measures for the Administration of Real Estate Brokers and the Regulations of Guangzhou Municipality on the Administration of Real Estate Intermediary Services. District housing construction (housing management) departments, Nansha comprehensive administrative law enforcement bureau and towns (streets) should strengthen the supervision and inspection of the publicity contents of real estate intermediaries and branches’ business premises.

　　Two, the public price information, maintain the market price order.

　　(a) clear service content. Where a real estate intermediary agency accepts an agency or provides intermediary services, it shall verify the authenticity of the real estate rights and the authority of the client to dispose of the property. Intermediary services provided by real estate agencies consist of basic services and extended services. Basic services are a package of necessary services provided by real estate agencies to promote housing transactions, including providing information on housing sources, showing customers around the house, signing housing transaction contracts, and assisting in real estate registration. Extended services are additional services such as loans entrusted by the parties to the transaction by real estate intermediaries, and each service can be provided separately. Housing and construction (housing management) departments at all levels and towns (streets) should strengthen supervision and inspection of the publicity of service contents.

　　(two) strictly implement the price system. Real estate intermediaries shall publicize service items, service contents and charging standards through offline or online channels such as operating stores, websites and clients, and shall not mix pricing and bundling fees. The basic services and extended services provided by real estate intermediaries shall be clearly defined respectively in terms of service items and charging standards. If a service can be decomposed into multiple items and standards, each item and standard shall be clearly marked, and the price shall not be mixed or bundled. Before charging, the real estate brokerage institution shall issue a charging list to the parties to the transaction, setting out the charging standard and the charging amount, which shall be signed by the parties for confirmation. The market supervision departments of all districts shall investigate and deal with price violations that are not clearly marked according to law.

　　(3) Reasonable determination of brokerage service charges. Real estate agencies should reasonably reduce the cost of housing sales and leasing intermediary services. Encourage the implementation of grading pricing according to the principle of higher transaction price and lower service rate. Guide the parties to the transaction to jointly bear the intermediary service fee. Real estate agencies shall not charge any unspecified fees, and shall not use false or misleading price means to implement price fraud. Real estate brokerage institutions with market dominance shall not abuse their market dominance to collect intermediary service fees at unfairly high prices. The real estate Internet platform shall not force the real estate brokerage agencies joining the platform to implement a unified brokerage service charging standard, and shall not interfere with the real estate intermediary agencies to decide the charging standard independently. Housing and construction (housing management) departments and market supervision and management departments shall, according to their functions, carry out supervision and inspection on real estate brokerage institutions with dominant market position.

　　Third, standardize service behavior and improve service quality

　　(a) standardize the release of housing information. Real estate intermediaries and their employees shall obtain the written consent of the parties concerned when publishing the information on house rental and sale. If the entrustment is terminated due to the transaction, revocation of the entrustment by the parties or expiration of the entrustment period after the release of the information on house rental and sale, the published information shall be deleted immediately. The real estate agency that publishes the listing information on the real estate Internet platform should be a company that handles the agency filing in the real estate administrative department, and the published listing information should be accompanied by the listing code verified by the listing verification system of the real estate administrative department. If false listing information is published on the network information publishing platforms such as commercial websites and mobile device applications, the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, the housing construction (housing management) departments of all districts and the Nansha Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau will contact the network information department for legal disposal.

　　(2) Standardize the signing of contracts. District housing and construction (housing management) departments, Nansha Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau and towns (streets) should supervise and inspect the use of intermediary service contracts, stock house transaction subscription agreements and demonstration texts of housing lease contracts jointly formulated and released by the Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and the Municipal Market Supervision Administration. Real estate intermediaries shall publicize the model contract text in a conspicuous position in the business premises for the convenience of the parties to the transaction. Implement the system of online signing and unified numbering management of real estate intermediary service contracts. Real estate intermediaries to facilitate housing transactions, should be through the housing online signing filing system for housing sales, lease contracts online signing for the record.

　　(3) Custody of trading funds. If a real estate agency facilitates the stock house transaction, it shall inform both parties in writing that they can choose a special account for stock house transaction custody to transfer the transaction funds. Unless explicitly requested by the parties to the transaction, the purchase price shall be included in the fund supervision account. Real estate intermediaries and their employees shall not collect and manage the transaction funds of stock houses.

　　(4) Protecting personal information. Real estate intermediaries and employees shall follow the principles of legality, justness, necessity and good faith in collecting and processing personal information, and shall not illegally collect, use, process or transmit other people’s personal information, or illegally buy, sell, provide or disclose other people’s personal information. Real estate intermediaries should establish and improve the internal management system for the protection of customers’ personal information, collect, use and process customers’ personal information in strict accordance with the law, and take effective measures to prevent the disclosure or illegal use of customers’ personal information. Without the consent of the parties concerned, real estate intermediaries and employees may not collect personal information and housing status information, and may not send commercial short messages or make commercial telephone calls.

　　Four, seriously investigate and deal with illegal acts, establish and improve the working mechanism.

　　(1) Intensify the investigation and punishment of violations of laws and regulations. Real estate intermediaries and employees shall not provide agency, intermediary and other brokerage services for real estate prohibited by laws, regulations and rules. District housing and construction (housing management) departments, market supervision departments and towns (streets) should intensify the rectification of the real estate market order, give full play to the role of the 12345 government service convenience hotline, establish and improve the working mechanism of accepting reports and complaints by telephone and unit websites, and investigate and deal with illegal acts such as "black intermediary" and infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of personal information in conjunction with relevant departments according to law, and expose typical cases. For real estate intermediaries that have illegal business practices, they should be punished according to law by restricting the qualification of online signing, canceling filing, public exposure, recording in credit files, etc., and inform the tax, financial and other departments about the situation, and actively play the role of multi-sectoral joint punishment. For the illegal information related to real estate intermediaries, all law enforcement entities should timely fill in the provincial law enforcement platform and other systems as required, and publicize them through platforms such as Credit Guangzhou.

　　(2) Strengthen self-discipline management in the industry. Real estate intermediary associations should improve the rules and regulations, improve the service standards and practice rules of real estate intermediaries, and guide real estate intermediaries and employees to operate in compliance with the law. If the fees charged by real estate intermediaries and employees are not standardized and infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of customers’ personal information, the real estate intermediary association will give self-discipline and credit deduction according to the rules and regulations. It is necessary to strengthen business training, strengthen the business skills of employees in intermediary institutions, and improve the service quality of intermediary institutions.

　　(3) Establish and improve the working mechanism. District housing and construction (housing management) departments, market supervision and management departments, Nansha District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau and towns (streets) should insist on paying equal attention to rectification norms and system construction, strengthening management and improving services, and paying equal attention to complaint acceptance and active supervision, sort out the problems found in rectification, draw inferences from others, systematically rectify them, formulate and improve the real estate intermediary service system in a targeted manner, and promote the healthy development of the real estate market.

　　Guangzhou Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau Guangzhou Market Supervision Management Bureau

　　October 30, 2023