A construction site of a residential complex in Chaoyang district, Beijing on August 1, 2025 Photo: VCG

Beijing's housing authority announced on Friday that the social insurance or individual income tax payment requirement for non-Beijing-registered families to purchase commercial residential properties within the city's fifth ring road will be reduced from "two years" to "one year," effective Saturday.

The new rule, jointly announced by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources, and the Beijing Housing Provident Fund Management Center, aims to further optimize and adjust the city's real estate policies.

Following this adjustment, the social insurance or income tax payment requirement for non-resident families purchasing commercial residential properties throughout the entire city is uniformly set at one year, while the number of units they may purchase remains unchanged.

Specifically, non-resident families that have paid social insurance or individual income tax for at least one year are eligible to purchase one commercial residential unit within the fifth ring road, and families with multiple children may purchase one additional unit. Outside the fifth ring road, there is no limit on the number of units they may purchase.