Opinions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Improving Housing Quality

WeChat Sync · Xiaowei · 2026-01-07

The following article is sourced from the Guangdong Provincial Building Energy Efficiency and Green Low-Carbon Association

To the housing and urban-rural development departments of all provinces and autonomous regions, the housing and urban-rural development (management) commissions of municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

Housing is an important carrier of the people's better life. To meet the people's need for high-quality living and to accelerate the improvement of housing quality, the following opinions are put forward.

I. Overall Requirements

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the plenary sessions of its 20th Central Committee, fully carry out the requirements of the Central Urban Work Conference, and uphold a people-centered development philosophy. Firmly seizing the fundamental point of stable housing and taking the goal of enabling the people to live in better houses, we will implement the Housing Quality Improvement Program, give consideration to both new construction and the renewal of existing housing, improve standards and codes, strengthen technological empowerment, enhance construction quality management, and increase the supply of safe, comfortable, green, and smart “good houses,” so as to provide solid support for building a new model of real estate development.

The main goal is that, by 2030, the Housing Quality Improvement Program will have made significant progress; the standards, design, materials, construction, and O&M of housing will be greatly improved; affordable housing will take the lead in being built as “good houses”; commercial housing will better meet both essential and improvement-oriented demand; the renovation of old houses into “good houses” will have made notable progress; and a policy system, standards system, technology system, and industrial system that effectively support the improvement of housing quality will be established.

II. Key Tasks

(1) Improve housing construction standards.Strictly implement mandatory engineering construction standards such as the Residential Project Code, and effectively raise the baseline requirements for housing construction. Strengthen the evaluation of the implementation of current relevant standards, promptly formulate and revise relevant standards such as residential design standards, and comprehensively raise the standard requirements for housing design, materials, construction, and equipment, as well as for accessibility, aging-friendliness, and intelligent features. Prepare technical documents such as local standards or guidelines in light of local conditions, specify the concrete requirements for improving housing quality in the region, and propose economically feasible technical implementation paths. Guide industry associations and enterprises to actively explore and take the lead in trials according to market demand, formulate group standards and enterprise standards, and meet housing consumption demand in a more targeted manner.

(2) Improve the level of architectural design.Rationally plan the spatial layout of residential communities and reserve adequate space for the future construction of public service facilities. Guide designers to carry out refined and integrated housing design from the perspectives of living function, safety, performance, quality, and experience; optimize unit layout design; improve functional zoning; rationally plan circulation; improve daylighting and ventilation conditions; and enhance indoor space utilization and living comfort. Encourage project owners and design entities to consider the needs of different groups and to research, develop, and design housing products that are fully functional, rationally laid out, convenient to use, and comfortable to live in, so as to meet diversified living needs. Promote technologies such as the separation of the main structure from M&E pipeline systems, variable partitions, and same-floor drainage to improve housing durability and flexible adaptability. Adopt AI-based design methods and strengthen integrated multi-disciplinary collaborative design.

(3) Promote the application of quality materials.Promote the coordinated development of the production and application of high-quality building materials, and strengthen the alignment of standards and codes in the construction and building materials fields. Accelerate the research, development, and application of new building materials with excellent quality, energy efficiency, environmental protection, and good functionality, and vigorously promote materials and products that provide sound insulation and noise reduction, waterproofing and odor prevention, antibacterial and mold-resistant properties, and thermal insulation. Continue to advance the certification and application of green building material products, support government-invested affordable housing projects in procuring green building materials, and encourage commercial housing projects to increase the proportion of green building materials used. Strictly implement the systems for witnessed sampling and on-site re-inspection of building materials, and strengthen quality supervision of key building materials such as rebar, ready-mixed concrete, thermal insulation materials, waterproofing materials, and wires and cables. Strengthen the management of the fire-resistant and anti-corrosion performance of building materials and facilities and equipment delivered to site.

(4) Develop new construction methods.Accelerate the deep integration of the construction industry with advanced manufacturing technologies and new-generation information technologies, and promote smart construction, green construction, and prefabricated interior fit-out on a larger scale. Expand engineering application scenarios for digital technologies, advance the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology throughout the whole process of housing design, construction, and O&M, and promote the application of smart construction equipment. Accelerate the reduction and resource utilization of construction waste. Ensure that all newly built urban housing is constructed as green buildings, and increase the proportion of high-star green buildings. Promote energy saving and carbon reduction in building operation, and strengthen building energy efficiency quota management. Establish a building energy efficiency rating system and prepare statistical and accounting standards for carbon emissions. Advance the electrification of building energy use, launch building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) pilots, strengthen the utilization of renewable energy, and accelerate the transformation of the building energy consumption structure.

(5) Improve the level of O&M services.Establish a long-term mechanism for full-lifecycle safety management of housing, build mechanisms for the dynamic updating of residential building information and the elimination of safety hazards, and comprehensively improve the level of housing safety assurance. Implement actions to improve the quality of property management services, and encourage property service enterprises to provide high-quality services in accordance with contract agreements. Expand the scope of property services, extend property services into households, and guide qualified property service enterprises to provide life services such as elderly care, childcare, meal assistance, and housekeeping. Promote the establishment of comprehensive smart community information service platforms, integrate surrounding service resources, and improve the level of convenience services and O&M services.

(6) Promote the renewal and renovation of existing housing.Steadily advance the renovation of urban villages and dilapidated and dangerous houses, continuously carry out the renovation of old and dilapidated urban residential communities, and coordinate the energy-efficiency renovation of existing housing. Accelerate the construction of complete communities, improve embedded service facilities in urban communities, and create high-quality living spaces. Steadily advance the renewal and renovation of gas, water supply, heating, drainage, and fire protection pipelines; carry out the renewal and renovation of pressurization and storage facilities for residential water supply; promote professional O&M; and add in-house gas safety and heating metering devices. Encourage the adoption of approaches such as trade-in, demolition and reconstruction on the original site, and modular construction, and support residents in independently renewing old and dilapidated housing. Actively develop prefabricated interior fit-out, and promote integrated kitchens and bathrooms, raised floors, and prefabricated partition walls, so as to shorten fit-out time and facilitate renewal and maintenance.

(7) Strengthen technological empowerment.Oriented toward the medium- and long-term needs for improving housing quality in the future, strengthen basic research and tackle key core technologies, arrange major science and technology projects, carry out demonstrations of integrated technology application, and achieve breakthroughs in a batch of complete technologies and products and equipment for improving housing quality. Strengthen the principal position of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation, encourage enterprises to build science and technology innovation platforms in the housing field, and advance deep industry-university-research integration led by enterprises. Build and improve a database of scientific and technological achievements, publish catalogs for the promotion of advanced and applicable technologies, and increase the promotion and application of new technologies, new materials, and new products that benefit the people and are practical. Advance the development of digital homes, promote the development and interconnection of smart home products, and use new-generation information technologies to improve the intelligent level of housing.

(8) Improve industrial support.Encourage real estate development enterprises, construction engineering enterprises, and others to transform into integrators of “good house” construction, connect the industrial chain across research and development, design, production, construction, fit-out, O&M, and services, and foster new quality productive forces in the industry. Select regions with a certain working foundation to build industrial clusters covering multiple fields such as building materials, home furnishings, and home appliances, and innovate product systems and service models. Launch pilots to cultivate new growth points for green buildings, accelerate the upgrading of green building standards, and drive the healthy development of upstream and downstream industrial chains. Improve the standardization and serialization of building parts and components, and gradually establish a specialized, large-scale, and information-based production system based on standard components.

III. Strengthen Organization and Implementation

Housing and urban-rural development departments at all levels shall implement these opinions in conjunction with the requirements of relevant documents on accelerating the building of a new model of real estate development, promoting high-quality urban development, and continuously advancing urban renewal. They shall establish and improve working mechanisms, implement the Housing Quality Improvement Program in light of local conditions, make good use of supporting policies such as those for urban renewal and for building a new model of real estate development, and continuously intensify efforts to promote “good houses.” They shall guide enterprises to accelerate the implementation of housing projects that meet market demand. Full play shall be given to the role of industry associations, and training on standards and policies for improving housing quality as well as technical exchanges shall be strengthened. Publicity and guidance shall be enhanced to create a favorable social atmosphere of caring about and supporting the improvement of housing quality.

END

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