Housing Fund Policy "Revamp": From "Small Wallet" to "Big Wallet," Comprehensive Upgrade in Housing Support

China National Radio Beijing, April 6 (reporter: Tingting Men) Since the beginning of 2026, nationwide housing provident fund policies have been adjusted in a concentrated manner, showing distinct features of “increasing quotas, expanding application scenarios, and more flexible mechanisms.” According to an incomplete count by the China Index Academy, more than 50 policy measures optimizing housing provident fund loan rules have been introduced by various localities this year. Cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Suzhou have all stepped up efforts, as the housing provident fund is shifting from the traditional “small housing purchase wallet” to a “big wallet” covering the full life cycle of housing.

Loan quotas are raised significantly, giving improved demand a “boost”

The most direct change in this round of housing provident fund adjustments is the widespread increase in loan quotas. In February 2026, Shanghai raised the maximum loan quota to 2.4 million yuan, and after applying the upward adjustment, it can reach 3.24 million yuan. In Hangzhou, in the new policy issued on March 30, the maximum housing provident fund loan quota was raised from 1.3 million yuan to 1.8 million yuan, and the calculation multiple for the employee’s personal loanable amount was adjusted from 15 times to 20 times.

More worth attention is that many localities have established flexible mechanisms for upward adjustments and stacking. Hangzhou provides different proportions of upward adjustment for groups such as new urban residents, young people, families with multiple children, and talent, as well as for homebuyers purchasing green buildings or those engaged in “trade-in for renewal” (replacing the old with the new). The maximum additional stacking can be as high as 70%.

GAO Yuan-sheng, Executive Deputy General Manager of the East China Region at the China Index Academy, said: “Hangzhou’s new provident fund policy this time is a combination of measures to ‘stabilize the property market, promote consumption, and optimize the population.’ By raising quotas, optimizing rules, and expanding eligible uses, it builds a comprehensive support framework covering both rigid demand and improved demand.”

At the same time, some cities have also broken through the traditional limit that “housing provident funds can only be used for loans twice.” Hangzhou stipulates that if the housing purchased with the original housing provident fund loan has been sold, the number of loan times can be correspondingly reduced. Li Yujia, Chief Researcher at the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Urban Planning and Design Institute, said in an interview with a reporter from China National Radio: “This provision breaks the restriction that housing provident funds can only be used for loans twice. The purpose is to meet residents’ needs to sell the old and buy the new as they move to better housing.” Such policies precisely activate the improved-housing chain, lowering the threshold and costs of upgrading homes.

Application scenarios expand across the board, with property management fees, parking spaces, and more included

Under policy support, the functional boundaries of housing provident funds are being redefined. In the past, housing provident funds were mainly used for purchasing homes and repaying loans. Now, property management fees, deed taxes, installing elevators for the elderly and disabled, aging-friendly renovations, and even the purchase of parking spaces have all been included in the scope of withdrawals.

According to statistics from the Shanghai E-House China Research Institute, as of March 2026, more than 20 cities including Jiangsu, Hebei, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Inner Mongolia have issued policies allowing the use of housing provident fund withdrawals to pay property management fees. In places such as Hangzhou and Xuzhou and Bengbu, annual withdrawal caps are set; in Suzhou and Kunshan, withdrawals are made based on the actual paid amount.

Yan Yujiang, Vice President of the Shanghai E-House China Research Institute, said that as a fixed annual expense, property management fees being included in the scope of provident fund withdrawals directly reduces residents’ housing ownership costs and delivers a strong sense of people’s wellbeing.

Even more emblematic is that in March 2026, the Guangzhou Housing Provident Fund Management Center handled the first cross-border RMB settlement business for Hong Kong residents’ housing provident fund, with funds directly transferred to their bank accounts in Hong Kong for repaying overseas mortgage loans.

Yan Yujiang said: “This move marks that the use of the housing provident fund is extending for the first time from a single scenario of ‘purchasing homes within the country’ to ‘repaying loans overseas.’ It is a breakthrough from 0 to 1 in the cross-border payment field for government-affairs and people’s livelihood services.” This innovation addresses real pain points for Hong Kong and Macao residents in the Greater Bay Area who “work within the mainland and have family abroad,” demonstrating the reform direction of the housing provident fund system being flexible and inclusive.

Outlook: moving from “guaranteeing the basics” to “support across the full cycle”

Overall, the reform of the housing provident fund system in 2026 has entered a critical window period. On the one hand, the system for self-employed people to contribute to housing provident funds is accelerating its expansion to cover more people; in places such as Yunmeng in Hubei and Baotou in Inner Mongolia, “no-threshold” contributions have been realized. On the other hand, housing provident funds are deeply tied to national policy directions such as population strategy, urban renewal, and green buildings, creating additive effects from the coordination of multiple policies.

In Li Yujia’s view, the underlying logic behind the recent large increases in housing provident fund loan quotas in multiple places is “reducing home purchase costs, promoting move-up housing demand, and accelerating cross-location transfers.” He further pointed out that the biggest effect lies in the dual outcomes of lowering both thresholds and costs, which is especially significant for improved demand such as selling the old and buying the new, and buying a second home.

Looking ahead, the housing provident fund system will continue to evolve toward a “full life-cycle housing support system.” From home purchases, deed taxes, and repairs to ownership, renovations, and health-related needs, housing provident funds are gradually becoming a “comprehensive protection account” for residents’ households. Yan Yujiang summarized: “In plain terms, this is an innovation of the ‘one provident fund, multiple uses’ model, and also a transformation from a ‘small wallet’ to a ‘big wallet.’” It can be expected that as more cities follow with innovations, housing provident funds will play an even more active role in stabilizing the market, promoting consumption, and protecting people’s livelihood.