Can you buy land in China if you are not a citizen?

A foreigner can only own one property in China, and that property must be residential. There are additional requirements by province and city. For example, in Beijing, you must pay taxes and social security for at least five years before you are permitted to buy a property.

What are nail houses in China?

Nail house. Nail house is a calque of a Chinese neologism “dīngzihù” (literally, “nail household or householder”) that refers to either a person who refuses to vacate their home to make way for development, or the home itself.

Why do nail houses exist?

Nail houses are holdouts that refuse to sell and make way for new real estate development in China. A nail house is a neologism used in China to refer to homes that belong to residents who are reluctant to move in order to create space for the development of real estate.

Is there property ownership in China?

“There is no private ownership of land in China. One can only obtain rights to use land. A land lease of up to 70 years is usually granted for residential purposes. Property ownership for investment by foreign companies and individuals are prohibited.

Why do the owners of the nail House refuse to move?

Some people refuse to leave their homes, however, often because they consider the compensation they’ve been offered to be too low. In China, these buildings that are left standing alone as development progresses around them are called “nail houses,” since they stick out like a nail that can’t be hammered down.

What does nail house mean?

A dingzihu – or ‘nail house’ – is a home where the owner refuses to accept compensation from a property developer for its demolition.

What is a Nailhouse?

Is there no private ownership in China?

Ownership rights are protected under Article 39 of The Property Law of the People’s Republic of China, which gives the owner the right to possess, utilize, dispose of and obtain profits from the real property.

Why are there so many nail houses in China?

Like a nail that refuses to be hammered down, the dwelling is one of many “nail houses” that have sprung up in China as some homeowners resist development of their land or hold out for more money. According to construction workers, the owner is still living inside the house even though the rest of the road is complete. Imaginechina via AP Images

Who is living in the partially demolished house in China?

Zheng Meiju outside her nail house in Rui’an, Zhejiang province, in July 2013. She has been living in the partially demolished home for nearly a year, even though the water and electricity supply were cut. Photograph: China Stringer Network/Reuters

What happened to the nail houses in Guangzhou?

Nail houses isolated by man-made ditches on a construction site in Yangji village in Guangzhou last year. The ditches were dug by relocated residents, forcing those remaining to move out. Perhaps the most famous nail house is this one left stranded in the middle of a road in Wenling, in Zhejiang province.

What happened to Pinghe’s nail house?

A nail house at a crossroads in Pinghe in China’s south-eastern Fujian province in November 2013. The local government has demolished most of the two-storey block, but one apartment owner has refused to move. Now only a tiny sliver of building remains.