Notice of the General Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Transmitting the Opinions on Enhancing the Normalization Construction of Owner Conventions and Owner Committees of Residential Areas in This Municipality Made by the Municipal Housing Guarantee and Houses Administration

(November 16, 2009)

SMPG GO G [2009] No. 51

Attention: all District and County People’s Governments, and all relevant Commissions, Offices and Bureaus (Administrations) of the Municipal People’s Government:

The Opinions on Enhancing the Normalization Construction of Owner Conventions and Owner Committees of Residential Areas in This Municipality made by the municipal housing guarantee and houses administration have been approved by the Municipal People’s Government. We hereby transmit them to you, and request you to implement them conscientiously.

Opinions on Enhancing the Normalization Construction of Owner Conventions and Owner Committees of Residential Areas in This Municipality

With a view to normalizing the activities of the owner conventions and owner committees of residential areas in this Municipality, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the owners, we hereby put forward the following opinions on enhancing the normalization construction of owner conventions and owner committees of residential areas in this Municipality in accordance with relevant provisions of the Real Right Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations on Property Management, and the Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Property Management of Dwelling Houses:

I. To understand the system of owner convention in a correct way, practically safeguard the owners’ legitimate rights and interests, and promote harmony of the society

1. The owner is the liability subject of property management

The proprietor of the house is the owner, the liability subject of property management within the property management area where the house is located.

The owner shall exercise rights and perform obligations in accordance with the law in property management activities.

2. The owner convention and owner committee shall safeguard the owners’ legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law

The owner convention is composed of all the owners within the property management area. The owner convention system ensures the self-management by owners with multi-forms of property right subjects. The owner convention, being the property management authority of residential area, has the power to make decision in formulating and amending the owner convention’s procedure rules, management protocol, electing owner committee, selecting and recruiting property service company, using the housing maintenance fund, and other related common and joint affairs of residential area.

The owner committee, being the executive organ of the owner convention, takes charge in organization and implementation of daily operation of the owner convention, in making relevant schemes, holding meetings, and fulfilling the resolution passed at the meeting.

The owner convention and owner committee shall perform their duties in accordance with the law, and shall not make decisions irrelevant to property management, nor engage in activities irrelevant to property management.

3. The owner convention and owner committee shall undertake the obligation to promote community harmony in a practical way.

The owner convention and owner committee shall cooperate with the public security organ, and coordinate with the neighborhood committee to jointly ensure social security in property management area, and do well in relevant affairs.

Within the property management area, the owner convention and owner committee shall actively cooperate with relevant neighborhood committee to perform the duty of self-management in accordance with the law, support the neighborhood committee, and accept its guidance and supervision.

II. To improve the procedure of establishment and election-for-new-leadership of the owner committee, and reinforce the operational base for the owner committee

1. To clarify the requirements for the owner committee members

The members of the owner committee shall know the laws and abide by them, be possessed of dedication to public welfare, high sense of responsibility, fair and honest, and have social credibility and certain organizing abilities.

The owner with illegal built up structures, unauthorized altering the nature of property using, refusing to pay property service charges and maintenance funds, or leasing the houses illegally shall not be elected the member of owner committee.

The owner representative, the member of preparatory team for owner committee, and the member of re-election group shall also meet the above-mentioned requirements.

2. To improve service of the owner convention voting tickets

Participation in the owner convention is the main approach of the owners of a residential area to exercise rights and perform duties.

Where the meeting of the owner convention uses the written form for comments, the electing ticket and voting ticket shall be picked up in person or served to the owner and signed by the owner.

Where the ticket is served to the contacting address provided by the owner or served by dropping in the mailbox or house of the mentioned owner in the location of the property, a notice from two or more owners of the same property management area or working staff of the neighborhood committee shall be presented, and such service shall be made public in the property management area.

3. To perfect the file-for-record formalities of the owner committee

The legally elected owner committee or the re-elected owner committee shall go through the establishment formalities or reelection record formalities with the sub-district offices (town/township people’s government) and the district/county administrative department of housing.

Where the changes take place in terms of the name, scope of jurisdiction, members, or owner convention’s procedure rule or management protocol of the recorded owner committee, the owner committee shall go through record alteration formalities with the sub-district office (town/township people’s government) and the district/county administrative department of housing.

Where the houses are totally demolished or lost due to the separation or merger of property management areas or the existence of owner committee is impossible due to other reasons, the owner committee shall go through the record cancellation formalities with the sub-district office (town/township people’s government) and the district/county administrative department of housing.

Where the establishment or re-election of the owner committee violates laws, rules and relevant provisions, the sub-district (town/township people’s government) and the district/county administrative department of housing shall carry out the record cancellation procedures.

The specific procedures for the record and record cancellation of the owner committee shall be separately formulated by the municipal housing guarantee and houses administration.

III. To enhance the self-construction of the owner committee, and ensure the normalization of daily operation.

1. To normalize the daily operation of the owner committee  

The owner committee shall determine the items for discussion, and notify all owners of the residential area before the convention; the owner committee shall determine the agenda of owner convention, and have such agenda written for record; the decision of the meeting shall be made public in residential area in a timely manner.

 Once authorized by the owner convention, the owner committee shall hold the meeting of owner committee to discuss the agenda, and the director, deputy director, and other members of the owner committee have the equal voting right.

In property management activities, the owner committee shall get to know the views and suggestions of the owners and users in a timely manner, supervise and assist the property management service company in performing the property management service contract, and urge the owners to abide by the management protocol and perform the owner’s obligations.

The owner committee shall solicit opinions of the neighborhood committee before the decision is made by the owner convention; after the decision is made, it shall be notified to the neighborhood committee.

The owner committee and its members shall not, in the name of the owner convention or owner committee, arbitrarily decide the property management matters without the authorization of the owner convention.

2. To normalize the use of maintenance fund

Where the maintenance fund needs to be used for maintenance, renewal, or renovation of common part of property, the following procedures shall be followed, except for those otherwise prescribed in the management protocol:

(1) Formulating the use scheme. The use scheme of the maintenance fund shall be drawn up by the property management service company, and be submitted to the owner committee. The use scheme shall include such items as the maintenance project name, scope of maintenance, total budgeted amount, the service boundary and area, selection of the construction unit, final accounting, implementation time, etc.

(2) Perfecting the use scheme. The owner committee shall solicit opinions of the owners to perfect the use scheme.

(3) Determining the use scheme. The owner committee shall submit the use scheme to the owner convention or owner team for their voting and approval, and make it public in residential area.

(4) Putting the construction unit into practice. The owner committee shall sign the construction contract of maintenance, renewal, or renovation of the common part of property with the property management service company and the construction unit.

(5) Organizing the construction of the project. The property management service company shall organize the implementation in accordance with the use scheme. After the completion of the project, the property management service company shall submit the written report on the maintenance, renewal, or renovation of the property, and the breakdown of expenses to the owner committee.

(6) Examining and verifying the construction costs and expenses. The owner committee shall carry out the examination and verification in accordance with the written report on the maintenance, renewal, or renovation of the property, and the breakdown of expenses submitted by the property management service company, and where price auditing is required, the notice of maintenance fund transfer approval shall be sent to the specific account bank only after the audit, and the maintenance fund application affairs shall be made public in the property management area.

The owner committee shall not arbitrarily alter the use scheme of the maintenance fund or sign the construction contract beyond its authority in the process of maintenance fund application, and shall not seek personal interests in the process of maintenance fund application.

3. To normalize the selection and recruitment of the property management service company

The owner convention shall select and recruit the property management service company in accordance with the following procedure:

(1) Formulating the selection and recruitment scheme. The owner committee shall, three months before the validity of the property management service contract, put forward the requirements on property management service by consideration of the property management area, and the objective needs for the property management service, and formulate the selection and recruitment scheme of the property management service company after soliciting the opinions of the owners, and make public such scheme in the property management area, except for those property management service companies selected and recruited by the owner convention.

The selection and recruitment scheme of the property management service company shall include such items as the qualification, creditability, and actual performance of the property management service companies, the property management service charges, the term of property management service contract, and the mode of selection and recruitment, etc.

Where the owner convention separately recruits the property management service company, the open bidding shall be adopted in the selection and recruitment.

(2) Perfecting the scheme of selection and recruitment. The owner committee shall solicit the owners’ opinions to perfect the scheme of selection and recruitment.

(3) Approving the scheme of selection and recruitment. The owner committee shall submit the scheme of selection and recruitment to the owner convention for voting and approval, and make it public in the residential area.

(4) Determining the property management service company. The owner committee shall, in accordance with relevant provisions and the resolution of the owner convention, do well in the work related to the selection and recruitment of the property management service company in the manner of openness, fairness, and impartiality, represent the owner convention, sign the property management service contract with the selected property management service company, and make public the result of selection and recruitment, and the property management service contract in the property management area for the owners’ inquiry.

The owner committee shall not sign the property management service contract beyond its authority in the process of selection and recruitment of the property management service company, and shall not seek personal interests in the process of selection and recruitment.

4. To establish the routine working regulations

(1) Establishing the reception-through-meeting system. The owner committee shall enhance the study and popularization of policies and regulations, and make regular reports on the property management implementation to the owner convention. The meeting of owner committee shall be held for reception and listening to the owners’ views and suggestions on property management in a regular way, for owners’ inquiry, complaint and supervision. The relationship between the owners and the property management service company shall be coordinated to urge the owners to perform obligations in accordance with the law, and improve their ability of self-management in a sustainable way.

(2) Establishing the information release mechanism. The owner committee shall, in a timely manner, make public, the decision of the owner convention, or the owner committee, selection and recruitment of property management service company, maintenance fund and the income and expenditure of public revenues, alteration of property management service contract, and other matters related to property management

(3) Establishing the stamp management mechanism. The owner committee shall assign a special person to take care of the stamp of the owner convention, the stamp specially used for financial affairs, and the stamp of the owner committee, and use these stamps in accordance with the stamp administration system. Where the violation of the stamp provisions causes financial losses or harmful effects, the liable person shall bear the corresponding responsibility.

(4) Establishing the archives administration mechanism. The owner committee shall establish archives with the detailed contact information of the owners, the recorded data of the owner committee, the property management service contract, the detailed list of the income and expenditure of maintenance fund, the notes and protocols of the meeting of the owner convention and owner committee, and the written notes for decision-making, the written views and suggestions of the owners and users, the correspondence related to property management, and other materials, and assign a specific person for intact documents.

IV. To enhance the guidance to and service for the owner committee to assist the owners in improving the self-management ability

1. To further rationalize the management responsibilities

The district/county people’s government shall organize and hold the regular joint meetings of integrated management of residential area, with participation of related departments and units to coordinate and solve those comprehensive problems; the district/county department of civil affairs shall fulfill the guidance, supervision, and routine management performed by the sub-district (town/township), neighborhood committee to owner committee; the district/county administrative department of housing shall carry out guidance, supervision and management on the establishment of owner convention and owner committee, and its procedure of daily operation; the sub-district  office (town/township people’s government) shall take charge of holding the joint meeting of residential area’s integrated management to coordinate and solve the knotty problems in residential area’s comprehensive management, and help the related department set up the owner convention and owner committee for routine operations; the neighborhood committee shall set up a guiding working team for the owner convention, and coordinate in the property management, and take the lead in guiding the establishment, re-election, and daily operation of the owner convention and the owner committee, and the mediation of the property management conflicts and disputes.

2. To further enhance the guidance and supervision

The sub-district office (town/township people’s government) shall attach great importance to the normalization of the owner committee, which shall be taken up as a main item of community management and community construction with reference to the working requirements of neighborhood committee; shall assign specific departments and special persons to guide the establishment, re-election, and routine operation of the owner committee; shall hold the regular joint meetings of residential area’s integrated management to coordinate with all parties, and assist the owners in improving the self-management ability; shall bring the property management conflicts and disputes into the working scope of people’s mediation committee, and provide supports, guidance, and appraisal to the work of the neighborhood committee.    

The administrative department of housing shall perfect the archives mechanism of the owner committee, and the alteration norms for the members of the owner committee; improve the operational procedures for the owner convention’s election and recruitment, or dismissal of the property management service company, and bring the owner convention’s re-election and recruitment of a new property management service company into the administration of a unified bidding platform; perfect the system of price-check, examination and approval, and maintenance fund audit, and normalize the operational procedure of fund. The construction of grassroots handling organ of housing administration shall be enhanced by allocating qualified personnel for guidance and service. The supervision and inspection on the daily operation of special maintenance fund, the income and expenditure of public revenues, major issues concerning property management, etc. shall be enhanced. Professional intermediaries shall be cultivated and introduced to provide specialized services to the owner committee and owners.

The sub-district office (town/township people’s government) and the administrative department of housing shall jointly enhance the training on the members of the owner committee, and improve the qualification through trainings at the stage of preparation, establishment, and routine operation of the owner committee.

The neighborhood committee shall bear the responsibility of guiding and supervising the owner committee in a practical way, assist the owners in electing those with good obligation performance, dedication to public welfare, strong sense of responsibility, and certain organizing abilities to be a representative of owners, to be a member of preparation group, owner committee, or member of re-election working group. Where the preparation group or re-election working group of the owner committee fails to perform its duties, or fails to perform after the sub-district office (town/township people’s government), or administrative department of housing makes an order for correction within the prescribed time limit, the neighborhood committee may take the lead to organize the owners to re-establish a preparation group or re-election working group.

　　Shanghai Municipal Housing Guarantee and Houses Administration

　　November 8, 2009