THE city’s housing and construction bureau issued a notice with a more detailed interpretation of the newly released measures on home purchases Wednesday, sznews.com reported.

The package of new rules, which was unveiled July 15, aim to curb speculation and cool an overheating property market.

According to the notice, the transaction of an apartment purchased before July 15 can proceed and remains unaffected by the new policy. The purchase time shall be subject to the time when the homebuyer files with the property management department for record of the purchase.

For a family or a single adult (including a divorced person) with Shenzhen hukou, the time of their household registration in the city shall be subject to the time recorded in the household register.

Under the new policy, according to the bureau, people eligible to purchase a home include either a family with Shenzhen hukou or a single adult with Shenzhen hukou (including divorced Shenzheners) who has held Shenzhen hukou for less than three years, but have paid personal income tax or social insurance premiums for at least five straight years.

Social insurance refers to any two kinds of insurance in endowment insurance, medical insurance and injury insurance.

For a married couple, if only one party meets the home purchase conditions, the purchased apartment can only be registered in the name of the party meeting the conditions or both parties, but cannot be registered in the name of the party that does not meet the conditions, the bureau said.

If the commercial residential apartment is transferred as a gift, the person receiving the gifted apartment shall meet the purchase qualification specified in the notice.

According to the new policy, within three years of divorce, either party of a divorced couple can purchase a commercial residential apartment in the city as a single adult, as long as the couple had no apartment before the divorce and other home purchase conditions are met.

If a divorced couple had a commercial residential apartment before the divorce, the party who had no apartment under his or her name after the divorce can purchase an apartment in the city as a single adult.

Within three years of divorce, divorced couples are not eligible to buy a commercial residential apartment if they had owned two or more apartments before the divorce.

(Zhang Yu)