PROPERTY owners of a housing estate in Longgang District recently received public revenue dividends totaling 740,000 yuan (US$101,400) in cash from the estate’s homeowners’ committee, local Chinese-language media reported Sunday.

According to Zeng Yanfei, director of the homeowners’ committee of the Bandaoyuan housing estate in Longgang, the fund is part of the estate’s public revenue that has been generated through advertising in common areas, renting parking spaces, and managing shared properties.

She said the housing estate has accumulated over 1.2 million yuan in public revenue since 2019 when a new property management company took over. “After deducting essential expenses for maintaining basic infrastructure and the environment, we decided to distribute 740,000 yuan in dividends to the homeowners,” Zeng said. Each homeowner received an amount ranging from 397 yuan to 1,150 yuan, depending on the size of their apartments.

Homeowners welcomed the dividends, saying that this initiative enhances their sense of belonging and cohesion.

Zeng added that the homeowners’ committee will make sure that all funds related to public revenue are well documented, open, and transparent.

The estate is not the only residential compound in Shenzhen to have allocated public revenue to homeowners.

The Deyimingju housing estate in Nanshan District returned 120,000 yuan of public revenue to homeowners Dec. 1. Since 2018, its homeowners’ committee has distributed dividends totaling 1 million yuan in various forms, including cash and waivers on property management fees.

Homeowners of another residential compound in Longhua District also received dividends equivalent to 10 yuan per square meter of their homes in June.

According to the Shenzhen Property Management Industry Association, 3,184 residential communities citywide have established common fund accounts to manage public revenue. Yang Zhimin, a member of the Shenzhen Property Management Standardization Committee, said this figure indicates that Shenzhen has led the country in the supervision and management of homeowners’ common funds. (Claudia Wei)