What is the difference between freehold and leasehold property in China in 2026?

Urban residential sales commonly transfer a property ownership certificate covering the unit and an allocated land-use right term. Residential land-use rights are often granted for up to 70 years; commercial projects often use 40-year terms; industrial uses often use 50-year terms. Exact remaining years appear on documents for resale stock, so a 2005 grant is not a fresh 70-year clock. Rural collective land and village housing follow different rules and are generally off-limits for ordinary foreign residential purchases.

Leasehold in the everyday rental sense is a separate product: you rent from a landlord under a Chinese residential lease without buying title: How to rent a home. Do not confuse a 12-month tenancy with a 70-year land-use right.

Ask how many years remain on the land-use right, how renewal is handled for that district, and how banks treat remaining term in mortgage underwriting: Foreigner mortgage. Budget taxes and fees separately: Property purchase costs. Compound rules and management fees continue after purchase: Condominium fees.

Shanghai and Beijing stock still follows the same land-use framework even when prices feel “forever”: Living in Shanghai and Living in Beijing. Title never creates a visa. Renting remains the lower-friction first year for most movers: Rent in China.