Homes built on village collective land and sold to outsiders are called xiao chanquan fang, “minor property rights housing.” In June 2007, the Ministry of Construction warned city residents not to buy houses built on collective land. In January 2008, a State Council notice said that city residents “may not buy” rural homesteads, farmers’ houses or minor property rights housing.
The bans kept coming. Two ministries issued another notice in August 2012. In November 2013, an urgent notice ordered all such projects under construction or for sale to be stopped. In 2017, Beijing ruled that rental housing on collective land was “for rent only, not for sale,” to stop “minor property rights housing in disguise.”