Check for seizure and mortgages before signing to buy a home, then obtain advance-notice registration at the property registry

Allow half an hour for an ID-based check before signing. Afterwards, attend the registry with the seller and required documents and pay the local registration fee.

China’s Civil Code allows parties who sign a home-purchase agreement to apply, as agreed, for advance-notice registration to secure future ownership. After registration, a disposal without the registered beneficiary’s consent has no effect on property rights. Advance notice expires if the underlying claim ends, for example when the contract is terminated, or if final registration is not requested within 90 days after it becomes possible. Natural-resources ministry rules allow this for presales and second-hand home sales. While advance notice remains effective, the registry must refuse the seller’s application to register a disposal without your written consent. If a developer fails to join an agreed application for an off-plan purchase, the buyer may apply alone. Before signing, a prospective buyer may use ID to check mortgages, advance notices, objection registrations and seizures. Online contract filing does not itself determine validity. The Supreme People’s Court says failure to file a presale contract does not invalidate it, except where the parties have made filing a condition of effectiveness.

全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第二百二十一条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml；自然资源部 (2024 修正). 不动产登记暂行条例实施细则（第八十五、八十六条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11506/202408/content_6966482.html；自然资源部 (2024 修正). 不动产登记资料查询暂行办法（第二十一条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11506/202408/content_6966482.html；自然资源部 (2025). 关于修改《不动产登记资料查询暂行办法》的决定（自然资源部令第 18 号）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2026/issue_12546/202602/content_7057456.html；最高人民法院 (2020 修正). 关于审理商品房买卖合同纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释（第六、七条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282621.html

For pre-contract checks and documents, see Item 6 on verifying ownership certificates and mortgages. Before signing, you cannot obtain the owner’s identity through this check, so match the certificate name against the seller’s ID in person. Advance-notice registration requires prior agreement; include it in the sales contract. If the seller maliciously colludes with someone else, signs another contract and delivers the home to that person, you may ask a court to invalidate that contract. This requires litigation: ordinary first-instance proceedings must be concluded within 6 months under the rules, with extensions permitted, and you usually pay your own lawyer. With advance-notice registration in place, the seller cannot transfer the home to another person without your consent, avoiding that later lawsuit.