On April 21, Hangzhou released a new policy to optimize the housing provident fundwithdrawal mechanism from aspects such as purchasing, renting and renovating houses. The policy will take effect from May 21, 2025.

When buying affordable houses, employees can withdraw the housing provident fund for initial payment. If the employee purchases a house with the housing provident fund loan, the sum of withdrawal and loan amount cannot exceed the total price of the house.

When renting a house, the employee can withdraw the housing provident fundbased on the actual rental expenses. Hangzhou encourages the housing provident fund management center to cooperate with the lease agencies, in order to provide employees with stable housing resources and more discounts.

Hangzhou also encourages the withdrawal of the housing provident fund for house renovation, relaxes the conditions for the withdrawal of resigned employees, and simplifies the procedure for withdrawinga small amount of housing provident fundfor deceased employees.