China to charge developers for idle land

BEIJING - Property developers who fail to commence construction on plots of land they have purchased within one year of the purchase may face fines of up to 20 percent of the sale price, according to a revised regulation issued Thursday by the Ministry of Land and Resources.

The regulation will go into effect on July 1, according to a full text of the regulation posted on the ministry's website. The full text lists six ways in which developers can obtain an extension for the one-year deadline.

The deadline may be extended by an extra year if local governments fail to hand over land in a timely fashion; the central government changes overall land use policies; local residents don't agree with the construction plan or if the project is delayed by military or archaeological interests.

Local governments should rescind land use rights without compensation if the land is left idle for two years, according to the regulation.