China issued its first regulations on real estate brokerage practices on Jan 25, in a bid to rectify the country's property market.

The regulations, effective from April 1, 2011, are jointly issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. They outline the dos and don'ts for real estate agents.

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The regulations clarify requirements on practitioners in the property agent industry, and the three government agencies will jointly hold an entrance examination for the industry each year.

Property agents should register at relevant government agencies 30 days after obtaining business licenses, the regulations state.

Meanwhile, local governments should establish online platforms to provide certain information, such as registered information and transaction records of registered agents. They should also publicize credit records of local real estate agents.

The regulations ask real estate agents to illustrate the service and charging standards at their premises.

They also place emphasis on property agent contracts, and specify the key items to be included in a contract, which should be kept for at least five years at a real estate agent.

Property agents who do not follow the regulations, by misappropriating clients' funds or speculations, will be fined or even suspended from their businesses.