THE Shenzhen government will let the management fees of nonresidential property be determined by prevailing market rates starting from next month, the municipal trade and pricing bureau told a press conference yesterday (Aug 15).

Owners of nonresidential property and management companies will fix the management fee through mutual agreement starting Sept. 1, according to a new regulation revealed at the press conference.

Currently the government has guidelines on management fees for all properties, including nonresidential ones. Management companies are not allowed to charge more than what is set by the government.

The government will continue to set price limits for residential property and the new guidelines will be announced this year.

The new regulation also includes other major changes to stipulations on property management. The property developer will include the name, rate, and services of the property management company in the property sales contract and pay the management fee for the period until the property is handed over to the buyer, the new rule says.

The new regulation is expected to reduce the number of complaints on property management. Complaints about property management companies accounted for over 50 percent of those received by the pricing bureau in the past three years.

Editor: Wing