Doors are closed on unqualified companies

More than 300 unqualified property management companies were ordered to close yesterday by the Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administration Bureau.

A total of 320 companies with expired business licences were asked to shut down in the first phase of a local industry watchdog campaign.

"In a following step, we will check carefully whether the remaining 2,500 property management firms in the city are qualified or not, and by the end of this year, a system tracking corporate integrity will be established," said an official with the bureau.

All of the city's property management companies are to be inspected, and those found unqualified will have their licences revoked.

Every property management company is also to have its own "reputation archive" in the future, and any misdeed, such as violations of industry regulations and laws, will be recorded. Companies with bad records will get punishments such as being barred from future public bidding for property management contracts, according to the bureau.

The bureau said that by eliminating small and incapable players, the city's property management industry would improve its overall services with more large and branded companies operating in the market, offering standard services to local residents.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Property Management Association was also introducing a qualification system for property managers.

The first batch of 82 people in the city among a total of 1,119 applicants in the country had acquired a national property management qualification certificate which was launched this year.

Association officials said that an estimated 3,000 people in the city will take part next year.

People who gained the certificate have learned the policies related to property management and completed courses about property services management and integrated management.

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