On January 10, 2023, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Equalization of Land Rights Act (平均地權條例) aimed at curbing speculation in the property market. Five main points of the amendments are as follows:
- Purchase agreements for pre-sale or newly constructed residential units are prohibited for resale or transfer to third parties. Also, construction companies are prohibited from assisting in the assignment or resale of the agreements. Violators are subject to a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$3,000,000 per unit.
- Those who (1) spread false information to influence house prices, (2) collude with others to make fake transactions and create the illusion of hot sales, (3) attempt to earn a profit through engaging in illegal transactions, or (4) manipulate the real-estate market to influence the price or order of real estate transactions in other ways are subject to a fine of NT$1,000,000 to NT$50,000,000 depending on the number of transactions, and may be subject to successive fines if they fail to rectify the situation within the deadline.
- The public are encouraged to report illegal transactions or violations of registration of property sales to the local governments with evidence and will be rewarded if such claims are true.
- Private entities shall obtain pre-approval by the governing authority at purchase of residential units and they are not allowed to resell, transfer or appoint a future receiver of a property within five years of their purchase.
- If there is a rescission on the agreements of pre-sale houses, the construction companies shall report it within 30 days. Violators will be fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 per unit.
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