Legal analysis: China's housing maintenance fund system began in 1998, and in 2004, the housing maintenance fund evolved into a fee that must be paid when a house handles a property right certificate. Its payment standard has also changed from the initial "2%-3% of the purchase price" to "5%-8% of the cost per square meter of residential construction and installation projects" in 2008. According to the newly revised Measures for the Administration of Special Maintenance Funds for Residential Buildings in 2007, public maintenance funds are earmarked for the maintenance of public facilities in residential quarters and are owned by all owners. But before the establishment of the owners' committee, the funds were generally managed by the real estate administrative department.

Legal basis: Measures for the Administration of Special Maintenance Funds for Houses Article 1 These Measures are formulated to implement the Notice of the State Council on Further Deepening the Reform of Urban Housing System and Accelerating Housing Construction (Guo Fa [1998] No.23), to ensure the after-sales maintenance management of houses, and to safeguard the interests of property owners and users of houses.