Four Chinese banks will help fund a pilot plan in Beijing that allows the development of collectively owned land for residential properties to be leased, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Residential properties on collectively owned land are under construction. (File photo/China News Service)

The commission said the four banks — Huaxia Bank and the Beijing branches of China Development Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank — can grant loans for up to 80 percent of the total investment needed in a housing project.

The four banks have all worked out long-term loan solutions for rural collective economic organization and affiliated companies of state-owned enterprises that meet bank requirements. The maximum loan term is 25 to 30 years and payment can be made flexible thanks to favorable policies.

The banks said they would give priority to financing public rental housing development.

Amid efforts to cool residential property prices and satisfy housing needs, the capital plans to build up to 1.5 million housing units on land parcels from 2017 to 2021, among them 500,000 for public rental mainly built on collectively owned land.

The commission has been working with financial regulatory authorities to introduce housing loan policies for the pilot scheme, regarded as a breakthrough in the land supply system and expected to boost the supply of rental housing. China has two kinds of land ownership -- state-owned and collectively owned rural land.

The commission also pledged to build a housing system that combines leasing and sale, promote the effective allocation and use of collectively owned rural land, and boost farmer's income in the urbanization process.