A survey of 50 residential communities across 21 cities in China has found that while overall property service quality is viewed positively, the lack of sufficient information disclosure is a common shortcoming. The China Consumers Association released the "National Survey Report on Property Services in Selected Urban Residential Communities" on July 14.
The survey was conducted in the second half of 2025, combining consumer perception surveys and experiential evaluations. The consumer perception survey collected 1,543 valid responses, and the experiential survey covered 50 valid samples. The survey addressed traditional aspects such as facility and equipment management, order maintenance, and environmental hygiene, as well as emerging issues like community access control, responsible pet ownership, property fees for vacant units, new energy vehicle charging, and underground garage access.
From a consumer perception perspective, respondents rated overall property service quality at 79.82 out of 100. Regarding specific concerns, nearly 60% found property fee standards reasonable or fairly reasonable. Over 20% frequently encountered pets defecating in public areas without restraint. Nearly 50% reported problems with electric bicycle management. Close to 60% were unaware of how the community's public maintenance funds are used.
The experiential evaluation covered five areas: entrance and security services, public order management, environmental management, facility and equipment management, and customer service management, with an overall score of 70.29. Facility and equipment management scored highest at 85.80, while entrance and security services and customer service management both fell below the passing grade.
The investigation revealed that inadequate information disclosure was a common problem. More than half of the surveyed communities lacked information bulletin boards or had missing or outdated notices. Over 70% did not disclose property fee income and expenditure or public revenue details. Moreover, nearly 60% of residents were unaware of how public maintenance funds are utilized.
In response, the China Consumers Association put forward three recommendations. First, strengthen top-level design by enacting dedicated property management legislation, refining relevant provisions of the Civil Code to establish unified industry models, service standards, regulatory mechanisms, and dispute resolution procedures, and encourage regions with necessary conditions to introduce model property service contracts. Second, property service companies should transform their approach and enhance information disclosure by establishing or improving public notice systems that clearly specify service items, fee structures and standards, property fee income and expenditure, and common fund details, thereby safeguarding residents' rights to know and to oversee. Third, promote multi-stakeholder collaborative innovation by engaging social organizations, professional institutions, and volunteer teams to supplement property services and address shortfalls in dispute resolution, while advancing group standards for property services to refine service content and strengthen industry self-discipline.