劉玨

With “fake divorces” proving a popular loophole for gaming the housing market， we ask experts if these arrangements guarantee an even split

中國式“假離婚”背后的復雜真相

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ven by Chinese standards， it was an eye-opening figure. This March， in the small village of Jiangbei， Jiangsu province， some 160 couples filed for divorce at the same time. But this wasnt some outbreak of marital discord—the couples， some in their 80s， were merely taking advantage of the fine print in proposals to redevelop their village as a “high-tech development zone.”

Jiangbeis homeowners all faced compulsory demolition and relocation to local government-built housing—but single residents could qualify for more property， plus around 131，000 RMB （19，000 USD） extra in compensation， compared to married couples. Hence the rush to “divorce”—as one villager told the Nanjing Morning Post， “Everybody is doing this. Well deal with the consequences later.” Local divorce attorneys soon began to charge triple their usual fee of 5，000 RMB.

Experts warn that the local government may not honor the extra payouts if couples are found to be exploiting loopholes by， for example， remarrying soon after. Others point out that those who do split for financial reasons may end up arguing over the proceeds， and harm their relationships anyway. These warnings have done little to stop the growing popularity of “fake divorces.”

In August 2016， civil affairs bureaus across Shanghai were flooded by hundreds of couples lining up to part ways because of rumors about an imminent restriction on existing property owners buying more houses. As the real estate market in Shanghai rose an average 5.6 percent in the last week of August， Wind Info， a financial information service in China， described the phenomenon as like “drinking poison in riotous celebration.”

Some local governments are finding ways to stymie the scam. Beijing， which requires buyers to pay higher deposits for each home bought after the first one in an attempt to cool its overheated property market， released a policy on March 17 clarifying that anyone who has taken out a mortgage is now considered a property owner. Buyers cannot evade the deposit scheme even if they are divorced and without a house registered in their name.

The practice of fake divorce is not a particularly recent one. Back in 2013， a spate of phony separations prompted Shanghais Minhang District Civil Affairs Bureau to famously put up signs cautioning， “Proceed carefully with divorce due to a risky real estate market.”