According to 1999 promulgated and revised in 2002, housing provident fund refers to the long-term housing savings paid by state organs, state-owned enterprises, urban collective enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, urban private enterprises and other urban enterprises, institutions and their employees.

Housing provident fund is a personal housing savings fund specially used by employees for housing consumption expenditure, which has two characteristics:

First, it is cumulative, that is, although the housing provident fund is an integral part of employees' wages, it is not paid in cash, and must be deposited in a special account opened by the housing provident fund management center in the entrusted bank, and special account management is implemented.

The second is specificity. The housing accumulation fund shall be earmarked for special purposes and can only be used for purchasing, building, overhauling self-occupied housing or paying rent during storage. Only when the employee retires, dies, completely loses the ability to work, terminates the labor relationship with the unit or moves out of the original city, can the housing provident fund be withdrawn from the account.