Abstract: Clarifying the nature and function of qualification rights is the key to the“separation of three rights”reform of homestead land. The evolution of the rural homestead system shows that the function of qualification rights fluctuates between delineating rural homestead ownership and usage rights, and the subject also fluctuates between the state and the collective. From the theoretical framework of property rights economics, the essence of qualification rights is the“qualification certificates”for obtaining rural homestead property rights, and its institutional evolution is the result of the state’s continuous exercise of residual control rights and the limitation of land development rights over homesteads. To promote the reform of the“Three Rights Separation”of homesteads and revitalize idle homestead resources, it is necessary to pay attention to the reform of qualification rights and limit the scope of the state’s exercise of residual control over land. The future reform measures should focus on using planning rights to define land development rights, establish the subject of qualification rights through formal systems, strengthen collective land ownership, and clarify the legal status of homestead qualification rights.

Key words: qualification rights of homestead, residual control rights, qualification certificates, land development rights