Beijing's public rental housing is available to recent graduates and migrant workers, with rents lower than market prices. Ji Yan, Deputy Director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said the administrative measures on public rental housing were passed by the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal Party Committee on June 3 and will soon be released following amendment and improvement. Ji made this comment at a conference entitled "Guarantee people's livelihood and promote social harmony," held by the Standing Committee of Beijing People's Congress on the morning of June 18.

Information shows that the public rental housing project has clarified its service targets for the first time. Prior to this, Beijing's government-subsidized housing projects were only available to those who have household registration in Beijing.

Public rental housing is one of the government-subsidized housing projects available which offer lower rents. Constructed or bought back by the government, they are intended for low- and middle-income families.

Ji said during his presentation that with the launch of public rental housing, Beijing's housing guarantee and management system is essentially established. The low-rent policy is designed for low-income households who cannot afford to buy property. Affordable housing is allocated and sold to families who have housing difficulties but can afford payments. Fixed-price housing will be provided to middle-income families. In addition, public rental housing is available for those with housing demands during a transitional period or the "sandwich group," meaning those who do not fit into any of the abovementioned groups. Beijing plans to essentially resolve the housing problems of around 280,000 households within three years.

Policy interpretations

Service targets: graduates now qualify for public rental housing

Ji said this is the first time it has been made clear that the service targets of public rental housing are low- and middle-income families, including those who have passed the verification for low-rent, affordable and fixed-price housing but are still waiting, as well as families facing other difficulties. Public rental housing is designed to target the "sandwich group," including recent graduates and migrant workers. Prior to this, Beijing's guarantee housing projects were only available for those who have their household registration in Beijing.

Information shows that 500,000 square meters of public rental housing will be constructed in Beijing this year. These include projects directly organized and constructed by the government; projects built in Yizhuang development zone, Zhongguancun Science Park and Shunyi Airport Logistics Zone; and projects independently built by institutions. Meanwhile, the government plans to buy back some existing housing projects to use as the first batch of public rental housing this year.

Rental prices: Public rental housing rent is lower than market price

Ji said the pricing mechanism for public rental housing will adhere to the principle of breaking even on investment. Public rental housing standards will be determined by taking into account the household's income and proportionally discounting the market price of renting similar style houses in similar locations. The rent will be slightly higher than that of low-rent houses.

"Public rental housing will demonstrate certain policy benefits. The rent will fall between that for low-rent houses and market price," said Cheng Jianhua, Deputy Director of Beijing's housing guarantee office. The specific prices will be based on costs, locations and the income of the families. After the policy is issued, the specific rent for each project will be published.

Subsidies for low-rent houses: Subsidies for low-rent houses will turn from implicit to explicit

Ji said that from now to 2011, Beijing plans to resolve the housing difficulties of all the 33,000 households which qualify for low-rent housing. Of these, 24,000 families will be allocated housing units to rent and the remaining 9,000 households will obtain rent subsidies. By the end of 2011, a total of 48,000 families in the city will live in low-rent housing. This year, the city will allocate and rent out 7,000 housing units, equal to 300,000 square meters, by lottery.

He said Beijing will issue relevant documents regarding the allocation of available low-rent housing in the near future to strengthen its management. The documents stipulate that subsidies for the tenant families will change from implicit to explicit, which means granting different rental subsidies based on residents' income.

At present the allocation and renting of low-rent housing is collectively managed by the government, with rent calculated according to the size of the housing unit. The rent is determined by a certain proportion of the tenants' gross income. The rent can also be set by the government by taking into account low-rent houses' various costs and market rents, with different subsidies granted based on the families' incomes.