From Property, page 39, issue no. 343, Nov 26th 2007
Translated by Michael Martin
Original article: [Chinese]

Sun Yi (alias) has lived with his father in a 10 square meter one-story home since birth. But this living arrangement may soon come to an end, as their land may soon be appropriated by the military for use as an army entertainment center. As a result, Sun Yi qualified to participate in a new low-cost housing project in Xuanqu district. He chose his new apartment last month-- a 20 square meter, one-room with a mini-kitchenette and no gas-pipes. "I still don't know how I'm going to live," he said.

While gratified that he is able to live independently, he also feels helpless. With the low-cost housing pilot in Beijing having expired this November, the city's new housing guarantee system has entered mainstream operation. But for low-income groups, the opportunities are fewer than they imagined.

Beijing's low-cost housing pilot started in 2004, with North Guangqumen became the first participating district. Zhao's family was among the first to move in.

Zhao qualified because his son is a disabled veteran. His two-room home encompasses 50 square meters, with some free space, a kitchen, bathroom, and balcony. He says that the size of the subsidized homes in his district is based on family size, and range from one to three rooms at 40, 50, and 70 square meters respectively. "The one-room housing is only one room less [than my own], and is the same in all other respects," he said.

Compared with 2004, today's low-cost housing is radically different. Sun Yi received the smallest family-size housing available, which is now only 20 square meters.

But space aside, at the end of the day, Sun Yi will first be racking his brain over living in an apartment without a real kitchen.

With such a scarcity of land in the heart of the city, more and more people are being forced to relocate to the outskirts. As for the recipients of subsidized housing, finding options within Beijing's Second Ring Road Gongqumen is a dream of the past. Sun Yi's apartment is located in the southwest Fourth Ring Road's Fengtishidai housing complex. As it is still under construction, he has never actually seen it. In a show of support for his son, his father bought two large pieces of furniture from the corner "2 Yuan Store." "He worries that when I move into that place, there won't be any stores like this," Sun Yi says.

As part of its low-cost housing policy framework, the city offers several different housing options and housing stipends to qualifying applicants (Editor's note: see end of article for explanation). According to the "Beijing Low-Income Housing Management Measures" published earlier this year, over the next three years, Beijing will build 300,000 square meters of low-cost units for rent later. They will be built increasingly farther away from the city center.

Commercial housing projects offer another alternative. On November 19, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources announced to the media that 6,000 square meters of low-cost housing would be built on the Number 3 Shen parcel of land in Zhongguancun, Haidian district, and that Laiguanggaoxiang's two plots of residential estate in Chaoyang district would be used to construct 25,000 square meters of low-cost housing also. This will be the first time that commercial housing projects will create low-cost housing- and it will occur in the heart of Zhongguancun.

Still, applicants are most concerned about meeting the requirements for subsidized housing-- almost none care about picking their own home. In this age of abundance, low-cost housing comes in various housing designs, with surface areas corresponding to the types of home. But the only freedom that applicants have in choosing low-cost living accommodations is determining what floor of their complex they would like to live on.

"No one is willing to move out to the suburbs. Most retirees want to live in the city," said Zhao. He is 65-years-old this year. The air pollution, noise, and prices of goods in the city are all factors enticing him to leave for the countryside, but he nevertheless refuses to budge.

"Wei Hai homes are more than 2,000 yuan per square meter, and the environment and air quality are great. But if I suddenly get sick, then what? My kids won't be able to come help me," he said. According to Zhao, over 80% of the people in his low-cost housing complex are senior citizens. In fact, senior citizens are the majorit of low-cost housing recipients. There biggest claim to living in the city center is that they need to be closer to health care and related facilities than the young.

With regard to Zhao, the feeling of living in the city center is a deciding factor in his current address. He lives with his wife and two granddaughters, whom he takes care of when his son is pursuing his studies beyond the Sixth Ring Road. And on holidays, a room in his low-rent home turns into a five-star party hall. "Maybe the environment is better in the suburbs, but what is there to do there? A place without people isn't a place where one can live." In his old age, he has grown accustom to his home. This, he says, would not be the case in some remote district's low-cost housing project.

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ARTICLE NOTES:

According to the “Low-cost Rental Housing Protections Regulations” which were passed on Sept 26th 2007, and are effective from Dec 1st 2007, there are two ways the government will help low-income groups with housing:

?1. Through paid subsidies (货币补贴), but individuals must find actual housing on their own.
?2. Local government and the landlord will rent out subsidized housing (实物配租) and collect minimal rental fees from qualified applicants.

(Article notes continued)

According to 2007 Low Cost Housing Management Regulations (经济适用住房管理办法) passed and effective on? November 19th 2007, applicants for lost-cost housing must fulfill the following criteria:

?1. Must registered resident of the location where the low-cost house he/she applied for is located

?2. They must be considered part of the “low income group”, the definition of which is as set by provincial and district governments.

?3. They must not own any houses, or the house they currently resided in meets the criteria of facing “housing difficulties” (住房困难)

Another kind of low-cost housing established by law in 2006, called “bi-limited housing" (两限房), refers to units for sale that is limited in both its size and price. Currently, units must be smaller than 90 m2 and cheaper than property in their immediate vicinity to qualify.

If such housing is to be developed by real estate companies, the profit margin shall not exceed 3%; if the local governments are behind the housing project, the sales value can only be meant to recover cost-- no profit margin allowed.