NO.2 Zhong-Lu Social Housing
More than just a House
Taoyuan Social Housing with Warmth of Humanity
Having somewhere to settle allows one to strive for a rosier future with bravery.
At 10 AM in a spring morning, voices of children recitals in English can be heard through the window.
Mr. Huang took a night shift last night yet is sitting in a chair enjoying the morning sun. "Classes and singing of English songs at the preschool downstairs can be heard every day, but it doesn't matter since they are students. Plus, this is a soundproof window which makes a difference when shut. You can barely hear anything from the outside." As he closes the French window while speaking, this apartment with 11-ping interior space turned silent instantly, and the only thing permeating through the window was the scattered sun rays gently illuminating the small yet warm living room.
Subverting Your Imagination for Social Housing. The Best Living Space is Here to Offer
This is the NO. 2 Zhong-Lu Social Housing located in the Zhong-Lu Redevelopment Area. It is the area surrounded by newly completed apartment buildings, wide sidewalks, complete park facilities, and various mansions. NO. 2 Zhong-Lu Social Housing is a 17-story building with black granite decoration on lower facades and simple and generous characters overall. "My friend coming to check out my apartment thought this building was a luxury house and even inquired the price per Ping and available apartments. To his surprise, it is a social housing!" said Wu Chun-Ting, Chairperson of the Research and Evaluation Commission, Taoyuan.
Taoyuan's social housing has long eliminated the stereotype of "messy" and "settlement of problematic individuals" and has reached the level of general new construction projects in terms of location and appearance. Furthermore, the social housing stresses the diversity and mutual assistance of households by implementing the policy of "60% ordinary households, and 40% policy-supported households".
More Assistance Available in Addition to Applications at Ease
Mr. Huang, a resident of NO. 2 Zhong-Lu, moved in in 2019. Back then, when he rented a house at other locations, "The landlord will not allow change of household registration to his/her location. I need rent subsidy for disabilities, and move-in registrations would require taxation receipts (of the landlord). I can't possibly get any of those from the landlord." Later, he visited the City Government to apply for social welfare grants, during which he learned about the social housing construction in progress. After a series of procedure, he finally got awarded the qualification as tenant at NO. 2 Zhonglu Road social housing-the first completed social housing in Taoyuan. "It was a lot of trouble to apply back then, but now, applications of social housing renting in Taoyuan can be applied directly on their website. The overall residential environment as well as amenities the are much better than my previous rental. Plus, the night market and my workplace are near proximity to my place."
To tackle the rental housing problem, the City Government has proposed a rent subsidy and subleasing and management schemes. On the supply end, the City Government cooperates with the housing leasing suppliers to provide tax relief, preferential rental subsidies, insurance and housing repair subsidies and other incentives with a view to incorporate landlord leasing into government regulations. In addition, on the demand end, where a tenant is engaged in a de facto leasing and the house complies with the regulations, the tenant will receive rent subsidies on a monthly basis. This is an act of providing citizens a more complete residence guarantee. In 2021, the number of households qualified for rent subsidies reached 19,000 households, and a total of 3,110 households have been engaged in subleasing and management through development and matching.
Regarding social housing management, Mr. Huang said, "I find nothing to be picky about. The management cost is included in my rent, and there's a security guard at the reception. I think this is good." "The Office of Housing Development has developed an APP for social housing that covers every aspect of social housing. We can even request a repair when there's something broken in the rental. Last time, a faucet at my place was broken, and I could request a repair service on the APP directly to handle such; or, if there is a registered mail for me, I'll get notifications from the APP."
Persevered Efforts to Realize Rights to Affordable Housing
Taoyuan's social housing features 24-hour property management services and introduction of smart community concepts. The social housing APP comes with functions including resident online payment information, repair notices, letter and parcel notices, community information, and deeds query. The property management system may also integrate social housing information for data statistics and analysis which may serve as feedback to the maintenance of related facilities. In addition, Taoyuan is the first in country to sign a 6+6-year "rent to own" lease agreement with manufacturers in the introduction of air-conditioning, furniture, water heater and other equipment rental services in order to achieve circular economic benefit and to allow the public to conveniently "move in with one suitcase".
At present, Taoyuan has started the construction of 59 social housing sites, with an expected 15,000 households available for rent when completed. Among them, 7 sites including NO. 2 Zhong-Lu, NO. 1 Bade, NO. 2 Bade, NO. 1 Zhong-Lu, NO. 2 Luzhu, NO. 3 Zhong-Lu and NO. 1 Zhongli have been completed, while another 9 sites are under construction. More and more citizens will benefit from such housing in the future. It is expected that balanced urban-rural development and stabilized house prices can be achieved through social housing, thereby guaranteeing rights of living for every citizen and ultimately realize the rights to affordable housing.